Three romance novels for a happy escape
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| The Thread's Must-Read | 
“The Messenger of Athens”
by Anne Zouroudi
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I’m not going to pretend that reading about Marrakech is as exhilarating as going there. It just isn’t. But at the moment, armchair traveling is as close as we’re going to get.
So I', recommending a trio of books that will open your senses and ignite your curiosity — as if you’ve touched down in a different country.
First, to the Greek islands and the first novel in a detective series that librarian Nancy Pearl recommends.
“The Messenger of Athens” by Anne Zouroudi follows the rotund detective Hermes Diaktoros as he investigates the death of a woman with a passion for a man who's not her husband. Diaktoros is charming, skilled and wise.
The second book is a memoir from Anthony Doerr, the author of “All the Light We Cannot See.” Before he wrote that Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, he spent a year in Rome with his wife and newborn twin sons, doing the research for it.
The memoir, called “Four Seasons in Rome” reminds us — in the most wonderful way — what it’s like to be a stranger in a stranger land.
And my third book for your armchair travels is a kind of travel journal and a family memoir by one of my all-time favorite novelists. Isabel Allende’s book, “My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile,” sparked my interest and gave me context for the handful of trips I’ve made to her homeland.
So, here are three Thread must-reads for the armchair traveler in you: Isabel Allende’s “My Invented Country,” Anthony Doerr’s “Four Seasons in Rome,” and Anne Zouroudi’s “The Messenger of Athens.”
—Kerri Miller |
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 | | More of Thread's Must-Read: 'Four Seasons in Rome' | "Four Seasons In Rome" by Anthony Doerr |
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"Four Seasons in Rome" describes Doerr's varied adventures in one of the most enchanting cities in the world. He reads Pliny, Dante and Keats — the chroniclers of Rome who came before him — and visits the piazzas, temples and ancient cisterns they describe. | | |
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 | | More of Thread's Must-Read: 'My Invented Country' | | "My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile" by Isabel Allende |
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Isabel Allende evokes the magnificent landscapes of her country; a charming, idiosyncratic Chilean people with a violent history and an indomitable spirit; and the politics, religion, myth, and magic of the homeland that she carries with her even today. | | |
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 | | The gift of a garden in troubled times | "One Hundred Daffodils: Finding Beauty, Grace, and Meaning When Things Fall Apart" by Rebecca Winn
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Gardening has long been a balm for the human soul. Landscape designer Rebecca Winn shares how her garden restored her after heartbreak.
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 | | How your grandmother’s diet set the stage for your health today | "You Are What Your Grandparents Ate: What You Need to Know About Nutrition, Experience, Epigenetics and the Origins of Chronic Disease" by Judith Finlayson
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The author of a new book, “You Are What Your Grandparents Ate,” discusses what epigenetics has learned about nutrition, experience and the origins of chronic disease. | |
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 | | The final of three romances that provide delicious escapes: 'Island Affair' | "Island Affair" by Priscilla Oliveras |
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“Island Affair” by Priscilla Oliveras is a classic fake relationship romance, set in the dreamy Florida Keys. As soon as social media influencer Sara Vance lands in Florida for an anxiety-inducing family vacation, she learns that her new boyfriend is standing her up. Desperate to impress her family, she asks the nearest guy to pose as her boyfriend for the week. | |
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