Road Reads

MTV travel guidebooks

BOOK: MTV travel guidebooks (Frommer's, $21.99-$24.99)

TARGET AUDIENCE: The (latest) MTV generation and spring breakers ready to upgrade from Daytona Beach.

I want my MTV . . . guidebook? Well, we prefer our travel bibles to be smart, edgy and eye-opening -- and MTV's are anything but. Yet, as they say in showbiz, know your audience. In MTV's case, its readers are most likely newbie travelers who identify Greece with Paris Hilton's ex. With that in mind, the series just might do the trick.

The books cover such countries as Italy and Ireland (England, Spain and France will be available in April), Europe and U.S. road trips (April). To start off, take the Cosmo-style travel personality quiz in "MTV Europe": If you "plan on getting drunk before the plane ride is over," you're an anthropologist. Kidding! You're a partyer.

To their credit, the books don't focus only on getting wasted; they are packed with standard guidebook info (how to get there, where to sleep-eat-shop, etc.), as well as the 411 on hostels, adrenaline adventures and falling into a Venetian canal. An "MTV Best" logo flags the top sights. (Oddly, for the Heineken Experience in Amsterdam, the blurb reads, "It's just barely worth the price of admission." Is that supposed to be ironic?)

Each book also supplies a pre-departure reading, music and movie list; the Ireland edition suggests the Frames (excellent) but omits U2 (obvious, but c'mon). Our advice: For the real scene, just turn on any of MTV's European affiliates.

-- Andrea Sachs

Europe, Italy and Ireland are available at bookstores. Info:http://www.frommers.com.