Category Archives: Travel

REVIEW: Penguin Lines – various authors

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Ela

The London Underground is 150 years old this year. In commemoration of this, Penguin have issued a series of books, one for each of the Underground Lines (the East London although not now in existence, has its own book, Buttoned … Continue reading →

Posted in 2013 New Reads, Humour, Non-fiction, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Choir books of Siena

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Ela

Last weekend we were staying near Siena for a wedding (my husband’s cousin) in the city, and while we were there we took the opportunity to visit the cathedral. It’s a beautiful building, though quite different to the plain unpainted … Continue reading →

Posted in Not A Review, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Poetry: The Windhover

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Ela

I saw this poem on a Jubilee line train* the other morning, and liked it so much I thought I’d post it. You can find the original on Bartleby, as I did, from a 1918 collection of Hopkins’ poems. I CAUGHT this … Continue reading →

Posted in Not A Review, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The books of Mary Stewart – part 3

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Ela

Apologies for the delay in posting the last of these three posts about Mary Stewart’s novels – the first two parts are here and here. Last in the current tranche of books read was Touch Not The Cat (1976), which … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009 New Reads, 2011 New Reads, Fiction, Re-read, Read on my Kindle, Reviews, Romance, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea – Jules Verne

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Ela

(electronic book © Pennsylvania State University, originally published 1869) I recall reading this when I was a child (in, I think, a heavily abridged version with sensational pictures), but had remembered so little of the book (apart from the pearl fisher … Continue reading →

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Reviews, Science fiction, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Voyage of the ‘Beagle’ – Charles Darwin

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Ela

(Vintage edition with On the Origin of Species) The Voyage of the ‘Beagle’ is the publication which made Charles Darwin’s name as a naturalist: he accompanied HMS Beagle, whose captain and crew had the remit to undertake a detailed survey … Continue reading →

Posted in 2010 New Reads, Non-fiction, Reviews, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Travel books – Lawrence Durrell

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Ela

My first acquaintance with Lawrence Durrell was as Gerald Durrell’s irascible brother Larry in ‘My Family and Other Animals‘, and then through his thriller, White Eagles over Serbia, and Antrobus stories. Recently I’ve been reading his travel books – the … Continue reading →

Posted in Discussion, Non-fiction, Reviews, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Shadow of the Sun – Ryszard Kapuscinski

Posted on April 9, 2009 by Ela

This is a book about Africa, in all its variety and puzzling contradictions. For a European, Ryszard Kapuscinski manages to get into the African mindset very easily, and he writes with great compassion and understanding. The book is a series … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Non-fiction, Reviews, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment