August Travel Round up
September brings with it freshly picked books, books ready to cuddle up with, books with warming scenes of people eating and drinking beside a roaring fire which make you want to do that very same thing. Books to take you from the summer into the pleasures of autumn reading.
But before you go heading off to find the books falling from the literary tree this September, let’s not forget the gorgeous ones which have arrived over the summer……oh the adventures we’ve had with these ones… wait until you get your hands on these!
Here’s a little round up of August to take you from summer to Autumn….
Best character name in a book:
Barnabas Pandy
The Mystery of Three Quarters – Sophie Hannah – set in London
The legendary Poirot is back under the care of Sophie Hannah in book number 3. A great mystery involving a manor house, a boarding school and a typewriter with a dodgy letter ‘e’. Oh but it’s the cast of characters which really shines – Euphemia and Barnabas Spring, Hugo Dockerill and the policeman helping on the case from Scotland Yard – Charlie Catchpool!
Book most perfect for this time of year:
An Autumn Killing – Tom Callaghan – set in Kyrgyzstan, Bangkok
The fourth installment in the Inspector Akyl Borubaev series. They’ve gone through the seasons these books, starting with winter but what better book to read in Autumn than a book with autumn in the title! It’s a very unuque location too as there aren’t that many books set in Kyrgyzstan. Top thriller about an Inspector in the Bishkek Murder Squad so a unique read in all senses of the word.!
Most inspiring locations in a book:
Dambulla Temples and The Cultural Triangle
One Thousand Stars and You set in Sri Lanka by Isabelle Broom
This is not only a gorgeous and heartwarming story but it’s also one with the best summer locations inside. There’s cultural adventures in this book and you go on quite a journey with those in the book. It’s very evocatively written but is also the work of someone who knows and loves travel and who has interwoven her own travel experiences and memories into a story. All those nuances about travelling and backpacking are intertwined into a story which transports you into the world you’re reading about.
Best fictional tale from a real piece of history:
A sign saying “children for sale” sparked this novel…
Sold on a Monday – Philadelphia and New York – Kristina McMorris
This story was inspired by a very real photograph the author found in a newspaper of 4 siblings huddled on the steps of an apartment building in Chicago. Their mother is seen in the background shielding her face. The photo so shocked the author that she bookmarked the page and that image stayed with her, not to mention the story behind it. She wanted to know more about why a mother would be pushed to an act of such desperation.
Most interesting location :
The fetid labyrinth of Edinburgh
The Way of All Flesh – Edinburgh – Ambrose Parry
This has to be one of the most gothic visits to Edinburgh town I ever did make in my life. Ooh that sounds like the start of a rhyme doesn’t it? The cover opened and what a cover it is by the way! and immediately I was sucked into a world of vice, dark deeds and a ‘Fetid labyrinth’ that was Edinburgh in 1847.
There’s obviously more where this little lot came from, but that’s five places we’ve been and fictional characters we’ve met in August
