Posted: 07/06/15 | July 7th, 2015

At the start of the new Year, I vowed to read one book a week, and I’m happy to say I’m accomplishing that goal. I even started a book club to keep me focused (I mean, you can’t recommend books if you don’t read them, right?).

Thanks to my grandmother, I’ve always been addicted to reading (Sadly, not everyone is: 28% of people haven’t read a book in the last year!!). I feel like I might be the only person who read the unabridged version of Les Miserables when he was thirteen! After years of sporadic reading, digesting so numerous books this year has nourished my long book-starved soul.

And, with the summer travel season in full swing, I wanted to share my recent favorite reads. A good book makes long flights go by quicker.

1. A Year in Provence, by Peter Mayle

I’d heard of this book before but never bothered to pick it up until multiple readers recommended it to me. I’m delighted I finally read it — it was incredible. An autobiographical novel following the author Peter Mayle’s year living in Provence, it details the struggles and joys of adapting to a new culture. I loved the interesting characters he meets and his description of the slow pace of life in France (which was a clear departure from his previous life in England). As a Francophile, this book makes me want to relocation to France even more. wonderfully and wistfully written, I can understand why it continues to be such a classic. purchase on Amazon | purchase on Bookshop

2. The Art of Travel, by Alain De Botton

Another reader recommendation, this book looks at the why of travel. What compels us to see the world? From the anticipation of a trip, the act of getting there, being there, and the return, Alain De Botton talks about it all. though dry in parts, this is one of the best written and many thoughtful travel books I’ve read in a really long time. The author’s use of language and imagery is extremely sophisticated, and his discussions of beauty, travel, and the mundane are equally thought-provoking. purchase on Amazon | purchase on Bookshop

3. eating Viet Nam: Dispatches from a Blue Plastic Table, by Graham Holliday

While I don’t love Vietnam (I didn’t have a good experience there), I do love Vietnamese food… a lot! This is an awesome book about the history and culture behind the country’s street cuisine. author Graham Holliday has lived in Vietnam a long time, and he sure knows his food. In this engrossing and hunger-inducing book, you’ll wander with him through the backstreets of Vietnam, learning about the street food you see all over the country and, in doing so, begin to understand the country and its people. purchase on Amazon | purchase on Bookshop

4. visit Sunny Chernobyl, by Andrew Blackwell

What’s it like to visit the most polluted places on the planet? inspired by a trip to Kanpur, India (considered one of the most polluted towns in the country), Andrew Blackwell set off to visit oil towns, coal mines, the Pacific garbage patch, and, of course, Chernobyl. In numerous ways, I found this to be the anti-travel book. It didn’t inspire me to go anywhere, but it did pique my intellectual curiosity about the places that remain hidden from everyday view. Blackwell’s conversational writing style, self-deprecating jokes, and sarcasm make this book an easy and fun read. purchase on Amazon | purchase on Bookshop

5. travels with Charley in search of America, by John Steinbeck

John Steinbeck’s well-known travel book… that he many likely made up! now typically believed that Steinbeck fictionalized many of the adventures in his book, the writing is so pleasurable that it’s still a worthwhile read. set in 1960, it tells of Steinbeck’s travels across the us with his canine Charley as they meet colorful, folksy characters along the way. This book is about that cool road trip we all want to take and the people we wish to meet. While embellished, it’s a fun read. purchase on Amazon | purchase on Bookshop

6. The kindness of Strangers, by Mike McIntyre

Mike McIntyre set off to travel across America with nothing except the clothes on his back. His goal? To get from San Francisco to Cape worry with no money, relying solely on the kindness of strangers. Along the way he encountered all kinds of people who shattered the cynical journalist inside him. having hitchhiked in numerous countries and been in situations where I needed help from strangers, I found this book a good pointer that people the world over are typically good, kind souls.
Buy on Amazon | purchase on Bookshop

And, in case you want some non-travel books, these were good too:

7. Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. — This biography of John D. Rockefeller by Ron Chernow is long and dense, but it gives you a fantastic insight into the richest man to ever live and how standard Oil and his subsequent philanthropy changed the world.

8. The 7 practices of highly effective people — AKlassisk bok av Stephen Covey om hur du kan organisera din tid och prioriteringar för att leva ett bättre, mycket mer tankeväckande liv. Jag kan inte rekommendera den här boken tillräckligt.

9. Empire of Cotton: A Global History – Sven Beckerts intressanta och omfattande titt på bomullshistorien och hur den formade världen.

Så där har du det! Nio böcker för att hålla dig väl lästa och inspirerad i sommar! Jag kommer att göra ett inlägg som detta så ofta, eftersom jag tycker att böcker är en fantastisk källa till vandringslust (och personlig tillväxt).

Om du söker efter andra böcker att läsa, gå med i den helt GRATIS COMMUNITY BOOK CLUB. En gång i månaden får du en lista med fem böcker som andra medlemmar i samhället och jag har läst och haft.

Så om du vill ha bokförslag bara registrera dig nedan. En gång i månaden får du en lista över föreslagna böcker baserade på vad jag läste och älskade den månaden.

Vill du ha mycket fler böcker att läsa?

Vill du ha föreslagit läsning? Gå med i min månatliga bokklubb och få en lista med 3-5 föreslagna böcker som skickas till dig en gång i månaden.

Namn: Ja, jag vill läsa mer!

Boka din resa: logistiska förslag och tricks
Boka din flygning
Hitta en billig flygning genom att använda Skyscanner. Det är min favorit sökmotor eftersom den söker på webbplatser och flygbolag runt om i världen så att du alltid vet att ingen sten lämnas omvänd.

Boka ditt boende
Du kan boka ditt vandrarhem med Hostelworld. Om du vill stanna någon annanstans än ett vandrarhem, använd Booking.com eftersom de konsekvent returnerar de billigaste priserna för pensionat och hotell.

Glöm inte reseförsäkring
Reseförsäkring kommer att skydda dig mot sjukdom, skada, stöld och avbokningar. Det är omfattande skydd om något går fel. Jag åker aldrig på en resa utan den eftersom jag har varit tvungen att använda den flera gånger tidigare. Mina favoritföretag som erbjuder bästa service och värde är:

SafetyWing (bäst för alla)

Försäkra min resa (för de över 70)

Medjet (för ytterligare evakueringstäckning)

Redo att boka din resa?
Kolla in min resurssida för de bästa företagen att använda när du reser. Jag listar alla de jag använder när jag reser. De är de bästa i klassen och du kan inte gå fel med att använda dem på din resa.