Travel Books and Holiday Reading

When it comes to learning about a country, guide books are not always the best road to an understanding of the culture, the people and the place.

As a travel writer I devour travel books, and recently I’ve read 3 books that have been on my list for many months. You should see my list, it goes into 3 pages and is composed of fiction, police crime, thrillers (but no horror), travel and humour.

First up is “Do Not Pass Go” by Tim Moore. What a wealth of knowledge he has unearthed about London! I thought I knew the capital well, but the intriguing facts that T.M. has unearthed are absolutely fascinating, and whether he’s talking - with humour - about how Piccadilly got its name, or the Bow Street Runners, he keeps the readers glued to the page.

Next comes Charlie Connolly’s “Attention All Shipping” a journey round the shipping forecast which was first broadcast from the UK in the 1920’s to all shipping. Listening at home to the shipping forecast is a cosy, reassuring experience on a cold, stormy, night, when the chances of a westerly gale eight increasing to nine later, is quite remote. I’d never given much thought to places like Cromarty, Dogger and Valentia, but now I do. More than simply a hilarious travel book, CC brings the places alive with a wicked sense of humour.

The other one is an old one, not really a travel book and not in the least humorous. The books is “Memed, My Hawk“ by Yashar Kemal, and it is poetic, beautiful and sad, a passionate saga that has the force of a true epic. It is a story set in Turkey’s past yet the tale still speaks to us today, about Turkey - and other lands too. Written in 1955 with insight and love, it‘s a story about Anatolia, that anyone who is intrigued by the country that straddles east and west, should read.