Isn’t it funny how reading one book can lead to another and another? Last week I downloaded Charles Shield’s newest, short non-fiction book, Imagine: The Story of a Song. My curiosity about the song’s origin, …
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Authors love to travel to book locations, too. See where they travel and the places that inspire them.
Take a road trip to a book festival or event!
See the places, homes, castles, train stations and settings in your favorite fiction books.
Visit the places found in your favorite chapter books, young adult lit and picture books.
See the places authors write about in their biographies, history books and memoirs.
The Lion of Lucerne – Photo by Matt Herbert
Mirrored in the pond that stretches below him, the Lion of Lucerne catches the imagination of those who trek to see him amid the other tourist sites in Switzerland.
Mark Twain’s A Tramp Abroad
“The commerce of Lucerne consists mainly in gimcrackery of the souvenir sort; the shops are packed with Alpine crystals, photographs of scenery, and wooden and ivory carvings. I will not conceal the fact that miniature figures of the Lion of Lucerne are to be had in them. Millions of them. But they are libels upon him, every one of them. There is a subtle something about the majestic pathos of the original which the copyist cannot get.”
The Lion commemorates the Swiss mercenaries who lost their lives at the Tulleries Palace in Paris in 1792, during the French Revolution. The inscription above the Lion reads “Helvetiorum fedei ac Virtuti” meaning “To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss.”
The sculpture was carved into the limestone cliff face in 1820 and 1821 by Lucas Ahorn. It was designed by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.
The Lion of Lucerne, in the cliff. Photo by Matt Herbert
While studying abroad in London, United States student Matt Herbert traveled to Switzerland and visited the lion’s lair. “After a bit of wandering, I came upon it. If I hadn’t seen the other tourists gathered in front of it, I would have walked right past. The site is sort of hidden in a lush little Eden that is shaded by large overhanging trees,” he said.
“The lion itself is engraved into a rock wall behind a giant clear pool that glitters with coins. It’s a serene sight in an idyllic little Swiss city. The sculpture itself is impressive and even though you’re observing it from a distance, you can tell how massive and detailed it is.”
After hiking through the woods all day, Herbert said, “and the fact that it was a lion, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Aslan from The Chronicles of Narnia
Find more information on the Lion of Lucerne here.
It’s time for our annual list of holiday gift ideas for the readers in your life! Enjoy!
Author Dolls
This Etsy shop offers over 180 different author dolls! They’re darling and affordable. Get James Joyce, Gene …
Road Trips for Readers asked some of the writers attending the 2013 South Dakota Festival of Books where they like to write.
I’m a creature of habit, so my favorite place to write is at my own desk …
Road Trips for Readers asked some of the writers attending the 2013 South Dakota Festival of Books where they like to write.
Where do you like to write, Michael Dahlie?
My favorite place to write is any dark basement.
SDBookFestival.com …
Road Trips for Readers asked some of the writers attending the 2013 South Dakota Festival of Books where they like to write.
My favorite place to write is in the rarified world of an art colony. It is …
Road Trips for Readers asked some of the writers attending the 2013 South Dakota Festival of Books where they like to write.
I write in my neighborhood coffee shop, in Denver. I like the hubbub, the noise, etc. …
Road Trips for Readers asked some of the writers attending the 2013 South Dakota Festival of Books where they like to write.
Where do you like to write?
My favorite place is the dark corner of a room away …
Road Trips for Readers asked some of the writers attending the 2013 South Dakota Festival of Books where they like to write.
Where do you like to write?
Any place where I’m in the company of congenial people with …
Road Trips for Readers asked some of the writers attending the 2013 South Dakota Festival of Books where they like to write.
Where do you like to write?
My favorite place to write is in my tiny study at …
Road Trips for Readers asked some of the writers attending the 2013 South Dakota Festival of Books where they like to write.
My favorite place to write? Two favorites! I love to write from the yellow Adirondack chair …
BUFFALO, W.Y. — A&E’s No. 1 original hit drama series “Longmire” has launched into its second season with more than 4.3 million viewers, the series is one of A&E’s most successful shows to debut. …
Ms. Horan , do you write on location or on your desk at home?
Yes, I definitely write when I visit the location of a scene from the book I’m working on. In the case …
Where do you write, Wendy?In my office at home, though sometimes I like to take my laptop out to my back porch. I have also written in hotel rooms and I plan on spending …
Guest Post by Mark Steve
If you want to spend some moments in the scenario of 500 years ago, then there can be no better medium than a renaissance festival. The “Age of Chivalry Renaissance …
By Jennifer Noble
Guest Post
I went on a recent exploration of the Sioux City Art Center in Sioux City, Iowa, and had a blast! I knew there was a Da Vinci exhibit on the way, …
Intended to educate and motivate the five book Fish on Kids book series gets kids inspired to put down the smart phone and pick up the fishing rod.
With a career in the American Sportsfishing …
Everyone loves a book where the setting is as important as the characters. The Help wouldn’t have been the same if it weren’t in Jackson, Mississippi. The Firm just had to be in Memphis …
Have a friend who is always glued to the latest romance novels? Here’s a list of gift ideas for her for Valentine’s Day!
Personalized Romances – choose from a large list of romantic books, and …
Sometimes a dust jacket on a new book just gets in the way – especially if you’re traveling. Sharon Kom of Bookthingys.com came up with the perfect solution for travelers – a book cover …
Re-enactor Joe Wiegand greets the visitors at Roosevelt’s 150th birthday celebration.
Naturalist, rancher, explorer and of course president, Theodore Roosevelt, easily makes the list of the United States’ most loved presidents.
Historical fiction about the president …
Does your significant other have every book ever written on Abraham Lincoln? Do you have a painting of George Washington in your dining room? Is following the footsteps of Lewis and Clark at the top …
Guest Post: AnyBook
Reader on the Road
Maintaining daily reading habits with your children can get a bit tricky on a family road trip. For families with earlier readers (like ours), options for reading while driving including …
By Jennifer Bertram
Maybe it was the relatively limited selection in my small hometown’s public library, my voracious reading appetite, or a connection I felt to the heroine, but I was arguably the biggest fan …
I’m a location predator, and I find out I’m on the prowl even when I don’t want to be on the prowl or don’t even know it — always observing and banking locations that …
One of my favorites places to write moves slowly, jiggles a bit too much, and occasionally stalls. Perhaps I love it because the same attributes can be attributed to me in my senior years. …
It was a casual conversation that changed my life. Right after I was born my mother spoke with someone at work who told her since she had a little girl, she needed to get …
I, Lance Zarimba, have a notebook or my netbook with me where I go. I never know when inspiration or an idea will strike. Sometimes free time happens, and I hate to waste it. My …
Stephen King fan? So are the folks at the Bangor, Maine, Convention and Vistors Bureau. They’ve created a tour based on the wildly popular King book, Tommyknockers. This tour is based on similarities between the …
Monkeys, bears, camels and pigs – you see them all at the zoo. While most kids are familiar with zoo animals, we can recommend a few newer (or classic) zoo-related books to entertain them before …
Lewis and Clark passed this way just over 100 years ago. Following their trails leads history lovers to some pretty great locations along the Missouri River, including several that were very special to the Natives …
