Amuse-bouche

There are books you read all at once like page-turners and pot-boilers, and there are others that grab your interest and you can’t let them go until you have devoured them. 

Then there are books you want to savour, a little at a time — too much all at once spoils the enjoyment.

Karen Elizabeth Gordon’s Paris out of hand (a Wayward Guide) is a collaboration with Barbara Hodgson and Nick Bantock (remember the Griffin & Sabine books?). It’s a book you taste one delicious bite at a time, re-reading it as you fancy.

It’s a guidebook for a Paris that doesn’t really exist (although some real places are also included). Along with the illustrations and collages, you’ll find essential travel phrases (like the French for “There’s a cockroach in my croissant”), along with advice on imaginary places to stay, to go to (or avoid).

There’s another book like it — Italy out of hand (a Capricious Tour) by Barbara Hodgson — and it is every bit as delightful.

Both are surreal “guidebooks” for armchair travellers to get lost in. Best read a little at a time.

For today’s Tiny Tuesday challenge (the theme is Words). Thanks to MaryElizaR for hosting!