The stories of Ireland’s best-known castles. Majestic and magnificent, designed to both intimidate and inspire, castles are a common feature across Ireland’s landscape, with over 1000 examples remaining – some intact, some in ruins, all awesome. This book celebrates the most popular Irish castles, from the Norman fortress of Bunratty to the five-star splendor of Ashford, from medieval Malahide to dramatic Dunluce.

Thoughts
My son Jeremy and his wife Susie went to Ireland at the beginning of September and brought back this book and a bookmark for me.

I love this book because I love books and all things Ireland. It’s full of photos of castles their information, and photos of the land/water surrounding them.

I’ve loved castles since I was a little girl and saw the movie Cinderella. It was on every year along with The Wizard Of Oz and I never missed them. I have copies now so I can watch them whenever I want.

Here are a few of the castles in the book:

Ross: Killarney: County Kerry
Killkenny: County Kilkenny
Glin: County Limerick
Donegal: County Donegal-my blog friends Bill & Shari live there

If you’re a fan of Ireland or castles, here’s a site that may interest you: 33 Best Castles In Ireland

The Scenic Route by Christina Baker Kline

Driven by desperation to hit the road, a woman sees her life come into view in a powerful short story about starting over by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Exiles.

Once happily married with a young son, Jess takes to the road to escape her failed relationship and the disappointment of losing touch with her son. Four years into a nomadic existence, she has learned the hacks of van life and promotes a fantasy version of it on Instagram that bears little resemblance to her eclectic community of fellow travelers. But it’s that camaraderie, and the vastness of the great outdoors, that gives Jess the space she needs to find out what really matters to her. And act on it.

Thoughts

This is a very short audiobook, only 1 hr. 5 min. long but it’s full of emotions and I enjoyed getting to know the history of Jess and Charlie and what comes after.

As soon as I read what the book was about I got a copy because I’ve always wanted to travel full time. Years ago we converted an old school bus into a motor home but sadly we never got to travel in it. 

I really enjoyed this book although it was more about Jess’s relationship with her son than it was “the scenic route”. Still, I’m glad I listened to it. It became more than what I was expecting.

I loved the fact that Jess was treated unfairly by her ex husband and ended up stealing his van which was technically hers, out of his driveway so she could take her trip!

This book started so sad and grew into a feel good happy story with a great ending. 

The book is narrated by Amanda Leigh Cobb who was very easy to listen to.