Let the Page Be Your Travel Guide: Celebrating Our 100th Issue

By Ana Cecilia Matute, Megan Cradock, Zalak Shah, Caroline Dowse and Stella Konstantopoulou

Travelling and books go together like bread and butter. There is an intimate proximity between visiting places through fictional characters and quite literally leaving one’s home to see the world and learn about other cultures. In celebration of the 100th issue of The Publishing Post, revisit our article from our first issue and look ahead to summer with these recommendations for holiday books.

For those seeking a beach read…

The Summer Wedding in Santorini by Samantha Parks

Anna and Nikos have been a couple for many years, with their relationship having survived much turbulence and noise along the way. With one being a talented photographer, the other a vineyard owner and a shared household on the island of Santorini, where do the connectivity lines meet, and when will they finally snap?

When Anna’s best friend, who also happens to be Nikos’ cousin, gets engaged, they take unexpected turns in their shared trail, causing them to diverge from one another, with certain trips causing more trouble than others…

Will the problems of being away for work and missing one another, along with the chase of success and an ex for a boss finally subside, or is this the beginning of the end?

Last but not least, despite being a sequel, this holiday book can be read as a standalone novel, making it the ideal choice for a relaxing day by the waves.

For those dreaming of a holiday to their favourite place with their favourite people…

Happy Place by Emily Henry

We all have a happy place. For Harriet, that place is a cottage in Maine with her best friends, their respective partners and their friend Wyn. Wyn, who also happens to be Harriet’s handsome, thoughtful and utterly infuriating ex-fiancé.

When it's announced that this trip to the cottage will unfortunately be the last, Harriet realises that telling her friends about the break-up could ruin it. She needs everything to be perfect in order to stop their friendship group from fracturing. The only solution is to pretend she and Wyn are still together. But, the truth always comes out eventually.

This sweet romance shows a holiday isn’t a holiday unless it’s filled with love, friendship, joy, and travelling endless miles doesn’t matter at all when you finally reach your happy place.

For those wanting to immerse themselves in a different culture… 

Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts

Set in the 80s, Shantaram is a semi-autobiographical story about Lin, who flees from Australia to India to escape a prison sentence. The story follows Lin as he spends time living in Mumbai, makes friends with the locals and immerses himself in the culture of the city.

Aside from being a tale of crime and redemption, Shantaram provides a colourful depiction of Mumbai, with its bustling markets, crowded streets and diversity of people. As Lin assimilates himself into the everyday life of the city, learning the local language, eating local food and celebrating festivals with his neighbours, we are taken on a journey full of chaos, adventure and friendship.

Shantaram is an ode to India, to Mumbai and its people. If you’re looking to get inspired to take that one life-changing trip, Shantaram is the book to read.

For those wanting to get back to nature…

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

At the age of twenty-six, Cheryl Strayed decided to walk the Pacific Coast Trail. Wild is the story of that journey and how it changed Strayed’s life.

Four years previously, her mother had died of lung cancer, and Strayed’s grief caused her life to spiral out of control. She split from her husband and became hooked on heroin. Determined to pull herself back from the brink, she set out on her trip, hiking from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon into Washington. The book documents the events that shaped her and how the trek helped her to find peace.

Wild is an emotional and often funny account of Strayed’s journey, and her feat is remarkable considering she had no hiking experience. It is a wonderful look at the human condition and how travel can give us a new perspective on our lives.

For those who want to travel through pages…

My Paris Dream by Kate Betts

This is an incredible and special memoir full of inspiration from the adventures of Kate Betts in her early twenties in Paris. The story is set in France during the 80s and 90s, after the author decided to move countries and follow her dreams. It is a story that will surely connect with you if you have lived in a different country or plan to do so in the future.

Kate wonderfully evokes those decades and also shows the little things you only get to know about a city and culture once you move there, like how you want to live your life, what is most important and how to balance it. It is a fun and inspiring memoir that lets you visit Paris from your sofa!