Simon Duffin

Browsing through this guidebook to British cathedrals and coffee and tea houses in cathedral towns made me feel like I was traveling around Great Britain with my aunt and uncle. They enjoy visiting independently owned restaurants and getting to know the owners. When they find a place they like, they'll let others know about it, and they'll take family members like me there whenever I'm in town. This guidebook's author seems a lot like my relatives. In each town, he recommends one independently owned coffee house and one tea house, sharing information about the unique features of the establishment, its history, its specialties, and the owner's background. His genuine interest in the people he meets is evident in his reviews. The photographs accompanying the entries provide additional enticement for potential visitors. There are other, perhaps better, guides to Britain's cathedrals. Travelers who enjoy discovering unique coffee and tea houses rather than the familiar chain establishments will get the most out of this guidebook.

This review is based on an electronic advanced reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.… (mais)

This is a book for tourists to England who want their cup of coffee or tea after visiting the local cathedral. Each entry tells a little about the cathedral, although it does not go into great detail. Sometimes a bit of information about the city is included before giving information on the cathedral itself. If the city or cathedral has been featured on TV (such as Dr. Who) or on film (such as Harry Potter) that information has been included. After the cathedral information, the author first talks about the coffee shop(s) and then the tea room(s). The entries typically tell a little about where the coffee is acquired, how many varieties of tea are offered, types of cakes or baked goods offered, and maybe a bit more. I've always heard that one had difficulty locating a decent cup of coffee in England, but this book makes it seem as though a good cup of tea is more difficult to find. It seemed there were a lot of places where one or more coffee shops were listed and the author had no tea rooms to recommend or where the tea room had recently closed. I only recall one instance of a coffee shop having recently closed in the narrative. There were several tea rooms which only offered tea of the bagged variety. The writing was very informal and did not follow the practices of good grammar. It's a fun take on a travel book, but the shear number of places that had recently closed illustrates how quickly the guide becomes dated, making it a non-essential purchase for most. I received an advance e-galley through NetGalley from the publisher with the expectation that a review would be written.… (mais)