Travel Muse Magazine
Stories, tips, & joy.
Category: Books
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Literary Travel Guide to Barry’s Bay, Ontario, inspired by “One Golden Summer” by Carley Fortune
Picture a steamy summer romance. Rival surfers falling in love on the California coast, may come to mind. A destination wedding tale of a bridesmaid being swept off her feet on a tropical isle, perhaps. Now, picture the beaches of… Canada. Wait a second! Canada? Yep! (It’s not always covered by snow!) While America’s northern…
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Literary Travel Guide to Florence, Inspired by Jenna Evans Welch’s “Love and Gelato”
Creamy gelato, decadent pasta, and magical artistry and monuments. These three things come together to create the most beautiful place that I called home for 4 months last year. The novel Love & Gelato (2017) by Jenna Evans Welch captures some of those remarkable memories. I was recommended this book this year based on my…
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5 Spots in London If You Only Have One Day
by Jeny Rizo-Perez and Zainab Husein London is no ordinary city. It’s a place you could visit as a tourist every day and never really run out of unique things to do. But sometimes you find yourself with only one day in England’s capital city thanks to a layover. And if that’s all you’ve got,…
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Literary Travel Guide to Mallorca, Spain Inspired by Emma Straub’s “The Vacationers” Novel
European vacationing. Island vibes. Summer sun. Beaches. YA meets adulting perspectives that understand the complexities of relationships at any age. Emma Straub’s The Vacationers novel has everything you want in a beach read. And it makes you want to visit Mallorca (Majorca in English) while you’re at it. Mallorca is the largest of the Spanish…
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Finding Tom Riddle’s Grave in Edinburgh (& Other Real Graveyards That Have Inspired Popular Books)
Low clouds hang over the damp night. A mist clings to the trees, particles of moisture illuminated as the castle’s roaming spotlights break through the darkness. This was the setting as I wandered the Greyfriars Kirkyard cemetery in Edinburgh in December on the hunt for the real Tom Riddle’s grave. Yes, I’m talking about the…
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Literary Travel Guide to Pont-Aven, France Inspired by Jean-Luc Bannalec’s “Death in Brittany” Novel
From page one, I was smitten with Jean-Luc Bannalec’s Death in Brittany novel (2012). To be frank, I’d never heard of this book, much less this series starring French police commissaire Georges Dupin, until the day I laid eyes on it in my local library’s book sale. It’s like it was waiting for me, among…
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Review: Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets
Dan Brown revolutionized the historical thriller genre when his book The Da Vinci Code was published 22 years ago, in the process elevating literary tourism in the European locations featured in the novel. Now Prague is hoping his latest in the Professor Robert Langdon series, The Secret of Secrets (released just last month), can do…
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Literary Travel Guide to Prague Inspired by Dan Brown’s “The Secret of Secrets” Novel
Prague is the shining star The Secret of Secrets of Dan Brown’s latest novel starring beloved genius Professor Robert Langdon (brought famously to the screen in the adapted film The DaVinci Code, played by Tom Hanks). Long overdue to be the featured character in a modern novel, Prague is filled with beauty and appreciation of…
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Armchair Travel to Italy
I’ve only been to the northern Italy – the lakes district and Milan. But I dream of going back to visit the rest of this gorgeous (and delicious) country and finally getting to Florence, Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Naples, Capri, Pompeii, Venice, Pisa, Cinque Terra, Genoa… yep, everything else! While I wait, my mind’s been…
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UK’s UNESCO Literary Cities
Books, bookish things, and literary places… with lots of reading to boot. These are the heart of what it takes to become designated as a City of Literature by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, better known as UNESCO. The unique places that earn UNESCO’s City of Lit label all recognize “past, present…