Traveling never gets old and by this time of year, you're probably already jotting down new locations you want to visit as you welcome in 2018. Excuse us for wanting to explore every corner of this beautiful earth. Exploring involves some downtime, which means you need amazing books to read while traveling, so that you can hype yourself up even more for the journey ahead.
Honestly, you may even be on your way to one of the top places on your bucket list, and then you flip through the pages of a book and find that you're already packing your things for a new adventure. Books and reading are powerful AF, and in a way, they shape our wants, needs, and imagination. Oh, and let's not forget how relaxing reading can be in general.
Books can make us love places we have never been to, and inspire us to go there ASAP. If the words describing these places are so enticing, imagine what actually being there would be like? If you thought your bucket list was full before, a few books will have you filling in those empty lines.
When you're traveling, there's no need to let your mind stay still. With any one of these books, your imagination is going on a completely different trek than the journey you're on your way to.
01"On The Road" By Jack Kerouac
If you are traveling cross-country, this book will send your hopes and wants soaring. Read about two friends soaking up all that America has to offer. It flirts with the overwhelming feeling of freedom and adventure, and it will be pretty hard for you to put it down.
02"The Beach" By Alex Garland
Think of all of the things you value and love about the beach, and sprinkle it with stunning waterfalls, jungles, and plants that have been unharmed for centuries. Not all the glitz and glam is perfect though, and you'll find out why this lagoon has deep-rooted secrets.
03"Eat, Pray, Love" By Elizabeth Gilbert
Yes, that Julia Roberts movie actually came from a spectacular book. A woman's search for more out of life in some of the most beautiful places you can think of, will have you wanting to pioneer a similar journey of your own. We're all searching for something, aren't we?
04"The Alchemist" By Paulo Coelho
If you're in need of those "follow your dreams" feels, this book will hand you that, and then some. The story of a shepherd boy seeking adventure and journeying to find a treasure, will resonate with any of us in some way. He gains some gems that are interpersonal and incredibly priceless.
05"Paper Towns" By John Green
You know travel and a love story are adorably meant to coincide. When a young man has the night of his life with a girl he had his eye on forever, she disappears soon after. But there are clues that hint at her location, and he is more than willing to go looking for her.
06"Go Girl!: The Black Woman’s Book Of Travel And Adventure" By Elaine Lee
Traveling is different for everyone. Sometimes, even race or upbringing can affect how much you actually know about the ins and outs of traveling.
Elaine Lee gracefully inserts the black identity in traveling, and thus shatters the idea that black women shouldn't aspire to travel because they were not given the proper tools or guidance to do so.
07"Wild" By Cheryl Strayed
When a divorcee with two kids loses her mom, she looks for healing and redemption on a trail. Nature is rewarding, and with this journey, you realize that healing can happen anywhere you accept it into your life. Sometimes it takes something traumatic to open the door to one of the most glorious adventures we will ever take.
Next time you are traveling and need something for the hours in between, pick up a book. There's adventure waiting for you in every page.