Tuesday 15 January 2013

Read a New Book: "36 Hours: 125 Weekends in Europe".

Today's #JanuaryJoy prompt from Florence Finds is to read a new book. I love reading. When I was writing my PhD I found that I felt guilty reading anything other than research articles and sadly only seemed to read when I was on holiday, as a treat.

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Over the last year, I've started reading more and was bought a Kindle as a birthday gift. Like others, I had been a bit resistant to e-readers. I used to love going to the local library, browsing the shelves and finally, going home with a book and wondering who else had read this copy, how they had experienced the book. Although I'd loaned library books less and less over the years (and feeling a tad responsible for local library closures), I still like the romance of a paperback book.

BUT, since getting my Kindle I've read so many books and, because it's so small, I tend to carry it everywhere I go. I now have lots of love for e-readers! I do try to buy my favourites in hard copy so that I can thumb through them whenever I want. I found a non-film cover, hardback copy of a favourite of mine, Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, in a little London bookshop. Bought and happily added to the bookcase.

I'm just into a book on my Kindle. I can't decide how I feel about it yet so, instead of a fiction, I want to write about a new coffee table book that's caught my attention.


...
The New York Times 36 Hours: 125 Weekends in Europe.  
Edited by Barbara Ireland. Taschen.

This book was a birthday gift from me to M, and I'm pretty excited that it has been added to our bookcase!

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Start with a bright front cover, fill with beautiful images of dream destinations, and provide short, practical itineraries to make the most of places across Europe. Surely this is the recipe for a perfect travel book?

The book seems to be well researched and the content is organised so that you can go straight to the place you're set to visit, or just lose yourself in the photographs and illustrations. The book is colour coded and ordered by region (North Atlantic; South West; Central; South East; and Northern), and then separated by country. In the Northern section, you can get straight to planning your trips to Stockholm, Reykjavik, or areas of Russia, for example. In the South West, explore Paris, Tarragona, or Lisbon. 

Each article has a short information box, called 'The Basics'. Your day is then broken down into smaller sections and the schedule mixes the hotspots with the little gems and hideaways. Of course, once a 'little hideaway' is announced in a publication from The New York Times, you wonder how long it will stay as such. Regardless, this beautiful book definitely has you dreaming about your next few years of trips.

Books like this are great to have in the house, ready to open at any page, at any time. I was also lucky to get a copy of Young House Love's beautiful book for Christmas and I'm looking forward to soaking up the inspiration. 

What are you reading? Any non-fiction books you love and would recommend? 

 

2 comments:

  1. Gorgeous post - I WANT that book now! and I agree with you about the kindle - it's just so easy even though it will always be nicer to have a paper book...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you. Your comment cheered me right up! I'm glad you enjoyed the post. You're right - paper books are much nicer to own. One way is to treat the Kindle as a try-before-you-buy type tool!

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