5 Books That Will Make You a Better Traveler
Traveling is more than just getting that perfect social media shot. While people travel for various reasons, may it be career, pleasure, or adventure, everyone can agree that it’s all about the journey. Like the New York Times reports, the long-awaited reopening of borders is happening just in time for the holiday season to arrive, and travelers are itching to get to their dream destinations once again. To inspire you to start your own journey, here are five books that will transform the way you travel.
The Rings of Saturn by W.G. Sebald
W.G. Sebald’s The Rings of Saturn has become something of a classic, along with his other prose fiction works Vertigo, The Emigrants, and Austerlitz. The Rings of Saturn and its archive of photographs record a walking tour of the east coast of England. The narrator, who both is and isn’t the iconic W.G. Sebald, takes you through recession-hit seaside towns, the once-thriving silk industry of Norwich, and the massive bombing sites of WWII. This book, if not wanderlust-inducing, is a deeply melancholic ride. READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK
Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon
One of the older titles in this list, Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon is well-loved by his readers. The autobiographical travel book offers an unforgettable journey guiding you through our nation’s backroads. His curiosity about the “little towns that get on the map, if they get on at all” led to his quaint explorations that shed light on places like Oregon, Virginia, Freedom, Tennessee, Arizona, among others. Blue Highways is composed of his recollections of the extraordinary experiences and people he encountered along the way.
World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever
Anthony Bourdain’s travels have taken him to see much of the world’s nooks and crannies. In World Travel: An Irreverent Guide, he provides a very personal introduction to some of his favorite places. A fun travel guide, Bourdain’s work features essential advice on how to get there, what to eat, where to stay, and even what to avoid, in some cases. If you’re planning on making your way across New York, Buenos Aires, Paris, Shanghai, Tanzania, and even Oman’s Empty Quarter, then you’re sure to pick up a few useful things from this book. READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK
The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton
For globetrotters who hate having set itineraries, The Art of Travel might just validate your desire to go with the flow. Alain de Botton emphasizes that this mindset might actually make one’s travels more spontaneous and fulfilling. It provides invaluable insights on everything from seeking holiday romance, hotel mini-bars, to making airports part of the experience. With the help of wonderful writers and artists including Flaubert, Edward Hopper, Wordsworth, and Van Gogh, The Art of Travel is a fresh perspective that encourages you to ask why you travel, instead of where. READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK
Lands of Lost Borders: A Journey on the Silk Road by Kate Harris
Kate Harris, the winner of the 2019 RBC Taylor Prize, enters the world of literature with this engrossing travelogue and memoir that takes us on bicycle journey along the Silk Road. Amidst studying at Oxford and MIT, Harris set off down the fabled Silk Road; and the further she traveled, the more she realized the connection between our own self-restrictions and the existential need to explore. She delves into the nature of limits and the wildness of the self, and she examines borders and the stories they tell — both personal and geographical.
We hope reading about these books tickled your imagination and maybe inspired you to chart your next travel route. If you need a little extra push, check out our next article, This is Why You Need to Use Vacation Days and Travel.
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