My friend and recent Malta guest Monique wrote to tell me about Trading in Memories, a strange little book by Barbara Hodgson (she needs a Wikipedia entry). I haven’t read the book, but I did look through a sample chapter about Budapest (PDF). Here’s a little excerpt:
Unchanging through rain or shine, however, were the well-stocked and plentiful antikvaÃŒÂrium, the antiquarian and secondhand bookstores. The first thing that struck me about them was the stack of plastic basketsâ€â€the sort you find at supermarketsâ€â€inside the entrance to each one. The second thing was that customers were carrying these baskets and filling them up. Either the citizens of Budapest are voracious readers or they love being surrounded by books.
It’s a little unfair to judge from a three-page sample, but the prose seems unremarkable. However, the books are beautifully illustrated with artifacts and old photos. It’s a bit like scrapbooking gone professional. That’s why I made the connection to Nick Bantock’s beautiful but awfully twee Griffin and Sabine books.
DarrenBarefoot.com 
Thanks for your comments Darren. It is definitely comparable to Nick Bantock. I like parts of the book because it takes me back to a place I’ve visited, other parts because the writing is interesting, and most parts because of the illustrations and photos.
I was telling Kris Krug there’s a short end chapter on photo walks in Vancouver and I’m trying to think of clever things to do with my photos from Malta.
Cheers,
Monique
Hodgson’s books are gorgeous. I’ve read some of her books about women travellers, and really enjoyed the exhibit that she put together about Women travellers in the 19th century. It was at the Vancouver Museum about 2 years ago.
Alexis is right, the books are gorgeous. I remember seeing the Travel Bug display of the Women Travellers book but I never got a chance to see the full exhibit at the Vancouver Museum.