There are many books out there that it is hard to choose one or even two to bring with you when you’re traveling. How can you choose only one? I remember when I was backpacking through Europe years ago that I brought along one of Anne Rice’s novels to read. I knew I might need something to read on those nights when I wasn’t seeing the sights or hanging out with people I met in the hostel (s) where I was staying. Then you might ask yourself how do you get rid of the book when you are done reading it? Many hostels have a place where you can leave your books when you are done reading them so the next traveler stopping in at the hostel can pick up any number of books left by previous travelers to read. That is what I did with the books I read after the first Anne Rice novel I brought with me.
Nowadays it is so much easier to bring books with you. You don’t have to carry around a hardback novel that would probably make your backpack even heavier than it was without the book packed away in its corner. With the Kindle and Nook and many order e-readers that are around, you can literally carry hundreds of novels in one simple reader. I have the Nook and have downloaded hundreds of novels and even though I won’t be reading all of them on this trip LOL it is great to know I won’t have one or two books weighing me down when I carry my backpack.
Question for you: What books do you suggest when you are on the road? What are the books that you couldn’t put down from the moment you picked them up?
Books I recommend:
Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine and Love in Italy. This book was written by Michael Tucker of LA Law fame. It is a travelogue but I wouldn’t consider it your traditional travelogue. Michael and his wife, Jill, purchased a house in Italy and he explains in details how the next chapter of their lives have begun in a foreign country. This is the one book that made me want to start traveling again and see where my life would take me and which countries I would visit.
Notes from a Culinary Wasteland
Without Reservations: The Travels of an Independent Woman. This book or postcards from the author to the author was written by Alice Steinbach. I love how this is not your average, everyday travel book. In this book, Ms. Steinbach starts each chapter with sending a postcard to herself. Then she discusses in detail her thoughts on where she is and how she connects to each city she is experiencing.
In reading ‘Without Reservations’, I am going to try and send some postcards to myself on my trip to Europe. It will be interesting to see what I write to myself and the experiences I can relive through reading the postcards when I get back home.
Again, I pose the question to you – what books would you recommend to your fellow travelers?
