Often on the road the conversation will turn to what books a traveller has recently enjoyed and after checking in to a new hostel or a hotel the first thing that many people will do is to search out the book swap shelf and find some fresh reading material. Despite the huge popularity in electronic reading devices, tablets and smartphones books are still finding their way into backpacks.
Most hostels have guidebooks which have been left behind as people move on and if you are learning a language these shelves can be a great place to find some material to practice with.
I don’t think that I have met any traveller who does not enjoy a good book, with many choosing to read the authors from the country that they are in or stories based in those places. After chatting with other travellers I have read works by authors that I have never heard of before, and in genres that I would not normally consider.
A recommended reading list can be endless, so I have restricted my list to the books that I have particularly enjoyed whilst travelling (although it is still long). The featured books will be updated regularly so do check out this page every so often. I have included a link to Amazon at the bottom of this page so if any books take your fancy you can order them and enjoy them for yourself.
My Current List
1. The Alchemist – Paul Coelho
2. An American living in Cuba – William B Murphy
3. The Art of Happiness – His Holiness the Dali Lhama & Howard C Cutler MD
4. The Dust of Ancients – Terri Nixon
5. The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed out of the Window and Disappeared – Jonas Jonasson
6. The Lightning and the Blade – Terri Nixon
7. Maid of Oaklands Manor – Terri Nixon
8. Marching Powder – Rusty Young
9. Open Veins of Latin America – Eduardo Galeano
10. Running the Rift – Naomi Benaron
11. The Seamstress – Maria Duenas
12. The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd
13. The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafon
14. Slave Girl – Sarah Forsyth
15. Summer Secrets – Barbara Freethy
Featured Book(s)
My good friend Lisa at Girl About the Globe has recently published her new travel book – ‘A Female Guide to Solo Travel’. Packed with useful information for the first time traveller or the seasoned backpacker, this book has something for everyone Click here to visit Girl about the Globe.
The Dust of Ancients and The Lightning and the Blade by Terri Nixon
I make no apologies for my first book review – in fact you get two for one here as my good friend Terri has recently published the second in her Lyhner Mill Trilogy – The Lightning and the Blade.
A curse uttered centuries ago has severe repercussions for the inhabitants of a sleepy little Cornish village and the elementals who live in a parallel world under the moorland.
The drama unfolds on both sides of the Atlantic as well as above and below ground. Terri’s powerful descriptions bring to life the characters and the personalities contained in this story. I recently re-read the Dust of Ancients before launching into the new book the Lightning and the Blade and the tale had lost none of its gloss or drama which can sometimes happen during a second reading.
The tale swirls back and forth both in time and between the two worlds which interconnect. Terri describes the books as Mythic Fiction or Fantasy but even if neither of these genres float your boat I urge you to give The Dust of Ancients a go. I guarantee that you will be reaching for The Lightning and the Blade in next to no time and badgering Terri to hurry up and finish the third
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