Meanderings

Books For Summer Travels

July 14, 2017

There's nothing quite like leaving behind day to day life and
embarking on a long awaited summer escape.

Whether you are driving down the coast or setting off to your favourite piece of secluded paradise, these are the things summer memories are made of.

Out of our love for travel we've chosen a few summer destinations that are very dear to our wanderlust hearts, and paired them with books to match.

After all, in the words of Hans Christian Anderson, 'to travel is to live...'

Love,

S&B

For Cornwall...

Set in this southern county known for it's beautiful Celtic coastline, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier becomes even more enthralling when read surrounded by the beautiful Cornish landscape that is its backdrop.

A novel admittedly chosen in a bout of 80's nostalgia. The Camomile Lawn is a comforting read, perfect for the deck with a blanket in the evenings.

For the Italian Seaside...

Aperol Spritz in hand and the scent of the Mediterreanan Sea in the air, we recommend The Leopard. It was initially considered deeply controversial upon its release, yet critically acclaimed thereafter. You can decide how you feel about it for yourself.

When you're in the mood for something a little shorter - we recommend the incredibly charming short stories about the ever-enigmatic Inspector Montalbano.

For the South of France...

One of our absolute favourite books and a sheer masterpiece. Fitzgerald wrote a great deal of this book while living on the French Riviera with his family.

Written by Françoise Sagan at the tender age of 18, it caused somewhat of an uproar upon being published in 1954. Based on the French Riveria and a compelling rendering of the delicate magic that is a teenage summer.

For Greece...

Described as "richly inventive, eerie and provocative". This is no light read, but truly worth the grapple. The Magus is set on the Greek island of Phraxos.

A travelogue like no other, written to move even the faintest of hearts to understand how a place can leave one of the greatest impressions on our lives.

For the Hamptons...

Heller was one the many widely regarded writers who lived in Sag Harbour in the Hamptons. Catch 22 carried with it a bit of a cult following back in the day, but has remained a 20th century classic.

Another Sag Harbour contemporary, East of Eden, first published in 1952, is perhaps Steinbeck's most acclaimed novel.

For Croatia...

Drakulić gives a charming and accessible social critique of the cultural and social changes that took place in Eastern Europe after communism. A series of short essays, this one is perfect to pick up and put down (and pick up again).

Written by Claudio Magris, this book is a sprawling history of Trieste (a place never truly conquered), which weaves its way through and around what are now neighboring Eastern European countries - dense yet delightful for the history buff on holiday.

For those who are still deciding...

Often described as the 'travel guide with a difference'. Alain de Botton unpacks why we travel, why sometimes it doesn't quite feel as we imagined, and how we might get better at it.