Blog | Books And Travel

9 Secret Libraries Around The World

For book lovers around the world, secret libraries hold the promise of mysteries and hidden knowledge. So where can you actually find them?

The destruction of the ancient library of Alexandria still prompts a sob from book lovers today. Losing so much knowledge and wisdom certainly pains scholars. But books aren’t just important to academics.

We’ve all curled up in our favorite chair, a mug of hot tea or coffee to hand, happy to while away the hours with adventurers that become friends across the course of a book.

Author JFPenn in the stacks of the London Library

But there’s something magical about the quiet reverence of libraries, the hush broken only by rustling pages, or the scratching of pens.

My books feature plenty of hidden archives and secret libraries, holding many riddles among their shelves. And while ARKANE agent Martin Klein works to digitize historical and religious archives in my thrillers, there’s still something special about physical libraries, especially secret ones.

So here are 9 secret libraries–and how to find them!

9 Amazing Galleries And Museums in Barcelona

Unusual Places

Barcelona is one of the cultural hubs of Spain, full of fantastic art, architecture, music, and history.

You can wander the streets of the central city and marvel at Gaudi’s unusual architecture, shop on the famous La Rambla avenue, or stop for churros and hot chocolate at one of the many street cafes.

Churros (fried doughnut) and hot chocolate, Barcelona, Spain. Photo by Jo Frances Penn

It’s easy to forget the dark days of the city. The military uprising in July 1936 helped start the Spanish Civil War. A series of air strikes in March 1938 killed almost 1,300 people. And you can see Catalan independence flags throughout the city. The artistic and cultural side of the city masks these wounds, though they’re never far from the surface.

If you’re a culture fiend, you’ve got no shortage of galleries and museums to choose from. But with so many options, it’s hard to plan a visit. To get started, here are nine amazing cultural destinations for your list. They’re great for art lovers, chocolate fans, and even dark tourists.

Wild And Beautiful Hawaii With Toby Neal

Unusual Places

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Hawaii is more than just a paradise of beaches and blue sea. In this interview, mystery and memoir author, Toby Neal, brings the wild and beautiful islands to life.

Toby Neal is an award-winning ‘USA Today’ bestselling author of mysteries, thrillers, and romance with over 30 titles. She’s also a mental health therapist, and today we’re talking about Freckled: A Memoir of Growing up Wild in Hawaii.

In the interview, we discuss:

Why Hawaii is more than just white sand beaches and cocktails with umbrellas
A tip for the Hawaiian language
Recommended places to visit that take you in nature and away from the main tourist hotspots
The Hawaiian legend of Ohia and Lehua
How the volcanic environment impacts Hawaii
Embracing duality in finding home — the ocean of Hawaii and the redwoods of California
Writing about the darker side of the islands
Book recommendations

You can find Toby and her books at www.TobyNeal.net and on Instagram @tobyneal

15 Unusual Things To See In Europe

Unusual Places

If you love to travel, then Europe is full of fascinating places. The tourist guidebooks are full of them. But what if you want to see the unusual sites that are sometimes missed entirely from more obvious guides?

Here are some of the more unusual places to visit if you’re in Europe, sites that I have found particularly interesting for my ARKANE thriller book research.

1. Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Sicily

Most people think of ancient Egypt when they hear the word ‘mummy’. Yet the Capuchin Monastery in Palermo has almost 8000 corpses and over 1200 mummies in its catacombs. The oldest corpse dates back to 1599!

The bodies are organized, with religious figures displayed separately from women or children. Some of the corpses are posed, while others are pinned to walls. They also vary in states of preservation.

Mummies in the Catacombs of the Capuchins in Palermo, Sicily. Photo licensed from BigStockPhoto

The Catacombs were only intended to house friars but eventually wealthy locals paid to be interred. One of the last interments was a two-year-old girl in 1920. She’s so well-preserved that many call her “Sleeping Beauty”.

Explore The Mysteries Of These Amazing Churches

Unusual Places

From the Sagrada de Familia in Barcelona to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to the Basilica di San Marco in Venice, I’ve used a lot of churches in my writing.

They’re fascinating buildings, full of religious relics, amazing art, and more than a few conspiracy theories.

Author Jo Frances Penn at St Pauls, London

Since so many are open to the public, you can explore their mysteries for yourself. Let’s start off with the weird things you can see on the outside…

Adventure, Walking, And My Midsummer Morning With Alastair Humphreys

Travel Memoir

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How does a book inspire a journey a generation later? How does an adventurer who loves to travel alone reconcile himself to a life more ordinary? In today’s interview, I talk to Alastair Humphreys about his walk across Spain in homage to Laurie Lee.

Alastair Humphreys is an adventurer, author, and motivational speaker named as National Geographic adventurer of the year in 2012. He has cycled around the world, walked across India, and The Empty Quarter desert, rowed the Atlantic, and run the Marathon Des Sables, as well as going on many other micro-adventures. His latest book is My Midsummer Morning: Rediscovering a Life of Adventure.

Show Notes

The necessary element of vulnerability in an adventure

The uniqueness of travel when walking

The difference between type-1 and type-2 fun

Which adventures are chosen to be shared as books, and which are not

How photographs and film change the dynamic of a trip

What is ‘truth’ when writing a travel memoir?

Micro-adventures and living adventurously close to home

Finding adventure in seemingly mundane places

You can find Alastair Humphreys at AlastairHumphreys.com and on Instagram @al_humphreys