We all know daydreaming about travel feels good. Chances are, you’ve been doing plenty of it during the COVID-19 pandemic, when we’re all staying home more and traveling less. The good news is, anticipating, daydreaming, and reminiscing about travel is a valuable source of happiness – and you don’t actually have to go anywhere to benefit from it.
As spring approaches, but the snow still flies, get lost in stories of tropical beaches and lush landscapes…without actually leaving your couch. These library materials featuring warmer climates will give you the mental escape you are looking for. You might need your sunglasses!
Paradise of the Pacific by Susanna Moore on Overdrive
The dramatic history of late-18th-century Hawaii—its kings and queens, gods and goddesses, missionaries, migrants and explorers—as it, an isolated pagan world of human sacrifice and strict taboo, was confronted by a world of capitalism, Western education and Christian values.
Off the Grid: A Koa Kane Hawaiian Mystery by Robert McCaw
A scrap of cloth fluttering in the wind leads Hilo police Chief Detective Koa Kane to the tortured remains of an unfortunate soul left to burn in the path of an advancing lava flow. For Koa, it’s the second gruesome homicide of the day, and he soon discovers the murders are linked.
The Pacific Alone by Dave Shively
In the summer of 1987 Ed Gillet achieved what no person has accomplished before or since, a solo crossing from California to Hawaii by kayak. Along the way he endured a broken rudder, among other calamities, but at last reached Maui on his 63rd day at sea, four days after his food had run out.
Death in Paradise TV series on Hoopla
DI Richard Poole is sent to the paradise island of Saint-Marie in the Caribbean to solve an impossible murder. He hates sun, sea and sand, but no matter – once he’s solved the murder he’ll be heading back to wonderful, cold, drizzly London.
Gauchos Del Mar: Surfing the American Pacific on Kanopy
In this surfing documentary, two brothers follow their dream of surfing the American Pacific showing the Continent as a whole, through its different cultures, villages, food, people, animals and landscapes while camping and surfing on their way back home to Argentina.
Ready for a (literal) taste of the tropics? Try one of these cookbooks to add some warm-weather flair to your recipes.
Margaritaville: Relaxed Recipes for a Taste of Paradise by Carlo Sernaglia and Julia Turshen
A relaxation-oriented, celebratory cookbook, inspired by Jimmy Buffet’s iconic song, shares recipes that evince the flavors of island living, from Volcano Nachos and Cheeseburger in Paradise to Coho Salmon in Lemongrass and Sweet Chile Chicken Wings.
Morgan Freeman and Friends: Caribbean Cooking for a Cause
Published to benefit the victims of Hurricane Ivan in Grenada, a volume of celebrity-contributed recipes inspired by the flavors of the Caribbean includes the author’s favorite Caribbean chicken salad with lime vinaigrette.