Shiba Park Hotel - Hotel Library Stay in Japan!

 

I'm always amazed by the literary inspired places one is

able to visit around the world.

Last night, my husband and I watched the above video

we found on YouTube about the Shiba Park Hotel in Japan.

This amazing hotel library looks so unique and is a place

I'd love to visit with my husband should we ever visit Japan.

Have you ever visited a library hotel or other literary inspired

venue? Share your experience in the comment section below.

I'd love to read about it.

Fabulous Bookshops in London to Visit!!

These look like fun bookstores to visit in London!! What do you think?

Graveyards To Visit During Your Literary Travels

Alright, I must admit that visiting cemeteries has never been a tourist destination/attraction for me... But I'm beginning to rethink the idea after reading an article posted on Bustle titled 10 Bookish Graveyards To Visit During Your Literary Travels by Alex Weiss. In the article, Weiss writes:

When you're traveling abroad or within your very own state, there's plenty to explore on your vacation. While art museums, top-notch restaurants, and unique shopping spots take over the top of your travel to-do list, I'd bet cemeteries hardly ever make the cut. You're probably thinking — Well, yeah, why would they? I get it, cemeteries are creepy and it's not like you want to spend your limited time in a new place among the dead, but I have the feeling that idea might just change.

Graveyards are quiet, for one, and they're historic. You can learn a lot aboutthe history of a town by its main graveyard. As the book nerd and writer that I am, I'm sort of fascinated by them. Sure, they can be spooky, but they're also filled with neat facts, gorgeous gardens, and famous dead authors. If you love books more than the average person, then you probably got a little excited about that last point, too.

Wherever you travel to next, make sure to scope out the best places to eat and things to see, but don't forget about looking up the graveyards, too. You might just find out that you're within a walking distance to Oscar Wilde's kissed gravestone, or Shakespeare's unique burial site.

Click on the top link to see the ten graveyards to visit that were mentioned in Alex Weiss's article.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookstore Tourism --- 66 Bookstores on Route 66!!

I discovered a fabulous article through Shelf Awareness titled 66 Bookstores on Route 66 by Paula Lane and Dasha Minyukova. In their article, Lane and Minyukova write:

It's arguably the most famous road in the world. Route 66 - just saying those words makes you want to hit the road. But did you know there are many wonderful used bookstores along the way from Chicago to Los Angeles? We have plotted the ultimate bibliophile's road trip where you can visit 66 bricks and mortar used bookstores - who all sell on the AbeBooks marketplace - while driving from the shores of Lake Michigan to the beaches of Santa Monica. We are talking about two thousand miles and hundreds of thousands of books. It's a booklover's paradise - and worth the trip for that alone. Some folks travel for culinary adventures, some travel for landmarks and museums, but bibliophiles travel for the finest in literary offerings. It's called Bookstore Tourism, and yes - there's a book about it.

The bookstores we've featured vary in size, and range from quintessential neighborhood used bookstores to specialists dedicated to subjects like children's books, history, mysteries, architecture, theology, alternative religions and cooking. Get your motor running, head out on the highway and discover some amazing used and rare bookshops in America's heartland.

Click on the top link to see which 66 bookstores made the list.

Wow, Bookstore Tourism is my idea of a unique vacation!! Especially for book lovers like myself. I wonder if I could persuade my husband that this should be our next vacation/travel journey?? He loves books, bookstores and indulging me on my bookish related quests.... But a vacation around Bookstore Tourism, I'm not so sure he'd go for.

What do you think about the idea of Bookstore Tourism? Would you travel along Route 66 and visit several of the bookstores listed in the above article? I like the idea myself. Not only would I be able to visit several indie bookstores, but I also like the idea of leisurely driving across the USA and seeing the landscape that makes up our my great nation. 

Additionally, I like the notion of stopping by and visiting various cities/towns along the way that I may never visit otherwise if I wasn't driving cross country. Of course, I wouldn't want to make the journey alone. It would be more fun to have someone like minded individual sharing the experience with me. I also wouldn't want to make the journey during the winter months either.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

6 Bookstores to Visit in Australia!!

I've yet to visit the country of Australia. It's on my bucket list of places to visit for years now. There are so many places I want to see while visiting Australia... Like the usual tourist hotspots: The Great Barrier Reef, The Sydney Opera House, Uluru (aka Ayers Rock) and the Daintree Rainforest, and so on...

And as a booklover, I now have the added desire of visiting at least one of the six must visit bookstores in Australia!! I came across an article on Cheapflights titled 6 Must-Visit Bookstores in Australia by Shanny Matterson. In Matterson's article, I read the following information:

If you’re an avid reader like myself, you may have wondered where all the good bookshops have gone. Just as vinyl records, VHS tapes and dial-up Internet have all been replaced with high-tech digital equivalents, it seems that books have also become a casualty of the 21st century.A side effect of this evolutionary progression – from printed paper to digital downloads – is the abandonment of the good old dusty bookstores that used to house the words of the world’s greatest writers, thinkers and creators.

However, if you dig deep enough, you can still find some little gems hidden within our cities, just waiting for you to discover them. These little slices of literature heaven are keeping the tradition of print publication well and truly alive, and their curators have lovingly added their own special touches. No matter how tech savvy we get in this world, I still crave and desire to wander a bookshop with shelves crammed with masterpieces for me to discover, to cherish, and to lose myself in.

Here are six of the best bookstores in Australia to discover, before they disappear.

Checkout which Australian bookstores made the must visit list!!

Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site

Front View of the Eugene O'Neill House

Last Thursday afternoon, I visited the Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site (aka Tao House) in Danville, California. What a fabulous literary historic site to visit!!

The Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site is operated by the United States National Park Service and guided tours are given twice daily by park rangers on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays & Sundays... Self-guided tours are available on Saturdays. Admission is free and advanced reservations are required for guided tours. Click on above link for more information about making reservations.

Eugene O'Neill is the winner of four Pulitzer Prizes and the first American playwright to win the Nobel Prize for Literature! While living at Tao House, O'Neill wrote some of his most famous plays: The Iceman Cometh, Long Day's Journey Into Night, and A Moon for the Misbegotten.

Below are two photos of Eugene O'Neill's office where he wrote his plays while living at Tao House. Visiting O'Neill's office, where he wrote some of his most famous plays was probably the highlight of my visit to Tao House. I loved the smell of old books in the office. The park ranger who gave the tour said that O'Neill owned approximately 8,000 books!!

I enjoyed my guided tour of the Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site a lot. This home is an important piece of American Literary Heritage and I'm honored to have paid a visit to a place filled with such a rich history. 

View of Mount Diablo from Tao House

For all of you literary fans, I hope you are able to pay a visit to the Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site some day in the not so distant future. It's definitely worth the visit.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

15 Funny Travel Books!

I haven't taken a vacation yet this year and yes, I do love to travel!! Hopefully, I'll take a vacation before the year is up. If not, then reading travel books (even ones that make you laugh) are a great way to be taken away on a journey of a lifetime! 

Check out the the following article from CNN titled 15 funniest travel books ever written (in English) by Chuck Thompson.... Maybe you'll have a laugh or two while reading one of the funniest travel books ever written.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Top Literary Destinations in London For Book Lovers!

I'd love to visit London England some day! While I'm there, I'd love to spend time visiting some of the literary sights... As an avid reader and book lover, I couldn't imagine not seeing a few noteworthy places during a trip to London. 

I came across another terrific article posted on BuzzFeed titled 12 Literary Spots In London That Every Book Lover Needs To Visit by Arianna Rebolini. This article certainly helps to narrow down which destinations one should visit while in London!

Until my next post, happy reading!

All Aboard!! A Reading List For Train Travel.

Are you traveling by train this summer on holiday?? Or do you love trains in general?? Then the following list of books may be ones you want to read!! So, checkout the following article I discovered on NPR titled All Aboard! A Reading List For Riding The Rails. Sometimes life is about the journey! Until my next post, happy reading!

Do You Ever Wonder Where Your Books Travel to After You Pass Them On?

I've always wondered where my books will travel to after I've passed them along to another reader. I've also wondered what other readers have thought about the book too... Did they like reading the book as much as me or not?

Well, through Bookcrossing, I've been able to see where my books have traveled to and what readers have thought about the book as well. For instance, I read The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, then registered the book on Bookcrossing, placed a special label on the inside of the book with a tracking number and passed the book along to another reader. And that's where the magic of Bookcrossing begins!!

So far, twelve people have read my copy of The Vagina Monologues!! It has traveled around the USA, four countries in Europe, and is now currently in Australia, where it will be traveling around Australia and New Zealand before heading back to the USA and Canada... Amazing!! The average overall rating of The Vagina Monologues by the readers is 8 stars out of 10 stars. Pretty exciting news if you ask me. 

I've also had similar experiences with other books I've read through Bookcrossing as well.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Checkout These Beautiful Hotels Inspired By Literature

Okay, it's been a stressful couple of weeks for me and I'm ready for a vacation getaway to just about anywhere!! 

While I was on the internet today I came across an article titled Book here! 14 beautiful hotels inspired by literature by Mridu Khullar Relph, for CNN. These literary inspired hotels look/sound awesome and would love to visit anyone of them.

Until my next post, happy ready!!

Amtrak Launches Writers Residency

Okay, so I discovered through and LA Times article written by Carolyn Kellogg that Amtrak launches writers residency after author request. In the article, Ms. Kellogg writes the following:

Ask and ye shall receive. At least when it comes to authors and Amtrak.

Amtrak has launched a still-unstructured writers residency program thanks to an offhanded remark by Alexander Chee and some impassioned pleas on Twitter.

In a PEN Ten interview that posted Dec. 23, Chee, author of the forthcoming novel "The Queen of the Night," said that trains are his favorite place to write. He then commented, "I wish Amtrak had residencies for writers."

Not two months later and Amtrak does. The first writer to accept its residency and blog about it is Jessica Gross, who traveled from New York City to Chicago and back.

That's kind of cool that Amtrak is now offering a writer's residency! I like taking Amtrak from my home here in Carpinteria, California down to San Diego to see my parents. If I'm traveling alone, I find myself reading a book during my five hour train ride... Just imagine the writing one could accomplish in five hours?

Which Literary Destinations Would You Most Like to Visit??

As a reader and lover of books, there are many literary destinations around the world I'd love to visit. I've made a very short list of a literary places I'd like to visit. This literary list is by no means comprehensive!!

1. The Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford, Connecticut. 

I think it would be fabulous to visit the former home of Mark Twain. I hear it is haunted!!

2. National Steinbeck Center in Salinas, California.

I'm a huge fan of John Steinbeck's writing, so think it would be lovely to visit the National Steinbeck Center.

3. The Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum in Key West, Florida.

I'd like to take a tour of this home and see the six toed cats!

4. The Library Hotel in New York, New York.

A luxury hotel based on the Dewey Decimal System Concept!! 

5. Onegin Restaurant in New York, New York. 

This restaurant is based Pushkin`s literary masterpiece of the same name. Russian fusion cuisine is served.

6. The Morgan Library & Museum in New York, New York.

According to an article titled, The Seven Best Libraries In America (To Bring A Date) by Chiara Atik the Morgan Library & Museum is described as follows: "It’s full of illuminated manuscripts and drawings by old Masters like Raphael, Michelangelo, and Rembrandt."

7. The Library of Congress in Washington DC.

The following quote also comes from The Seven Best Libraries In America (To Bring A Date) by Chiara Atik:

In terms of shelf space and number of volumes, it’s actually the largest library in the world. The library houses “1 million newspapers from the last three centuries, over 5 million maps, 6 million pieces of sheet music, and more than 14 millions photos and prints.” 

8. The Book Barge is a floating bookstore that sails the waterways of the UK!!

I love the idea of a floating bookstore that sails canals!

9. The Peabody Library in Baltimore, Maryland.

This library looks awesome! It looks so beautiful inside The Peabody Library and they even rent the library out for weddings!

10. The National Pushkin Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.

The National Pushkin Museum is one of the oldest and largest literary museums in Russia. 

11. Bulgakov House Museum in Moscow, Russia

I enjoyed reading The Master & Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, so would like to see this museum.

12. Bulgakov Museum in Kiev, Ukraine.

I enjoyed reading The Master & Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, so would like to see this museum.

Which literary destinations would you most like to visit?

Ten Unusual Literary Landmarks One Must Visit!

Yes, you gotta love those unusual literary landmarks! I came across an article on Flavorwire titled 10 Bizarre Literary Landmarks Everyone Should Visit by Emily Temple. 

My absolute favorite bizarre literary landmark is the first one mentioned in Ms. Temple's article about a sign near Patriarch's Pond in Moscow warning those not to talk to strangers! A clear reference to Mikhail Bulgakov's novel, The Master and Margarita.

Which bizarre literary landmark is your favorite?

Nine Cities to Visit For Literary Detective Lovers!!

Gotta love it when a news article combines two of my favorite things travel and all things literary!! 

I came across an interesting article on CNN Travel by Barry Neild titled 9 top cities for 'detective travel'.... With a subtitle that reads "Murder. Smuggling. Extortion. Here's all the grit your guidebook won't mention, but your favorite mystery writer will", so, I eagerly went on to read the article Mr. Neild wrote. I enjoyed reading this entertaining and engaging article about travel that puts a literary spotlight on places to visit for literary lovers.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Literary Restaurants Around the World

In addition to my love of reading books, I absolutely enjoy dining out at restaurants. If it were economically possible, I'd probably dine out for every meal, hire a chef to cook all my meals for me, or some combination of the two... But, I digress.

Last night, I stumbled across an article on Flavorwire titled 10 Literary Restaurants for Hungry Book Nerds Around the World by Emily Temple. Wow, what could be better than creating the perfect space for dining that appeals to the literary nerd?? We all have to eat, right?

All of the restaurants sound awesome. I'd have fun visiting them all. Café du Livre in Marrakesh stands out the most for me though. Which literary restaurant would you most want to visit?

Louis Vuitton Travel Book

In a recent online article titled Take A Colorful Journey With The New Louis Vuitton Travel Book by Blue Carreon, I learned the following information:

Louis Vuitton is always finding ways to make travel not only a leisurely pursuit but a creative and artistic endeavor as well. Only recently, they launched a collection of short stories entitled The Trunk penned by French writers. The stories were unified by the house’s famed and legendary steamer trunks.

Then of course there are the Louis Vuitton City Guides, must-reads for luxury travelers and collectibles for those whose idea of a perfect journey is curling up in an armchair and being transported to places far and wide, exotic and glamorous, one page at a time. There are also the Travel Notebooks, colorful scrapbooks devoted to singular destinations. I remember saving money for the New York edition when I was in college.

Sounds like this could be an interesting set of books to read if you're into luxury travel or are simply a fan of the Louis Vuitton brand!

Joe Mamma's Coffee in Avila Beach, California

The first weekend of April, my hubby & I took a road trip to Monterey, California to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary. 

On our journey northbound we stopped off in Avila Beach to have coffee at Joe Momma's Coffee for two very specific reasons. 

1. My hubby & I enjoy drinking coffee from local coffee houses and we'd heard that Joe Mamma's was a great place to enjoy espresso type beverages... We also heard that Joe Momma's Coffee had an awesome view of the Pacific Ocean, made it an even more worthwhile place to visit as well.

2. I'm a VERY ACTIVE member on Bookcrossing and I'd discovered through the Bookcrossing website that Joe Momma's Coffee was also designated as an Official Bookcrossing Zone... An
Official Bookcrossing Zone is defined by Bookcrossing as follows:

A BookCrossing member, with the permission of the location manager, sets up a box, shelf, corner, etc. to become a centralized location for exchanging books. These zones are "official" because a BookCrosser (or a group of BookCrossers) made a commitment to keep a place stocked with books. If the OBCZ is linked to a business, the "official" also indicates the permission of the manager/owner of the business to have the OBCZ located there.

I love exchanging books with other readers. Prior to our trip to Monterey, I'd finished reading a couple of books and I wanted to leave them at Joe Momma's Coffee for other readers to enjoy. 

So, after enjoying our deliciously well made beverages at Joe Momma's Coffee --- I had a hot mocha, which tasted divine and my hubby thoroughly enjoyed a blended strawberry-lemonade --- I left my two paperback novels on the upper level bookshelf in Joe Momma's Coffee designated for people to exchange books. 

I also searched through the small selection of books sitting on the bookshelf and walked away with a cozy mystery novel to read.

I highly recommend visiting Joe Momma's Coffee should you ever find yourself in Avila Beach, California. Joe Momma's Coffee is located in the heart of Avila Beach's charming tourist area and is easy to find. We enjoyed the ambiance at Joe Momma's Coffee. The fact that Joe Momma's Coffee is located across the street from the beach and offers unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean, only enhanced our experience. The staff members we encountered during our brief visit were warm and friendly. 

So, smiles all around. We left happy campers!

The Library Hotel in New York, New York!

I think I found the perfect hotel for book lovers!! It's called The Library Hotel and it's a luxury boutique hotel in New York City within walking distance from the New York Public Library.

What makes The Library Hotel so unique? The hotel's design is inspired by the Dewey Decimal System. The following quoted information comes from The Library Hotel's website:

Each of the 10 guestroom floors honor one of the 10 categories of the Dewey Decimal System and each of the 60 rooms are uniquely adorned with a collection of books and art exploring a distinctive topic within the category it belongs to. Guests are invited to unwind from their urban adventures by enjoying the quiet exploration of over 6,000 books. 

In addition to The Library Hotel's 6,000+ books, their reading room offers a variety of delicious sounding snacks to enjoy while reading. In the evenings, there is a wine and cheese reception and a nightly turndown service, which includes Belgium chocolates.

The Library Hotel looks like a wonderful place to stay. If you're an avid reader like me, you may not want to ever leave the hotel itself during your stay in New York!

Until my next post, happy reading!