Travel Books That Create a Real Feeling of Wanderlust

Travel books are one of those genres that only real travel lovers will explore. But that’s unfortunate because some of these books are so profound that it would be a shame if people never got to explore them just because they don’t travel as much as they would want to.

Young woman reading a book lying in a hammock. Source: 123rf.com

Sometimes a good travel book is one that you carry with you to keep you company on a long bus, train, or plane ride. Additionally, travel books help us learn about not just the places written about, but about the people in them. Here are a couple of must-reads…

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist is about following your dreams, and who doesn’t have a dream? It’s actually one of the most-read books in recent history. To give you the gist, a young shepherd boy from Spain makes his way to Egypt.

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. Source: keepingupwiththepenguins.com

He learns as he goes to follows his heart, goes with the flow, learning about love and the meaning of life on the way. One of the more memorable quotes: “If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man… Life will be a party for you, a grand festival because life is the moment we’re living right now.”

Love With a Chance of Drowning, by Torre DeRoche

Love with a chance of drowning is a more recent and perhaps less-known travel book. But it’s beautifully written and is about a girl overcoming fear of the ocean to sail across the Pacific with her boyfriend.

Love With a Chance of Drowning by Torre DeRoche. Source: penguin.com.au

The scenery, the people, and her experience is described so well that it will make you want to follow in her footsteps. Again, it’s one of those stories that say a lot more about us than the place that’s being written about.