The Thinking Person’s Guide to
LITERATURE
Destination focused. Culturally enriching. Carefully curated.
Welcome to the Thinking Person’s Cruise Reading about faraway lands can strike our curiosity and imagination and turn us into explorers. Travelling to the cities where your favourite literary luminaries worked, lived, were inspired, is one of the best ways to find destinations that will bring your imagination to life. We are here to help pull you into the same realm of wonder that the best stories achieve. Our onboard libraries were curated by Heywood Hill, an independent London bookseller and Royal Warrant holder, who dedicated hundreds of hours to understanding the unique, inquisitive nature of our guests. From art to history to destinationfocused reading, each book was hand-selected to enhance your experience, both on board and at your destination. Throughout the following pages, learn more about our fascinating selection of literature inspired journeys and find reads that may just inspire your next voyage of discovery. Enjoy!
Three ways to explore the world of literature
Shakespeare & Co Bookstore, Paris Tucked away in Paris’s 5th arrondissement, this literary haven has been a favourite among book lovers and renowned authors since 1919. Browse its stacks and learn about the “tumbleweeds” who work and reside here. You can visit Shakespeare & Co on our Cities of Light itinerary. VIEW ITINER ARY
You will find an extraordinarily diverse collection of thought-provoking books on board a Viking cruise, ready to help you learn and understand more about the destinations you are travelling to. But if you are after a particularly literatureinspired journey, the following experiences are a must…
Trinity College, Dublin
University of Oxford, Oxford
Ireland’s oldest university, Trinity College, was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I. Aside from its spectacular campus, Trinity’s library is home to the worldfamous Book of Kells, a hand-illuminated manuscript of the Gospels. You’ll also find The Long Room – the two-storey, barrelvaulted, 65-metre-long archive that houses 200,000 of the library’s oldest books and manuscripts.
Oxford has long been known as the city of dreaming spires and there’s plenty here to intrigue the imagination. As the oldest English speaking university in the world, it has educated Nobel Prize winners, monarchs and world leaders, authors, and actors.
You can visit Trinity College on the City Views of Dublin excursion on our British Isles Explorer itinerary. V I E W E XC U R S I O N
You can visit Oxford University on our Oxford & Highclere Castle extension. VIEW EXTENSION
DISCOVER OUR ONBOARD BOOK COLLECTION There’s no better way to relax and unwind than curling up with a good book, which is why we sought the expertise of London’s Heywood Hill — one of the most influential bookshops in the world — when it came to curating our onboard libraries. Every Viking vessel sails with an extraordinarily diverse collection of books on board, and each title has been carefully hand-selected to pique the curiosity of our well-travelled guests. Different areas of each ship explore different subjects. For example, on board our ocean ships, guests in the Living Room will find an assortment of contemporary fiction, classic literature and non-fiction titles. Those in the Explorers’ Lounge will discover books about Arctic exploration — a nod to Viking’s Norwegian heritage. And on Viking Orion, books detailing the history of space travel and the cosmos can be found virtually everywhere. After something quick to flick through before your next shore excursion? Enjoy a vast range of visually interesting books on art and photography. Want to know more about your next destination? You’ll find an informative selection of books tailored to the region through which you are sailing. Viking guests are always looking to learn and understand more about the world around them — and our onboard libraries help them do just that.
TR AVEL READS TO INSPIRE YOU There are many ways a book can transport you, but one of the most powerful is to carry your imagination to faraway places. Here are a few of our favourite reads that may just inspire your next voyage of discovery…
SHAKESPEARE AND COMPANY by Sylvia Beach Paris of the 1920s comes alive in this beautiful memoir. In 1919, Sylvia Beach opened a bookshop in Paris called Shakespeare and Company. It was a home away from home for Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, André Gide and James Joyce, whose novel Ulysses was first published by Beach. O U R R E L AT E D I T I N E R A R Y
ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF SOLITUDE by Gabriel García Márquez Is family history inescapable? What is reality? Márquez asks these questions in this tale of love and magic set in the fictional Colombian town of Macondo. It chronicles seven generations of the Buendía family, who founded Macondo as a utopian community.
O U R R E L AT E D I T I N E R A R Y
UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN: AT HOME IN ITALY by Frances Mayes
Frances Mayes, a 40-something travel writer, poet and gourmet cook, leaves her San Francisco life and travels to Italy after her divorce. This humorous memoir describes her adventures restoring a dilapidated villa, and her heart, with the help of some quirky local characters, fantastic food, luminous landscapes and newfound love. O U R R E L AT E D I T I N E R A R Y
THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS by Isabel Allende In 1981, Allende, who left Chile in 1973, began writing a letter to her 100-year-old grandfather. It turned into this highly entertaining allegory — Allende’s attempt to “recreate the country I had lost”. The story is deeply rooted in 20thcentury Chilean history, but its theme of enduring family connections is universal. O U R R E L AT E D I T I N E R A R Y
5 MUST-VISIT LIBR ARIES For those who love nothing more than to curl up with a good book, libraries are some of the most magnificent buildings in the world. If that sounds like you, keep this list of must-visit libraries handy… 1. New York Public Library, New York: With nearly 53 million items, 92 locations and 125 miles of shelving, the New York Public Library is the third largest library in the world. Opened in 1911, it also features 530,000 cubic feet of marble. 2. National Library of China, Beijing: Founded in 1909, the National Library of China is the largest library in Asia and is home to over 37 million items, including more than 35,000 inscriptions on oracle bones and tortoise shells from the Shang Dynasty. 3. State Library of Victoria, Melbourne: Established in 1854, the State Library of Victoria is Australia's oldest and busiest public library. It features over 2 million books and 350,000 photographs, manuscripts, maps and newspapers, as well as some of Ned Kelly’s armour. 4. British Library, London: Housing over 170 million items — including the Magna Carta and Leonardo da Vinci’s notebook — the British Library is the largest national library in the world. It welcomes 1.6 million visitors through the door every year. 5. Royal Danish Library, Copenhagen: Containing numerous historical treasures, including the manuscripts of Hans Christian Andersen, the Royal Danish Library is the largest library located in the Nordic countries. It is home to an almost complete collection of all Danish printed books dating back to 1482.
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ROYAL DANISH LIBRARY
DISCOVER OUR AWARD-WINNING
RIVER & OCEAN CRUISES
MOST AWARDED | VIKING INCLUSIVE VALUE
138 747 (AU) 0800 447 913 (NZ) VIKINGCRUISES.COM.AU OR CONTACT YOUR LOCAL TRAVEL AGENT