30 Minute Getaway Number Four: Travelling

Can’t stay in one place for too long? Going on a trip? Going crazy? On a plane, train or automobile? Why not read a good book and give yourself a 30 Minute Getaway! Here’s what you’ll need:


Book: From Zaftig to Aspie by DJ Kirkby

Travelling is all about taking a journey right? Well what better book to read while you are taking a journey than a memoir?

From Zaftig to Aspie is DJ Kirkby’s memoir of what it was like growing up a hippie child in the 1960. Her life was so incredibly different from our, it will amaze and surprise you.

But even more incredible, Kirkby talks about what it was like growing up with Aspergers and having to live with it while it was undiagnosed. It’s a no holds barred, beautiful account of one woman’s journey to find herself.

It’s also written in short, beautifully captured chapters which makes it the perfect book to read while on the train or the plane, or while you stand in line with your luggage. It’s an intimate look at one woman’s life that will leave you breathless.


Music: Hotel by Moby

While you’re travelling on the road, you’ll need somewhere to stay. Why not try Hotel by Moby?

The first album in which Moby sings in every one of the songs, it is perhaps his strongest and most diverse work. It manages to sound completely different and avoid the similarities of everything else he’s done, but still be incredibly, wonderfully good.

As an added treat, the album comes with a second CD called Ambient, so that when you reach your destination, you can put this in your stereo and just relax after a long days worth of travel.

This is Moby’s finest piece of work to date and the perfect travel companion.

30 Minute Getaway Number Three: Introspective

Feel the need to take a deeper look inside yourself? Feel the need to give your brain a recharge from the day to day grind? Why not read a good book and give yourself a 30 Minute Getaway! Here’s what you’ll need:


Book: Black Boxes by Caroline Smailes

Open the box on this incredible novel. It tells the story of Anna, a woman who is unravelling from the inside out, and her daughter Pip.

Anna has closed herself inside her room, her Black Box, and is examining her life after her the man she loves leaves her. Pip is examining her life as it is now, lonely, horrible and difficult.

When the two boxes crash together, the results will be incredible…

One of the best novels of 2008 and one of the best novels ever, Black Boxes transcends genres to become something different. Something incredible. If you haven’t read this novel, do it now.

Before it’s too late…

Music: The Trouble With Being Myself by Macy Gray

Macy Gray’s third album may at first seem a little tepid, perhaps even shy after her incredible debut How Life Is and her sophomore effort The Id. At first, it seems almost too soft. But really, that’s the albums power.

Though it may take a couple of listens, The Trouble With Being Myself is actually Grays most introspective, most personal work to date and perhaps her best work.

If you’re in the mood to clean house, to sit down with a good book or a good glass of wine, you can’t go wrong with this album. It’ll make you think AND put you in a good mood. It’s soulful, beautiful music that makes you think AND makes you want to have a good glass of wine.

Can’t ask for more than that.

30 Minute Getaway Number Two: Passionate

Feel the need to turn up the heat? Feel the need to give your brain a recharge from the winter woes? Why not read a good book and give yourself a 30 Minute Getaway! Here’s what you’ll need:

Book: Fury Calls by Caridad Pineiro

Take a bite out of The Calling Series! Pineiro’s newest vampire novel finds Blake Richards needing more than Ms. Right and a quick sip. What he wants is Meghan Thomas, the co-ed he turned four years ago.

Unfortunatley, she wants nothing to do with him.

But the two unlikely lovers will have to unite if they hope to defeat a monster that has been savaging the vampires of Manhattan. Will their love survive?

Or will they perish?


Music: Bring Ya To The Brink by Cyndi Lauper

What better way to spice up your 30 Minute Getaway than with Bring Ya To The Brink by Cyndi Lauper?

The album is sexy, funky and club ready. The songs are an incredible mix of dance, techno, hip hop and ballads that will spice up any good book and make you want to dance.

The stand out tracks are Nightlife, Echo and Same Old Story but every song on the album is fantastic, sexy fun.

30 Minute Getaway Number One: Adventurous

Feel blue? Want winter to go away? Why not go on a grand adventure? Here’s what you’ll need:

Book: MAX: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson

MAX is James Patterson’s bet Maximum Ride novel yet! After the dissapointment of Final Warning, Patterson is back on top with Max!

Max must fight against an all new enemy while trying to save the world. Hard right? No sweat if you’re Maximum Ride and her flock, kids genetically engineered to fly, to have wings.

If she lives, the plannet lives. It's that simple...

Perfect brain candy for that winter afternoon!

Music: Volta by Bjork

Need to feel like you’re getting away to an adventurous island hideaway? Well look no further than Volta by Bjork!

The entire album is sultry, sexy, moving and passionate. It’s also island themed. In some songs, you can hear the sounds of the water crashing against the rocks, the fog horn calling out a storm warning.

Pair that with sultry vocals and enough beat to make you want to get away from it all and join the party, Volta will take you away!