“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read,” once wrote one of the greatest ever American writers, Mark Twain. He is dead right. When was the last time that you read a book? I’m going to say that the majority of answers will be – oh, a long time ago, maybe when I was at school. I am just as guilty as the rest of you.

It’s not that I don’t read, I read stuff all day, but I’ve just fallen out of the habit of actually starting to read a good book.

Most people, and again I’m just as guilty, will say “I don’t have time for that.” Which again isn’t true. We all have time; we just don’t know how to manage our time. We just choose to use our time flicking through other people’s photos on social media or watching the Netflix.

I say all this because I’ve just started a book. I’d forgotten how much I love books. The feel, the smell and the anticipation. And because over Christmas in England I was reminded of the “book culture” of the UK. I think that probably plays a part in the popularity of reading. If you see lots of bookworms, then you kind of get drawn into it. And there are plenty of bookworms in England. You can’t get onto a train, into a bus or walk into a café without seeing a handful of people clutching a book, completely unaware of their surroundings, mesmerized by a story.

And book shops are booming. We saw just as many crowds in the numerous book stores as we did in the grocery shops.

Don’t forget one of the richest men in the world started his business by just selling books, that company grew and grew and is called Amazon. In 2021 an estimated 212 million books were sold in the UK. That is roughly 4 books bought by every person in the UK in one year.

The same can’t be said of the south of Croatia. Occasionally, and very occasionally, I bump into someone cuddled up with a book on the beach, but then nine times out of ten they are tourists. It would be difficult to imagine a Croatian Amazon taking off so impressively. Be honest when was the last time you saw someone in café on the Stradun, or anywhere come to think of it, flicking the pages of a book?

Data shows that almost 50 percent of Croatians didn’t read a book of any description in 2021.

So what book has reignited my reading fire? Salt Path, is the answer. I have a vested interest in this book. I have lived the adventure for myself.

It is the story of a woman who walked the South West Coast Path, hence the title. Basically a story of triumph over adversity. Left bankrupt, without a house, with a husband who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and a whole bunch of other horrible tales they decided to set off on a walk that would change their lives. It is of course a true story, although it reads very much like fiction as you can’t believe the things the couple go through. But most importantly it is a tale of hope.

Before we set off on our own journey we purposely avoided reading the book in order not to colour our own adventures. We wanted a blank canvas to write our own novel. And we must have been asked at least once a day by passers-by if we had read the Salt Path. Which one again proves the strong and vibrant reading culture of the UK. We hadn’t, but now we have finished it felt right to relieve our 2-month trail through the book’s eyes.

It has done two things, well three things. Firstly, made me chuckle and smile at the challenges, the highs and lows of walking the path. Secondly, rekindle my long, lost love of reading and lastly given me inspiration to write down our experiences.

Now, she wrote the book a full two years after they had finished, and it took them about twice as long to finish as we needed. So I have time for our story to percolate. It will take time, a lot of time, but one of the main things that our walk taught me it that the hardest step is the first step. And slowly, just go slowly and determinedly and you’ll get to the finish, whatever that finish might be.

“Anybody can have ideas, the difficulty is to express them,” again a quote from Mr. Twain. I have lots of ideas; I think condensing them will be the problem.

After I’ve finished Salt Path I can see myself picking up another book, or even re-reading an old one. Too long the books we own have just been decoration on the shelves, busily collecting dust, a library that remains unused. You don’t have to follow my path (sorry, for the pun) to start reading again. But try it. You’ve probably forgotten how rewarding it actually is. Read a book the same way you pay for your loans, in instalments. It isn’t a race.

The secret of getting ahead is getting started, again a Twain quote.

Read more Englishman in Dubrovnik…well, if you really want to