Reading is like travel ...


And so it's a start to a brand new week. Hope your weekend was wonderful. I spent some time with my family which as usual was chaotic, loud but lots of fun. After dinner, we had a long chat about things we used to do when we were kids and shared travel stories. My dad was the first person in his family to head overseas, Scotland for university and had spent 3 interesting months in the US during his summer break. Hearing his fascinating stories when growing up has to an extent inspire me to explore the world. All the talk about travelling over the weekend has made me restless. For the first time in 2.5 years, I have no concrete travel plans for 2013 - I had hope to go to a few places but that might not come to fruition. It's a strange feeling.

In a bid to overcome this feeling, I have a few books line up which I have been neglecting as of late due to work and other personal reasons. Reading has always been my second love and possibly why I enjoy it so much is because it correlates with travel. "Reading is like travel, allowing you to exit your own life for a bit, and to come back with a renewed, inspired, perspective" - from Laurie Helgoe, one of my favourite quotes, which I wholeheartedly agree. I'm almost done with The Elegance of the Hedgehog which follows events in a Parisian apartment (I'm really enjoying it but it is slow-paced, so if you prefer plot over characters then this book might not be for you) and still contemplating whether The Other Hand or The Casual Vacancy should be my next book.

Has anyone read the above books? Any suggestions on which to read next or other novels?


15 comments:

Irene said...

I know exactly how you feel! After my exchange year in Belgium, which was an amazing year and also a great opportunity to travel around Europe I went back to Tenerife and suddenly I no longer had the chance to take the train on the weekends to embark on another surprising daytrip. I was totally restless until I booked some tickets to go on a short trip every now and then!
So, keep on reading and plan some trip to trip yourself whenever you can :)

Have a wonderful week,
Irene

Natalie said...

I didn't J.K. Rowling had more books!

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helen said...

loving the reading is like travel quote...so true!!!!

Deppa said...

Oh dear, as I know that you love traveling and different cultures I'm sure that you would like: "Como agua para chocolate", "Cien años de soledad", "Travesuras de la niña mala" (3 excellent latinamerican writers)

See you!

Winnie said...

I haven't read any of those yet but have always meant to read the casual vacancy but was just wary since it received mixed reviews. Must find out for myself at some point though!

Anonymous said...

can't wait to hear what you think of jk rowling's book! i read a few pages and it sounded interesting! hope you have some travel plans in the future! i think we've got ours mapped out until we're 30 (eek!)

Indi C said...

Would recommend After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell and I Came to Say Goodbye by Caroline Overington.

Love reading :-)

Travel Gourmande said...

We're definitely on the same page about books and travel. :) I haven't read the above books yet but will look them up. I'm currently reading a collection of short stories - Vacations from Hell written by various authors. The stories are entertaining to read while traveling or even at home before sleeping -if you're a fan of Twilight and Mortal Instruments series, then it's for you.

Anonymous said...

Love this post. Once I read a book partially set in Senegal and it was a pretty exotic read/"trip"! (It's called You shall know our velocity! by Dave Eggers. Rather unconventional narrative treatment but I loved it.) Glad you're enjoying The Elegance of the Hedgehog - it's been on my "to read" list for a while!

gz x
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Jenny / Rocknrollerr said...

I didn't knew she had more books!

X Jenny
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Jane said...

After travelling overseas for the past two summers, I definitely have the travel bug. I feel like I'll never be happy during normal life again! Haha. But reading is definitely the next best thing - definitely get onto TCV - I loved it!

Anonymous said...

I've been meaning to read Casual Vacancy for a while because I was such a fan of the Harry Potter books. You'll have to tell me how it is!


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Deidre said...

I get the travel bug too! A LOT. I'm reading a book right now that takes place in Ancient Judea in the dessert called The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman! It's quite good.

M.E said...

i've been meaning to read the casual vacancy but still haven't found the time to come around it, it's supposed to be pretty good :)


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Unknown said...

2013 might be the first year in a long while I haven't traveled or don't have any plans to travel too ... it feels oddly empty and jarring. I absolutely agree that reading is like traveling -- especially when I was a child and I would read fanciful novels and stories instead of the relatively realistic ones I read now. I haven't read any of the books you have pictured, but I'm working on (for the zillionth time) "On Beauty" by Zadie Smith.

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