Book Review - Over the Hills and Far Away

Over the Hills and Far Away - A walkers anthology edited by Duncan Minshull.
I can't find a picture of this anywhere on the internet, nor can I find it for sale anywhere else to link for you, so it appears to be a bit of a mystery book!

I got this as a gift quite a while ago from my grandparents (I think mum may have bought it on their behalf, knowing that I like walking and hills).  It has been neglected on a bookcase ever since - sorry mum.  I'm determined to read all the books which fill my house, and chance - quite literally, I chose the next book to read by throwing a dice several times - led me to this one.  I opened it less than optimistically.  While I love hills and walking, I'm not usually a fan of anthologies.  Anthologies tempt and tease you.  They give you just enough of a snippet of the original to engage your interest and then the excerpt is finished.

I was pleasantly surprised to find myself dipping further into this book every night at bed time.  The excerpts are arranged into categories such as: How to Walk; In the City; You Walked?  The excerpts were taken from a wide range of genres, from texts ancient and modern.  Some were several pages long, others were mere paragraphs.  I have made a note of a few more texts which I need to dig out and read in full, but for the most part I just enjoyed a pleasant meander through these ideas of literature.  A bit like walking through a garden and catching the scent of the flowers you pass, without the need to stoop and inhale at any particular bloom.


My next reading adventure is "A Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley.  More on that soon.