A broad at home

Take-home trips: Titillating travel designed for use at home or away.

While either ramping up for a trip and seeking inspiration or just because, I read these books and found them to be entertaining or informative or both. At the very least, definitely worth delving into. Thought you might derive some virtual vacationing pleasure from them, too. Alphabetical by country and continent, note that the books themselves appear in no particular order of preference or importance. The list includes fiction and non-fiction titles, both. If it's not here, it is quite possible that I found the tome insufferable and wouldn't recommend it to a soul. For example, I can't do Frances Mayes. After attempting Under the Tuscan Sun on more than one occasion, I finally gave up for sheer boredom. While I did get through A Thousand Days in Venice, I found it flat and devoid of any real charm; an accomplishment for a book set in Venice, one of the most charming cities in the world. But that's no reason to read it. On the contrary! Anyway. As with my "When in ... " list, I'll try to keep this collection of recommended reading fresh. So check back periodically for the latest suggestions.

Travel with a capital T

• The Art of Travel, by Alain de Botton
  

Cuba

• Dirty Havana Trilogy, by Pedro Juan Gutierrez

England

• Notes from a Small Island, by Bill Bryson
• The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory
  

Europe

• Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe, by Bill Bryson
• A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for
  the Color of Desire, by Amy Butler Greenfield
  

France

• Paris to the Moon, by Adam Gopnik
• Athenais: The Life of Louis XIV's Mistress,
  the Real Queen of France, by Lisa Hilton
• A Place in the World Called Paris, by Susan Sontag
• A Year in Provence, by Peter Mayle
• Toujours Provence, by Peter Mayle
• Encore Provence, by Peter Mayle
• French Lessons: Adventures with Knife, Fork, and Corkscrew,
  by Peter Mayle
• A Year in the Merde, by Stephen Clarke
• In the Merde for Love, by Stephen Clarke
• The Sweet Life in Paris, by David Lebovitz
• Mediterranean Summer, by David Shalleck
• Mistress of the Sun, by Sandra Gulland
  

Iran

• The Complete Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
  

Set in Venice and peppered with truth about the town, Donna Leon's Guido Brunetti Mysteries are always good reads.

Italy

• Pompeii: A novel, by Robert Harris
  
• The Smell of the Night: An Inspector Montalbano Mystery,
  by Andrea Camilleri
• The World of Venice: Revised Edition, by Jan Morris
• Venice Observed, by Mary McCarthy
  
• The City of Falling Angels, by John Berendt
• Fatal Remedies:
  A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon
• Death and Judgement:
  A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon
• Dressed for Death:
  A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon
• Death at La Fenice:
  A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon
• Through a Glass, Darkly:
  A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon
• Quietly in Their Sleep:
  A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon
• Death in a Strange Country:
  A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon
• A Noble Radiance:
  A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon
• Acqua Alta:
  A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon
• Doctored Evidence:
  A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon
• Uniform Justice:
  A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon
• Blood from a Stone:
  A Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery, by Donna Leon
• Falling Palace: A Romance of Naples, by Dan Hofstadter
  
• A Venetian Affair: A True Tale of Forbidden Love
  in the 18th Century, by Andrea di Robilant
• Dreaming Venice, Photos by Fernando Bertuzzi
• Italian Dreams, Photos by Steven Rothfeld
• La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind,
  by Beppe Severgnini
• Pagan Holiday, by Tony Perrottet
• Mediterranean Summer, by David Shalleck
• Imprimateur, by Monaldi & Sorti
  

Hawaiians have some of the most beautiful proverbs and poetical sayings anywhere. A joy to collect and read.

United States

• I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America
  after 20 Years Away, by Bill Bryson
• The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America,
  by Bill Bryson
• Ciao, America!: An Italian Discovers the U.S.,
  by Beppe Severgnini
• In the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt
• Olelo No'Eau: Hawaiian Proverbs and Poetical Sayings, by Mary Kawena Pukui
  

Questions? Ask away! Please use the comments feature to ask questions rather than contacting Marisa directly. That way everyone can learn a thing or two, too.