We cannot always travel to places in person, some times we can travel to places through the pages of a book. And at times, too much travel can fade the charm a tiny bit. I find books to be of great help to keep the excitement of travel going.
I’m listing here some of the books that have either introduced me to a place or helped me appreciate being able to travel.
Wild
By Cheryl Strayed
Wild is one of the few books I have read cover to cover more than once. I continue to read random chapters from it every now and then.
Wild is Cheryl Strayed’s memoir documenting her healing journey on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). She was not a through hiker, nor was she a seasoned hiker, the book is not about how to do the PCT or how to be a ‘good hiker’, the book is beyond that.
It was the everyday blandness in routine that is sprinkled with adventure that makes me want to pack my bags and hit the road every time I read the book.
Eat Pray Love
By Elizabeth Gilbert
You have to be living under a rock if you haven’t heard of this book (no offence, it’s just that popular). If the book was not already popular enough, the movie with Julia Roberts took it to new heights.
The book so beautifully captures the year that the author Elizebeth Gilbert spends in three different countries that I find exciting. It’s the kind of travel we’re familiar with, the early morning laziness before hitting meditation hall, the pizza mania in Italy, and road romance in Bali, it is nearly picture perfect.
Women who run with the wolves
By Clarissa Pinkola Estes
The book ‘Women who run with the wolves’ is not really about traveling but it is instead a collection of myths and stories about wild women. To read these folk tales was a delight and often transported me to a fairy land. I read it while traveling around in Sri Lanka and I felt stronger walking the streets by myself.
There a certain kind of wildness the book helps a woman discover or recognize in herself, it’s that wildness that often takes us on these travel journeys.
1000 days of Spring
by Tomislav Perko
1000 days of a Spring is the memoir of Tomislav Perko documenting his travels mainly via hitchhiking and Couchsurfing. Before I hit the road, it was the only story that made traveling low budget seem achievable.
The book is simply written and takes readers along the road trip with the author. I find it a very realistic portrayal of a backpackers life.
Maximum City
by Suketu Mehta
Maximum city is one of the most intriguing books I have found on Mumbai. It’s a non-fiction book with detailed research into some unexpected aspects of the metro city.
The book helped me see the city in a new light and often with curiosity that was starting to fade with every passing day, as it often happens in our ‘home cities’.
The Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
The book – Diary of a Young Girl, is not about travel at all in fact, it’s the exact opposite of that. It is the diary of a girl who was in hiding with her family. Having to live in hiding, ensuring your presence is not felt by others via sound or light is so on the opposite spectrum of traveling, it makes me enjoy the moment a lot more. It’/s a reminder, what a privilege it is to be able to travel at all.
I feel grateful about a lot of things when I read this book but mostly I feel grateful for my freedom.