virtual travel – Travel with Intent

Old Baku on the screen

Icherishekher na kinolyentakh (Baku Old City in Film), published 2017 I found this great book in a friendly and well-stocked bookshop in Baku. I had been attracted to the shop […]

A Coffee and a Book

Time stood still

Where Time Stood Still: a portrait of Oman by Duchess of St Albans, 1980 The Duchess of St Albans travelled to Oman shortly after the current Sultan, Qaboos bin Said, […]

A Coffee and a Book

Childhood memories

See the tasty morsel below? It was one of my favourite after school treats. If it was a lucky day, I would smell them as I walked through the door. […]

-Devon

A mere interlude

A mere interlude and Moomins in love A short story about love (deceit, trust, acceptance, forgiveness, …) with a spot of disguised travel to Torquay (Tor-upon-Sea), Penzance (Pen-zephyr) and the […]

-Scotland

Cheers, Scottish style

Raven Black by Ann Cleeves Accompanied by a Scottish gin (coffee still on the brew)I had intended this to be a gin from Shetland, but that bottle had been consumed.So, […]

-South Korea

High on my favourites list

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee This book tells a gripping story of several generations of a Korean family, starting in 1883. It is a great read and covers many aspects […]

A Coffee and a Book

Falling snow

Despite the Falling Snow Time for a wintry trip back to post-Stalin Moscow, for an intense thriller with a side serving of love. Wrap up warm! Copyright Debbie Smyth, 24 […]

-Hertfordshire

Sue’s Seat

A special #acoffeeandabook for Sue who inspired this series A touch of Iceland in St Albans, April 2020 Copyright Debbie Smyth, 23 April 2020 Posted as part of #acoffeeandabook series

A Coffee and a Book

Nature sings

Nature sings out its glory in this novel. A story of loss, prejudice, loneliness, strength, love, joy and above all the beauty of nature. And there’s a murder too. It’s […]

-Russia

Kофе, пожалуйстаCoffee, please Russia, a Penguin Special (first published January 1941)with a mug from my student days (studying Russian, but not in 1941!) Copyright Debbie Smyth, 20 April 2020 Posted […]

-Berlin

Goodbye to Berlin

Goodbye to Berlin with the help of a negroni Berlin is one of my favourite European cities, so I allowed another swap of caffeine for alcohol to aid this goodbye. […]

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