Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
National Geographic (2008), Edition: English Language, 368 pages
Description
For the new breed of vacationer who craves meaningful trips and unusual locales, the combination of reading and travel can be a heady mix-especially if you happen to be checking into Hemingway's favorite hotel in Sun Valley, or strolling about Bath's Royal Crescent while entertaining fantasies of Lizzie Bennett and her Mr. Darcy! Cue National Geographic's Novel Destinations-a guide for bibliophiles to more than 500 literary sites across the United States and Europe. The book begins with thematic chapters covering author houses and museums, literary festivals and walking tours. Then, in-depth explorations of author 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 browser's delight.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member iubookgirl
This book definitely meets my expectations of a National Geographic publication. I expected descriptions of places where authors had lived and worked but was thrilled to find tours of the places within these great authors' novels mapped out for me.
These are not the staid entries of most travel
These are not the staid entries of most travel
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guides. The authors provide a bit of history and biography with each entry. This, combined with quality writing, makes Novel Destinations a great read for any lover of literature, travel, or both. Show Less
LibraryThing member Spunkypineapple
A fun book to dream and wish over. My only complaint would be a desire for more authors that I am familiar with other then the big ones already included in other similar works.
LibraryThing member HarvReviewer
Novel Destinations is a bibliophile's dream. A compact, attractive volume, it's chock full of enough information to fuel a lifetime of literary tourism.
The book is divided into two parts. Part One consists of a potpourri of literary attractions, ranging from author houses and museums to
Part Two focuses on tourist opportunities in places associated with the lives of ten famous writers, from Dublin (Joyce) to Concord, MA (Alcott) to Key West (Hemingway), for literary types who want a more in depth travel experience.
Like a pair of chefs writing about their favorite restaurants, the authors are knowledgeable and informative, consistently conveying their enthusiasm for this unique project. A previous reviewer has noticed the absence of an index, but I assume that's only a deficiency in the ARC, as the table of contents identifies indices for both authors and destinations. There's ample contact information that will allow readers to conduct their own followup research.
This isn't the type of book anyone is likely to sit down with and read from cover to cover. But whether you're actually planning a literary trip, or simply want to sit by the fireside contemplating that delightful possibility, it is a volume guaranteed to provide many hours of pleasurable and rewarding reading.
The book is divided into two parts. Part One consists of a potpourri of literary attractions, ranging from author houses and museums to
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destinations frequented by writers ranging from Edith Wharton to Ernest Hemingway, to literary festivals and bookstore tours (a pastime I've engaged in with great pleasure) and concluding with literary lodgings, restaurants and bars.Part Two focuses on tourist opportunities in places associated with the lives of ten famous writers, from Dublin (Joyce) to Concord, MA (Alcott) to Key West (Hemingway), for literary types who want a more in depth travel experience.
Like a pair of chefs writing about their favorite restaurants, the authors are knowledgeable and informative, consistently conveying their enthusiasm for this unique project. A previous reviewer has noticed the absence of an index, but I assume that's only a deficiency in the ARC, as the table of contents identifies indices for both authors and destinations. There's ample contact information that will allow readers to conduct their own followup research.
This isn't the type of book anyone is likely to sit down with and read from cover to cover. But whether you're actually planning a literary trip, or simply want to sit by the fireside contemplating that delightful possibility, it is a volume guaranteed to provide many hours of pleasurable and rewarding reading.
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LibraryThing member ddelmoni
Wonderful for the literary traveler and the arm chair traveler alike.
LibraryThing member kaelirenee
An excellent and engaging guide for the bookish traveller. Hopefully, this will be expanded upon, though.
LibraryThing member alana_leigh
For the true bibliophile, it's armchair traveling... for the things that kept you in your armchair to begin with. A rather narrow listing of locations noted for fictional happenings rather than actual ones. Note that its focus remains on Europe and America.
It's certainly not a book you read cover
I wasn't heartily impressed, but then, I suppose a more comprehensive guide would be too daunting. Ah well.
It's certainly not a book you read cover
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to cover, but it's charming to pick up when you've got a destination in mind (provided your destination is listed and you know where to find that info) to see if there are any noteworthy literary landmarks for you to work into your schedule. Keep it on the travel shelf and peruse at your leisure every now and then. Its big failing is a lack of an index. Dear me. So even then, you need to dig for what you might like. So perhaps you should read it outright, and flag things that you think might someday be useful.I wasn't heartily impressed, but then, I suppose a more comprehensive guide would be too daunting. Ah well.
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LibraryThing member perlle
There is a lot of information here. It's an encyclopedia of literary travel spots for about a dozen famous writers. Then, there is information about festivals celebrating individual authors or books in general, libraries, hotels, and pubs authors used in books and/or visited as regulars. Great for
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daydreaming about retirement road trips. I don't believe the information is extant as I noticed some lesser known museums missing, but it's got a lot of information in a relatively small number of pages. It's definitely worth keeping as a reference if you like literary-related travel. Show Less
LibraryThing member Bookish59
This is a wonderful travel guide which provides factual and anedoctal info about writers, their homes around the world, and annual literary celebrations in their honor. There are a few small photos placed next to the names of the homes.
Also an excellent resource to learn about favorite authors'
Also an excellent resource to learn about favorite authors'
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backgrounds without making the trip. Show Less
LibraryThing member lindap69
Fun bedside book for those nights when I just want something short and light. It has short descriptions of the homes of famous authors as well as other places nearby.
LibraryThing member gothamajp
- A nice idea of highlighting literary connections with various travel destinations that unfortunately doesn’t quite work. But I think this book’s failure is more down to its design and layout than it’s content. It falls between two stools and ends up as neither a literary overview nor a
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practical travel guide. By organizing the content by genres and jumping from author to author with no clear delineation the information soon blends together. I ended up cherry picking entries by searching for authors in the index. Talking of indexes the book desperately needed a dedicated index of locations mentioned to aid any travel planning with a literary twist. I was hoping that this could be the book to help me figure out a few fun places to visit the next time I’m in New York for a few days, or on a future trip back to the UK. The frustration is that the information is all in there, it’s just not presented in a useful way. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
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