It is hot. People are screaming and slamming the other side’s political beliefs on national television. I binged up all my favorite Netflix shows and will have to wait another year for new episodes. My favorite jeans are too tight and the air conditioner is making a scary noise. What to do? It’s the perfect time for the real escapes of vacation, or the very simple escape of a good book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Venice, Rome, Paris, Vienna, California’s wine country, all worthy destinations to recharge one’s soul. If you can’t ride a gondola, climb the Eiffel tower, or look up at the Sistine chapel ceiling, you can still make a break for it. Just download or pick up a new book and run away.

I have to admit, I often choose a book by its cover. That’s probably why I chose the one I did for Conjuring Casanova. It looks like a Venetian fairy tale and it really is. ER doc Lizzy Hillman escapes to Venice and Paris with an eighteenth-century libertine. How much fun would that be to read after a long day?