The American Stories Behind Downton Abbey
My book club is reading The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin this month. It’s a fairly light read, but just right to get any fan of Downton Abbey primed for the launch of season three this Sunday,...
View ArticleGo on Girl! This is one inspiring book club. Part One.
While some book groups struggle to meet regularly or to get everyone to read the book before they meet, others take the reading group concept to a whole new level. In the course of doing research for...
View ArticleBook Club Travel Tales
Cindy Hudson with her daughters. I’m hearing more and more stories from book club members about the terrific lit trips, large and small, that their groups have taken. I love it! So, I’m starting a new...
View ArticleBook Smart: The Discussion All Book Lovers are Having
I have to share this little video from today’s New York Times in which David Carr and A. O. Scott discuss print versus electronic books. This is exactly the discussion that all book lovers are having...
View ArticleOh Canada! You’ll Wish You Could Join This Canadian Book Club On Their Travels
Boating and Books–a summer cabin in Canada is just one place where this book club meets. Susan Jessop, a lit lover and travel enthusiast from Ottawa, Canada, contacted me to share her book club’s...
View ArticleMore Book Club Travel Tales: Exploring Lubeck, Germany, with Thomas Mann
Visiting Lubeck, Germany on a Thomas Mann-inspired tour. This is the second part of an interview with Susan Jessop who has shared with me the experiences of her fabulous book club in Ottawa, Canada....
View ArticleMajor League Vacation: Baseball Books to Inspire Your Summer Travel
It’s 33 degrees here in Minneapolis, a might nippy for the Minnesota Twins home opener. I suspect there will be more hot coffee ordered in the stands than cold beer, and fans will wear hats and mittens...
View ArticleOff the Beaten Page in Boston
Literary travel doesn’t have to be too serious. My book, Off The Beaten Page: The Best Trips for Lit Lovers, Book Clubs, and Girls on Getaways comes out May 1. So, between now and then, I’m offering a...
View ArticleDennis Lehane’s Boston
And speaking of Boston (see my last post), I want to emphasize how well Dennis Lehane’s books convey the Boston “voice,” and life in the tough, working class parts of Boston where he grew up. You may...
View ArticleWeekly Photo Challenge: Up, Up and Off The Beaten Page in Chicago
Wherever you go in Chicago, it’s important to keep looking up at the city’s fabulous architecture. Above, one of the latest additions to Chicago’s skyline, Cloud Gate, a.k.a. The Bean. My book, Off The...
View ArticleArmistead Maupin’s “Tales” Are Still Relevant
The first volume of Armistead Maupin’s many tales of San Francisco Author Armistead Maupin was in the Twin Cities last week speaking at the wonderful Pen Pals, an author lecture series that raises...
View ArticleErnest Hemingway in Oak Park, Before The Paris Wife
Get a quick education on Ernest Hemingway with a visit to Oak Park, Illinois. Ernest Hemingway’s personal life was as interesting and adventurous as his fiction. So, while I was in Chicago recently I...
View ArticleDeath, Enchantment, and Hiking in Dogtown, Massachusetts
You’ll find words of inspiration, eerie tales, and New England history on the Babson Boulder Trail, Cape Ann, Massachusetts Bars and counters are my favorite places to sit in restaurants. There’s...
View ArticleJane Austen Mania in Minneapolis
Two hundred years after the publication of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s work is Colin Firth’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy in the BBC miniseries, Pride and Prejudice, launched many fans’ interest in...
View ArticleThe LBJ Library and Museum in Austin, Texas: See the History of Issues That...
So you think the idea of visiting a presidential library sounds about as interesting as watching paint dry. I was in your camp until I visited the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin Texas. I expected...
View ArticleOff The Beaten Page in the Minneapolis Star Tribune
I was delighted to see this coverage of Off The Beaten Page in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. I hope it inspired others to make their travels “literary travels.” Check out the article, Literary...
View ArticleBooks and Travel in Steamboat Springs Colorado
I’m heading for Steamboat for a little skiing and a lot of talk about books. If you’re in CO, come join us.! AN EVENING WITH TERRI PETERSON SMITH Off the Beaten Path Bookstore Thursday, March 24th – 6...
View ArticleDear Committee Members – Funny Women Authors Get Recognition
It’s not easy to find Julie Schumacher. Like the setting of her book, Dear Committee Members, winner of the James Thurber Prize for Humor, her office in the English Department at the University of...
View ArticleMackinac Island, Michigan, Travel and Reading
Mackinac Island, Michigan, sits in on the Straits of Mackinac where the Great Lakes of Michigan and Huron converge. That location made it the ideal place for Native Americans and fur traders to make...
View ArticleDennis Lehane’s Boston
And speaking of Boston (see my last post), I want to emphasize how well Dennis Lehane’s books convey the Boston “voice,” and life in the tough, working class parts of Boston where he grew up. You may...
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