Tag Archives: Istanbul

New book: Chick-Hist-Lit

Africa, Books, Destinations, History, Novel, Travel, , , , , , , ,

Cairo mosque

Destination: Cairo, Alexandria, Istanbul in WWII


Book: Jasmine Nights (NEW in U.S. June 2012) by Julia Gregson

Julia Gregson specializes in chick-hist-lit.  I invented that to mean  historical novels featuring adventurous and strong-willed female characters in romantic situations in exotic locations. And she bases their adventures on true stories.  In 2009, I reviewed her best seller, East of the Sun and so I was happy to take a look at her new Jasmine Nights .   (Her website www.juliagregson.net was not loading properly when I drafted this. Perhaps you’ll have better luck.) Continue reading New book: Chick-Hist-Lit →

Letter from a Stranger

Books, Destinations, Germany, Novel, Turkey, , , , , ,

Destinations: Istanbul, Berlin

Book Cover
Book: Letter from a Stranger (NEW 2012) by Barbara Taylor Bradford. (Review refers to the Macmillan Audio unabridged recorded book).

Barbara Taylor Bradford has written 26 international best sellers over the past 31 years.  There is no reason to believe that Letter from a Stranger will not become the 27th, no matter what I think of it.  Her website claims she has sold in excess of 82 million books (30 million of her first, A Woman of Substance , 1979). She is one of the 50 richest women in Britain.

Obviously she has hundreds of thousands of loyal fans.

I’m not one of them. Continue reading Letter from a Stranger →

Beneath the Surface of Istanbul

Books, Destinations, Guide Books, Travel, Turkey, , , , , , ,

A Guidebook Digression

Istanbul Blue Mosque
Blue Mosque, Istanbul . Photo used courtesy of Bob Ramsak, Piran Cafe

Destination: Istanbul, Turkey

Book: Istanbul: A Cultural History (NEW January 2012) by Peter Clark

With this cultural history of Istanbul, the Interlink Books publishing company racks up twenty such guides to cities around the world, from Calcutta to San Francisco.  To see the entire list of Cultural Histories, or to purchase this book or the others in the series, go to the Interlink site. The next book in the series is on Afghanistan rather than a single city. (A few more are listed as Cultural and Literary Companions.) Continue reading Beneath the Surface of Istanbul →