Author: Shannon McKenna Schmidt
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: National Geographic
Publish Date: May 2, 2017
Source: TLC Book Tours and National Geographic Store
What's the Story?:
From Goodreads.com: "Follow in the footsteps of much-loved authors, including Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, Mark Twain, Jack Kerouac, Jane Austen, and many more. For vacationers who crave meaningful trips and unusual locales, cue National Geographic's Novel Destinations a guide for bibliophiles to more than 500 literary sites across the United States and Europe. Check into Hemingway's favorite hotel in Sun Valley, or stroll about Bath's Royal Crescent while entertaining fantasies of Lizzie Bennett and her Mr. Darcy. The fully revised second edition includes all of the previous sites with updated locations plus color images and an expanded section on all things Bronte. The book begins with thematic chapters covering author houses and museums, literary festivals and walking tours. Then, in-depth explorations of authors and places take readers roaming Franz Kafka's Prague, James Joyce's Dublin, Louisa May Alcott's New England, and other locales. Peppered with great reading suggestions and little-known tales of literary gossip, Novel Destinations is a unique travel guide, an attractive gift book, and the ultimate bibliophile's delight.""
My Two Cents:
"Novel Destinations" is for travelers who like me love to find any bookish related sites anywhere they travel. Is there a author related museum nearby? Is there a bookstore nearby? If there is, I will find it. This book makes it easier. This is the perfect book to generate new travel ideas (who wants to go to Key West now to see EVERY. SINGLE. HEMINGWAY. RELATED. THING? *raises hand excitedly*). So if you are like me and love to daydream about your next trip, this is perfect.
The book is organized a couple different ways. There are groups of related authors but the locations are not necessarily close so they probably would make for a better bucket list than itinerary. My favorite section was the actual itineraries. Like I said, I'm ready to hop a plane to Key West now. Because the book is sorted a couple different ways, there are some repeats of authors and places. The organization could have probably been a little bit better. It is hard to find the different sections as they can start in the middle of the page with relatively small headers.
The book also is limited in what it focuses on. The locations are mostly in the U.S. and Europe so it is limited to Western writers and definitely should not be seen as an end all, be all of literary travel. It is also limited in the kinds of authors that it focuses on: mostly authors that I would consider classic authors. This book is only a taste of the bookish places you can go!
This book would make a great gift for a new high school or college graduate just stretching their wings and beginning to see the world!
There are so many places in this book that I'd love to visit ... my travel bucket list grew exponentially from the first edition already!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a part of the tour.