There can be countless situations when traveling when you face a couple of hours spare. You may be traveling by plane or train, and you have to wait, or your trip takes many hours.
There is no better way to pass the time than reading. The question is, what do you read? Do you read the best books about travel to where you are going, or do you engross yourself in a mind-provoking book that can act as inspiration, and broaden the mind?
One of the most popular books read was Eat, Pray, Love, which was written as a biographical drama that was later made into a film.
While not to everyone’s taste, there are plenty of other choices that are classics in their own right in comparison to Eat, Pray.
Here are five of the best travel books you can sink your teeth into as you travel around the world.
Best Books to Read When Traveling
1. The Beach
Written by Alex Garland from England. The Beach was based on his travels around Europe and Thailand. It follows a young backpacker who discovers an unspoiled shore, which was full of like-minded travelers.
The story makes plenty of references to the drug culture, hallucinations, and living life to the excess with hopes of finding Utopia.
The novel became a classic through word of mouth, and anyone visiting islands that resemble the beach would find this a great read, or inspiration to seek out similar locations.
2. The Killing Fields
Topping the tables on Good Reads for men is The Killing Fields. If you check it out on GoodReads, you need to click the affiliate links to Amazon to get to a description. Although beautifully written and historically accurate. It is a heartbreaking tale of Cambodia as it was under the rule of Khmer Rouge.
Written by Christopher Hudson, it is one of the best depictions of Cambodia, and it will change the way you view the country. The biographical tale is of the main character, an American journalist who teams up with a Cambodian journalist Dith Pran to reveal the actual events of the war.
3. Speed Bump Himalayas
Written by Mark Giblin. It is a humorous depiction of his true story of breaking away from it all and traveling to India. With a friend in tow, their journey starts bad and ends up worse. On their quest, they travel through Nepal and Kashmir as their trip soon spirals into a disaster.
It can be one of the most enjoyable books to read while traveling. It will give anyone heading in the same direction, a few ideas about what not to do, unless they want to try and stay alive during their travel in the same way.
4. The Great Railway Bazaar
One of the most notable names for travelling books is Paul Theroux. Here, here delivers the account of his epic journey through Asia on some of the most legendary train routes. The Orient Express, Trans-Siberian, Thailand and Khyber Pass among the ones he was traveling along.
On its release, it sold 1.5 million copies, which was unheard of at the time for a travellers book. It records his four-month travel by train around Europe, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia, and Siberia.
5. Americanah
If you are traveling and want a travel book to question all you understand about race, love, identity, and immigration. It tells the story of a woman from Nigeria moves to New York while her sweetheart moves to the UK as his US visa is denied.
Over the coming years, she faces racism, where she then experiences self-identity, social life, and love. It is a good book to read by anyone who is traveling to a diverse country for the first time.
Is Reading Good While Traveling?
If you are traveling for extended periods, then reading is a fantastic way to broaden the mind. If you are on a road trip, it can be too bumpy to ever read and keep your place. Trains, planes, and beaches are the best places as you go about your adventure.
How Do You Read Books When Traveling?
Much of this has to do with the kind of traveling you will be doing. If you have paperbacks, these are a great way to immerse yourself. There is no better way to read than thumbing through the pages of a book.
However, you need to consider weight. This is where the Kindle comes into its own. They are cheap and are the best way to read books in digital format.
You can download books from the Amazon website as you wish, no matter where you are, as long as there is a connection.
Be it South America, on the road, or anywhere else you are traveling. You can also use these to keep up with your Facebook and email.
What is the Best Book Ever?
Everyone has their favorite book, and countless stories have inspired many a very different author, in various adventures, or it is pure fiction.
What makes good books to read for one man can be different for another. You can toss-up between Into the Wild which follows a guy from the United States as he gives up all he knows, and his vacation takes him to the extreme where he comes to learn more about himself as he is alone without money, and his experience shows what it is like to really live.
The second is The Alchemist, which has many individuals saying, you must read this book. It is a great book and follows an Andalusian shepherd boy who travels away from home to find buried treasure. In his quest to find the treasure, he meets various people, and no one knows actually what the treasure will be.
What he comes across in his search is worth much more than money, and it is especially true to every traveler who searches for the perfect way to make themselves happy. The Alchemist shows us to see what is possible, and thanks to dreams, to never give up.
