A Book and Literary Travel Blog
Michel the Giant by the Togolese writer and adventurer, Tete-Michel Kpomassie is an extraordinary book about a long journey that Michel took from his home in Togo via Europe to reach Greenland, the land of eternal ice he had become fascinated with as a child and dreamt of visiting. In 1950s when he was a teenager, Michel found […]
Sanmao belongs to the 20th century most iconic women. She was a writer, traveler, and university teacher born in China in 1943 and then raised in Taiwan. As an adult she travelled extensively across Spain, Germany, Central America and spent a few years living in the Western Sahara where she closely observed the native Sahrawi […]
I hope you all are doing well. I would like to share with you a few book recommendations with the Inspirational Female Protagonists. These are characters dealing with loneliness in its various forms, trauma, ageing, poverty, life within strict religious and social norms, no opportunities for ‘better’ life. I have tried to include titles from […]
“I refused to be intimidated by the chapters of the past or the indecipherable pages of the future. (…) It was time to detach myself from the old ways: I was no longer from here. I was from nowhere, and I was going faraway”. “I am nothing. I am the emptiness that wanders the streets […]
“The soul of life is the little things, the minor events no one notices…. That’s where life is, the pleasure of being alive, otherwise there’s just this vast blueness casting its shadow over us. (…) Take care of your soul as the wind does, have fun your own as a butterfly does and live within […]
I have prepared a list of my favourite books which explore a theme of loneliness, solitude, and aloneness in various forms and aspects of daily life. The stories mentioned below portray loneliness related to the contemporary urban existence, traumatic experiences caused by war or displacement, being an outsider within a society, being an introvert in […]
A Single Rose by a French writer, Muriel Barbery is a beautifully crafted book which can fill one’s heart with gentle warmth, peace, and hope for a better tomorrow. If you are in need of reading something delicate, comforting written in ethereal prose, this slender volume won’t disappoint you. This is a little novel full […]
Guillermo Rosales (Havana 1946 – Miami 1993) was a Cuban writer of excellence with a very unique style and profound level of sensitivity shining through his words. Prior to his death, he destroyed all his work except for two books ‘El Juego de la Viola’ and this one, The Halfway House, published in Spanish under […]
I always devour all the books written by a Turkish writer, Elif Shafak. I deeply connect with the way she tells the stories of people from the peripheries of the society and how she gives the voice to the voiceless. In her books Elif Shafak always shows a rather nuanced perspective and avoids stereotyping. I […]
This Mournable Body by the Zimbabwean writer, Tsitsi Dangarembga, tells a story of a middle-age woman, called Tambu living in Harare (Zimbabwe) who is trying to find her way in this world. Tambu leaves her stagnant job as a copywriter with hope that she will find a better job where she is treated with respect […]
“I […] will continue to write for you so that you know how Ukraine lives during the war with Putin’s Russia.” “This war (…) will continue as a war for historical truth and historical memory. “ “Ukraine will either be free, independent, and European, or it will not exist at all. (…) Ukrainians did not […]
“We must certainly consider, not just in this class, but outside it, in our own turbulent and fretful lives, the element of chance. The number of people we deeply meet is strangely few. Passion may mislead us furiously. Reason may mislead us just as much. Our genetic inheritance might hamstring us. So might previous events […]
As my stress levels have been skyrocketing over the last weeks and months, I often find myself seeking a refuge in books. During the times of anxiety, I am always in need of reading something heartwarming, soul-healing, soul-soothing and gentle. I have prepared a list of 10 books that can help you soothe your soul […]
Over the weekend I went to Waterstones Piccadilly in Central London, the biggest bookshop in Europe, with books spread over five floors. I made a relaxing video inside this bookstore. It was extremely busy and crowded so the footage is not the best, but I hope this little video will give you an idea of […]
I am currently reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I invite you for a 25-minute evening reading session accompanied by soft and relaxing music. I hope this video will help you to find peace and calmness.