Mapping Your Volunteer Vacation” ($20, Where Is She Heading) is for the first-timer, the traveler who has not been on a volunteer-oriented trip before. Loosely bound and easy to follow, the book helps you get organized, from your thoughts to your expenses, with checklists, advice and space for note-taking. The workbook also includes anecdotes from author (and Lakewood resident) Jane Stanfield’s own extensive volunteer travel experiences. What it doesn’t do is help you pick specific trips or voluntours based on the information you fill in, and I was a little confused by the chart at the back, which was essentially a list of countries, tasks and other variables that didn’t seem all that helpful. But the pages prior are packed with good stuff. Kyle Wagner
