August 2026 – Let’s go on vacation!

In summer, the French shut up shop and head for the beaches. Yes, the annual exodus officially starts on14 July, but the peak holiday season is August. There was a time when whole factories closed and Paris was left to the tourists.

So let’s go on vacation ourselves! It doesn’t have to be a summer vacation or a beach holiday. Maybe you want to go on a skiing trip, hike through a forest, cruise in the Caribbean, camp in the wilderness? There are numerous mysteries set in popular holiday destinations. Or you could read about a place where you would like to spend a holiday, but haven’t been to yet.

Some suggestions:
The Fortnight in September by R.C. Sherriff
Seacrow Island by Astrid Lindgren
Castle Gripsholm by Kurt Tucholsky
Aunt Dimity takes a holiday by Nancy Atherton
The evening of the holiday by Shirley Hazzard
Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim
Father Christmas goes on holiday by Raymond Briggs
Mr. Hobbs’ vacation by Edward Streeter

great topic! we always are looking for places to escape from the heat, and i dont mind doing that vicariously with a book . i have so many travel books must be something on my shelves

This is a great topic, although I don't have a lot on my shelves from which to choose. I will probably read either Arabian Sands which is an Arabian desert travel memoir or Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London.

My favorite all time travel book (that's not a travel guide) is Alain de Botton's The Art of Travel. I have read it several times and enjoyed it every time. It may be time for another reread. And although older, I also enjoy Bill Bryson's books, especially the ones about the British Isles and Peter Mayle's books about France especially A Good Year and loved the movie too.

i have ten shelve of travel books, And I tend towards older books the ones i think of as vacation books are

Journey through Europe John Hillaby

The Stones of Florence and Venice observed By Mary Mccarthy

Globe trotting writers walk the world Edited by Duncan Mitchell

Travels with Charlie By John Steinbeck

A time of gifts by Patrick Fermor

Travels with Herodotus Kapusinski

I'm definitely going to get around to J. Courtney Sullivan's Maine, which I've had on TBR for ages. And if I can find my copy, I really ought to get on to Elizabeth Von Arnim's The Enchanted April.

My greatest interest, though, is in Maine, whether in Maine-based stories or books by major Maine writers. I have a particular interest in the very important but often overlooked Mary Ellen Chase, and looking through her bibliography it seems like I might be able to slip in at least a couple of rereads. One interesting off-shoot of "vacations" is the effect that vacations by the "summer people" have on the lifelong and not always particularly wealthy Mainers, the "winter people."

And for somewhat unconventional "vacations," there's Thoreau's The Maine Woods which I do want to get to in an annotated edition I've got, along with an accompanying Rodale-published pictorial Thoreau's Maine Woods: Yesterday and Today by Cheryl Seal.

==========

ETA: Oh, and for a movie, there's On Golden Pond, which could also be read in Ernest Thompson's On Golden Pond: A Play, which I've got in paperback and which I could reread in conjunction with a rewatch of the movie. I saw the African-American stage revival back in 2005 at the Cort Theater, starring James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams. I saw it on closing night, when it closed three months early because Jones was recovering from pneumonia and had to be replaced by his standby, Charles Turner – not complaining, though, because what would really have left me heartbroken (and I don't mean anything against Jones by this) would have been missing Leslie Uggams!

==========

And for another movie/play watch-and-read, there's David Berry's The Whales of August, which was directed in its film version by Lindsay Anderson and starred Bette Davis and Lillian Gish (in the latter's last performance), with costars Vincent Price and Ann Sothern (likewise in the latter's last performance and her only Oscar nomination, which she lost for Best Supporting Actress to Olympia Dukakis in Moonstruck).

Yeah, I think The Whales of August is definitely a rewatch for me for August, with a read of Berry's original play script (which I've never yet read but have a copy of). On Golden Pond is the much more famous movie, both for Katherine Hepburn's fourth and final Oscar and for Henry Fonda's only Oscar (accepted for him by daughter Jane) just five months before his death, along with Jane's costarring and Oscar-nominated performance; but personally, I place The Whales of August above it, both for the story itself as well as for the performances, which included an opening-scene flashback to when the three women were young – portrayed by Margaret Ladd, Mary Steenburgen, and (playing the Ann Sothern character) Ann's own daughter, Tisha Sterling.

Oh, and further ETA, I understand Queen Bette was a reel bay-otch throughout the filming. She didn't appreciate being cast as Miss Lillian's older sister! (Ann Sothern tried to keep the peace by bringing her deck of cards on set and playing poker with the crew during breaks.) But the Davis-Gish casting, in the age order it was done, was perfect, because a major plot point was gigolo Price's flirtation with Gish, which was sweet between Price and Gish but would have been unintentionally hilarious between Price and Davis!

>6 CurrerBell: I've taken quite a few BB's here!

>6 CurrerBell: I saw the African-American stage revival back in 2005 at the Cort Theater, starring James Earl Jones and Leslie Uggams.

wouulda paid good money to see that!

>8 cindydavid4: Again, bear in mind that Jones didn't appear at the closing-night performance I attended. But still, and no disrespect to him, my first love was Leslie Uggams.

I'm also hard of hearing. That's the main reason I didn't particularly enjoy (back in 2005 or so) the Vanessa Redgrave performance in Hecuba at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Even with a hearing aid, I wasn't able to catch a great deal of the dialogue (probably complicated by the British accents) in the large BAM auditorium. My hearing's even weaker today, at just coming on three-quarters of a century, so I hardly ever attend live performances (and I have a small PC(USA)/UCC congregation where I can sit close to the pulpit).

But the Cort is a very small theater, and I was practically in the front row because of the small turnout for closing night. (The final performance was the next-day Sunday matinee.)

The predominately African American audience (I'm White) really got a kick out of Norman's line "There are no Negroes in Maine" that Jones had insisted by kept in the performance.

Charles Turner really was a very good stand-in for Jones. I wasn't really that impressed with the supporting cast; but in fairness, Chelsea really doesn't have that big a role in the play and possibly had a bit more attention as a character in the movie only because of Jane Fonda's playing opposite her father. And also in fairness to the supporting cast, my memories are so attracted to Leslie Uggams that I'm probably not giving everyone else fair consideration.

Don't remember what the ticket prices were, but they weren't that expensive. The Cort, a small (and thus for me an acoustically friendly) venue probably wasn't even half-full, and this being closing night.

>8 cindydavid4: Oh, and if you want to drool, and just thinking of our July theme, I saw Somerset Maugham's The Constant Wife on Broadway back in '75. A friend and I had been planning on going up to NYC for some tribute or another to Tennessee Williams (that Paul Newman was going to be attending), but I gave my ticket to my friend's sister and instead went to see The Constant Wife, starring none other than one of my great loves,Ingrid Bergman.

>10 CurrerBell: Oh I'm a long time fan at Maugham and think I have read everything by him but I don't think I have that one so I'll be looking for that. Thanks for the BB

Great Topic, Brigit, I'm sure I have lots of books to choose from.

>12 DeltaQueen50: Thanks, Judy. I’m not sure I’ll find the time, myself, I’ll be busy with my move.

>13 MissWatson: Moving doesn't sound like much of a vacation, Brigit!

>14 Familyhistorian: No, it isn’t, especially in our current heatwave. But I am still optimistic that everything will be fine.

I have finally decided on my August read. River Lodge by Elizabeth Cadell, first published in 1948, is a humorous story about a couple who turn their large country home into a guest house.

I have two I'm going to try and read.
Journey to Portugal which I didn't get to on my trip, but still want to read.
One Cat for the Road which was one of my "Crazy Cat Lady" picks for last year.