Paper Towns – John Green

Paper TownsJohn Green has been on my radar for a while, and not just because of the popularity of The Fault in Our Stars. It was through Twitter that I discovered the CrashCourse YouTube channel where Green and his friends upload informative bite-sized videos about subjects such as literature, history, science and philosophy. They are definitely worth checking out.

I picked up Paper Towns at a guest house on the Thai island of Koh Lanta and then, because it was such a page-turner, read it in only two wonderful sittings on the beach.

Quentin, known to his friends as ‘Q’, is the likeable protagonist. One night his old childhood friend Margo shows up at his window to drag him out of bed and on a crazy quest of vengeance. When she doesn’t turn up at school the next day, and Quentin discovers a cryptic clue, he becomes determined to unravel the mystery of Margo and find out where she has run off to. Continue reading

Reading Habits of a Backpacker

Gili Meno SnorkelRecently the blog has mostly focused on bookshops rather than books. That’s because my two month trip around Bali, Lombok and Thailand introduced me to some fantastic bookshops, and I was simply too excited about them not to share my thoughts and photos.

It wasn’t just bookshops that I fell in love with, I also came across a number of book stalls. My favourite was this one on Gili Meno, a small and quiet island just off Lombok in Indonesia. Continue reading

Top 5 Favourite Reading Spots

Finding a good book is great, but reading a good book in your favourite reading spot is simply wonderful. We all have our favourite places to read. The weather can be an important factor, sometimes the time of day and quite often the spot you prefer can depend on what you are reading.

Some people have very odd habits with their favourite reading locations. My choices are quite unoriginal, but nothing makes me enjoy a book more than reading it in the places listed below.

In a Café with a Cup of Tea and Cake

Sometimes you just want to get away for an hour or two. Leave all your dirty washing and other household duties behind and have a bit of time for relaxation and indulgence. We all need somewhere to escape to! I have many favourite cafés in different cities across Europe that I have visited. My choice of food and drink doesn’t often change though – A cup of tea and cake!

Continue reading