I love this story because it sounds like Kate is a girl after my own heart! I’ve wanted to go to PEI ever since I read the Anne of Green Gables books and watched the movie, which was filmed on island and is full of gorgeous scenery. I haven’t made it there yet, but this story got me thinking about how books have influenced some of my travels.

Last month, Jose and I finally made it to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. We had a blast walking through Hogsmeade and drinking butterbeer, but the real treat was seeing Hogwarts Castle recreated exactly as I had pictured it when reading the books.

Harry Potter also inspired a side trip to King’s Cross Station when we were in London. Here’s Platform 9 ¾:

Also in London, we stopped at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre:

When we were in Chicago last spring, I realized our hotel was only a few blocks from the Newberry Library. So, naturally, I had to go check out the workplace of Henry the time traveling librarian in The Time Traveler’s Wife.

Finally, when we visited the Louvre in Paris, we couldn’t resist trying to retrace Robert Langdon’s path through the museum in The Da Vinci Code.

So has a book ever inspired your travels (or future travels)? Maybe you made the trek to Forks, Washington after reading Twilight? Or have you always wanted to take a Jane Austen inspired trip through the English countryside? Let me know in the comments!

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I must have been good last year because Santa brought me lots of books for Christmas. I thought I would share some of the wonderful books I received as gifts this holiday season:

Pride & Prejudice (Graphic Novel) by Nancy Butler, Jane Austen, and Hugo Petrus
I love Pride & Prejudice so I was very happy to find this book under the tree this year! I think it’s a great idea to turn classic books into graphic novels so that you can see visual renditions of your favorite characters. The cover alone cracks me up – “How to Cure Your Boy-Crazy Sisters!” and “Bingleys Bring Bling to Britain.”

Top Chef: The Quickfire Cookbook
I’m a big fan of Top Chef so I was excited to receive The Quickfire Cookbook. It’s a collection of recipes from Quickfire challenges from all six seasons of the show. It’s packed with beautiful photos of food and pictures of the contestants themselves. A few recipes I’m looking forward to making: Eli’s Rueben Benedict With Thousand-Island Hollandaise, Antonia’s Deep-Dish Pizza With Prosciutto, Burrata, and Arugula, and Nikki’s Yogurt Cakes With Two Sauces.

Fresh Mexico: 100 Simple Recipes For True Mexican Flavor by Marcella Valladolid
My brother-in-law was kind enough to give me this cookbook filled with fresh Mexican recipes. The author says in the foreword that her goal to teach Americans that there is no yellow cheese in authentic Mexican food. That’s a message I can get behind!

Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics) by Charlotte Bronte
My wonderful husband gave me this collector’s edition of my favorite book, Jane Eyre. The embossed canvas cover is beautiful and looks great on my bookshelf. It also has a ribbon bookmark, which is a nice touch. It’s the perfect replacement for my unattractive paperback copy. Penguin has several classic titles with similar cover designs available on Amazon

Anne of Green Gables: The Collection
This isn’t a book, but I want to include it anyway because it’s book related. My sister, Amie, gave me the Anne of Green Gables 5 disc DVD set for Christmas. The movies are based on the Anne of Green Gables series by L. M. Montgomery. I remember watching the miniseries on PBS as a kid and loving it so much that I went on to read the books. It was filmed on Prince Edward Island and the scenery is just beautiful. The set includes all three movies plus two documentaries with cast interviews and bonus materials. I think this is one of the all time best book to movie adaptations and I’m thrilled that I now own the DVDs.

Here are some book related stories that have been in the news this week:

Entertainment Weekly has the first chapter of the Twilight parody, Nightlight. (EW)

Mattie Stepanek’s mother, Jeni, has written a new book about his life. Good Morning America has an excerpt. (GMA)

Are ebooks and the price war changing the publishing industry? (PBS)

The family of Stieg Larsson, author of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, is battling over his estate. Things are complicated because he and his girlfriend of 32 years never married and he didn’t leave a will. (The Guardian)

Lucy Maud Montgomery’s final Anne of Green Gables book reveals a darker side of the Blythes. (The Globe and Mail)

10 cool bookends for the bibliophile in your life. The Star Wars trash compactor bookends are awesome. (Oddee)

The top 5 books on the New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestseller List:
THE LOST SYMBOL, by Dan Brown
THE SCARPETTA FACTOR, by Patricia Cornwell
PURSUIT OF HONOR, by Vince Flynn
NINE DRAGONS, by Michael Connelly
THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett