celebrating books & the literary lifestyle

Category: Vacation Reads

‘THE LAST TRAIN TO KEY WEST’

I’m excited to tell you about a new book by an author who has quickly become a favorite of mine. First, because she writes about locations that I love. And secondly, because she tells great stories within a context of history and culture.

The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton

I’ve written before about how I love Key West and have even taken my kids there. So although the title would have piqued my interest anyway, this is the third book I have enjoyed by Chanel Cleeton, the first two being set in Cuba, another of the defining destinations of my life.

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‘THE CUBAN AFFAIR’

I picked up The Cuban Affair: A Novel by Nelson DeMille because I was eagerly anticipating a cruise to its settings (Key West & Cuba).

Mac, a 35-year-old veteran has settled in Key West as a fishing boat captain. When he is approached by an anti-Castro group to charter his boat to Cuba for a dangerous mission under the guise of a fishing tournament, Mac accepts the job with the hopes of earning $3 Million for his trouble.

This book is set during the “Cuban Thaw” (2014 or 2015) when America was relaxing its restrictions related to Cuba. But between the time I picked up this book and actually read it, my own travel plans suddenly changed due to President Trump’s policy reversal that Americans can no longer travel to Cuba.

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‘CITY OF GIRLS’

I recently picked the perfect vacation read! It was: City of Girls: A Novel by Elizabeth Gilbert.

What makes the perfect vacation read? For me, it is a book that passes the time during travel but still tempts me to pick it up when I could just as easily sit and watch the waves roll in. Also, I need some substance; my perfect “beach reads” are not mindless.

This new book by the author of Eat, Pray, Love is set during 1940s New York, in the theatre district. This was especially fun for me since I just read another book with similar setting.

Vivian is 19 and has recently been kicked out of college. Not knowing what to do, her affluent parents send her to New York to stay with her aunt who runs a midtown theater. Vivian quickly gets another kind of education.

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