"As a native of Scotland, bestselling author Iain Banks has decided to undertake a tour of the distilleries of his homeland in a bid to uncover the unique spirit of the single malt. Visiting some of the world's most famous distilleries and also some of its smallest and most obscure ones, Banks embarks on a journey of discovery which educates him about the places, people and products surrounding the centuries-old tradition of whisky production. Using various modes of transport - ferries to the islands, cars across the highlands, even bicycles between bus-stops - Banks' tour of Scotland combines history, literature and landscape in an entertaining and informative account of an exploration in which the arrival is by no means the most important part of the journey."

The author goes in search of the perfect dram. That sounded like fun, but it was the descriptions of the scenery that have made me book a ticket to Scotland (literally). Thanks Fleebo, but your books can be very expensive sometimes!

I confess to not being a whisky drinker (although various people are trying to teach me to be). However, I love Scotland, and this book was very enjoyable. Iain Banks is a hilarious, whisky-loving, car-loving, homemade explosives-loving looney! I like Banks better as a travel writer than a sci-fi writer although I am sure that he would not be happy to hear it. And to think - haggis pakora is real, and not just a demented invention in "Whit".

Reserved for Feryl.

No wonder I haven't been able to find this in my bookshelves. I discovered it in Canberra, with Nanny3. Hey there, miss-jo - does Feryl still want to look at this? Littlemave expressed an interest in it too, or at least in the Blue Moon cocktail recipe, although I'm sure that she's forgotten about it by now. ("Here's a handy tip: when a cocktail recipe begins with the words, Take A Pint Glass... beware.")

miss-jo has finally passed this one on to me... I have a bit of a backlog so I won't get to it for a while - might see if Littlemave is interested in reading it in the meantime.

We're moving soon... downsizing, culling... so it's time for all the Bookcrossing books that have been languishing on my bookshelf for years to go travelling on their merry way. I hope previous journallers are pleased to hear from the books they had probably thought lost forever! :o) Books will be released at the book swap shelves upstairs in Coffs Central.

Picked up in Coffs Harbour and heading down to Melbourne then....who knows? Thanks Fleebo and Feryl!