Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Awaken The Travel Bug In Me

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

• Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
• Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to The Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
• Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
• Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Books That Awaken The Travel Bug In Me.  There are certainly books set in places that I’d love to visit, either for the first time or again.   Click on the title to read my review of the book description on Goodreads.

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Sugar Money by Jane Harris (Martinique and Grenada) – In what will become a bit of a theme of this post, I’ve visited both these islands but only as ports of call on a Caribbean cruise.  I particularly loved St George’s, the capital of Grenada, with its colourful market full of the smell of spices.

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (Dominica) –Jean Rhys was born on the Caribbean island of Dominica and the second part of her most well-known book is set there.  I’ve visited Dominica a few times, although only as the port of call on a cruise, but seen enough of the island to fall in love with its amazing rainforest scenery.

Caribbee by Thomas Hoover (Barbados) – I love Barbados and have been lucky enough to holiday there quite a few times.  It’s also the place where I got married so has a special place in my heart.

Dr. No by Ian Fleming (Jamaica) – I’d love to go back to Jamaica (another cruise ship call) and where I’d really like to visit is Kingston…but at the time the book is set.  Actually, no, I want to be there at the time the film starring Sean Connery is set, in that bar where he meets Quarrel or on that beach where he encounters Ursula Andress (or ‘Ursula Undress’ as my husband always refers to her as she emerges from the sea).

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (Istanbul and all points beyond) -Obviously I don’t want to get involved in a murder but, oh, for the glamour of travelling on the Orient Express at the time the book is set.

Venetian Blood: Murder in a Sensuous City by Christine Evelyn Volker (Venice) – I’ve visited Venice a couple of times and love the atmosphere of this amazing place, conjured up brilliantly in this book.  I’ll pass on the murderer stalking the streets, alleyways and canals.

That Summer in Puglia by Valeria Vescina (Italy) – I’ll confess I had no idea where Puglia was before reading this book but the descriptions of the landscape and Italian food in it are so luscious it made me want to pack my bag immediately.

Ecstasy by Mary Sharratt (Vienna) – I spent a lovely couple of days in Vienna a few years back and it’s a city I’d love to revisit.  It’s full of culture – art galleries, theatres, wonderful buildings and green spaces – all of which are evocatively described in this book, even if it is set at the turn of the 20th century.

John MacNab by John Buchan (Scotland) – Now it wouldn’t be a What Cathy Read Next top ten list without a John Buchan book, would it?  This book is set on a Highland estate but where I’d really love to visit is Buchan’s own Border Country and The John Buchan Story Museum in Peebles.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (Cornwall) – If you’ve never visited Cornwall then Daphne du Maurier’s books will definitely make you want to add it to your itinerary.  The scenery around Fowey, Menabilly (where she lived for a time and which was the model for Manderley) and the Helford River is delightfully atmospheric.

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