Cool books for hot days

It's the middle of August and the temps here are in the triple-digits for the 8th day in a row. I think that the dog days of summer officially ended (calendar-wise) on August 11th, and I always look forward to more moderate temperatures at the end of August.

However, because the heat is still with us, I've been reading books that take me away - at least temporarily.

Amateur Sugar Maker by Noel Perrin was written over thirty years ago "in conscious admiration of Henry David Thoreau... ." Perrin chronicles his attempt to spend as little money as possible at making maple syrup by himself. It's a small book, but interesting and it made me feel a little cooler as I vicariously experienced early spring in Vermont.

After Vermont I went (book-wise) to Canada, specifically Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Prince Edward Island. Calling the Maritimes Home is a book of facts and trivia that was perfect for reading while sitting on the beach at the lake and watching the children swim. The descriptions of food made me ready to suggest to Steve that we make a trip to the Canadian Maritimes next summer... .

Finally I ended up in France, but a part of France that I've never before visited either in fiction or non-fiction: the Lot region in southwest France. In her memoir, At Home in France Ann Barry does for the Lot region what Peter Mayle did for Provence in his books. She describes the people, the food, the weather, the wildlife, and her travels around the area so perfectly that this armchair traveller wanted the book to go on forever. But it didn't.

I have two more "cool" books to read in the next few weeks:

Arctic Lace by Donna Druchunas...

...and Great Heart: The History of a Labrador Adventure by James West Davidson and John Rugge.