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Save/ShareA popular page of Budget Travel is our masthead. Every month, we publish our answers to a particular question, which we think is a way to add a bit of fun to a page that many readers probably find dull.
A couple years ago, we were asked to name books that made us want to take trips.
Some of our answers were:
Erik Torkells...The Republic of Love, by Carol Shields
Marilyn Holstein...A Thousand Days in Venice, by Marlena de Blasi
Amy Lundeen...A Street in Marrakech, by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea
Amy Helin...The Origin of the Species, by Charles Darwin
Laura MacNeil...Paddle-to-the-Sea, by Holling Clancy Holling
Thomas Berger...Blue Highways: A Journey Into America, by William Least Heat-Moon
Kate Appleton...Birds Without Wings, by Louis de Bernières
Ruthie Kaposi...A Separate Peace, by John Knowles**
[CORRECTION 10:37 a.m.: I typed in the wrong book for Ruthie Kaposi when I first posted this. I regret the error. My advice to you: Never blog before having your a cup of coffee!]
But enough about the books that inspired us to travel. What about you?
When we recently asked what books you bring on a trip, dozens of readers posted fascinating answers, which inspired our staff to make several trips—to local libraries and bookstores!
Some examples included Bruce Chatwin's The Songlines, the Bible, Edward F. Murphy's book, "Heroes of WWII," and Janet Evanovich series of books about the Stephanie Plum character (female bounty hunter). (Full list, here.)
BUT NOW we have a different question: What book makes you want to travel in the first place?
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I've always wanted to visit Israel after reading the Bible. But I'd want to go with a guide. I'm afraid though that it might be kind of like those chopped vans you see driving around Hollywood with the load of depressing tourists looking for movie star houses. I don't want it to feel cheap like that.
Another great travel-inspiring book is Hamlet. In high school I was convinced that I wanted to be an exchange student to Denmark! My school and parents had other ideas, but what an adventure that would have been!
Posted By Amy Koller on May 22, 2008, 10:22 AM
Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck. I positively love this book and have never been able to get it out of my head. When someone mentions liking On the Road, I always recommend Travels with Charley. Essentially, Steinbeck tricks out a truck, turning it into an RV of sorts, and heads out on a 10,000 mile journey with his poodle, Charley. He paints an amazing portrait of America at a particular moment in time, describing the people he meets along the way, from migrant farm workers in California to Cajuns in New Orleans. There's a great wikipedia entry on the book, including a photo of Steinbeck & Charley. I'm going to dig out my copy and re-read it this summer...
Posted By betty on May 22, 2008, 12:41 PM
The History of Art by Janson
Posted By Paula on May 22, 2008, 1:00 PM
"The Cliffs of Night" by Beatrice Brandon. It made me yearn to see the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. In 1999 I read the book again as I drove (okay, as my husband drove) through Ireland and was not disappointed. The cliffs were awe-inspiring and fierce and just as I imagined.
Posted By Leslie on May 22, 2008, 6:20 PM
The Hobbit. I wanted to find Middle Earth only to find years later, I was living there already!! go figure.
Posted By stuart campbell on May 22, 2008, 10:51 PM
What makes you want to travel?
The insatiable desire to experience understand and learn about people and places makes me want to live my life out of a suitcase - Travel builds bonds that make for peace and harmony - When you have visited a place you forge a relationship with the place and the people ( even though you have not conversed with them in their language).
You understand the suffering of the people after the cyclone in Burma because you have been there and seen how vulnerable they are; you sympathise with the chill in the air in Poland because you know they have suffered for decades - you know the world is yet to get a correct picture of the Middle East as you travel through the different countries and the meet the different nationalities .....
Travel makes me ..
Posted By Viju James on May 23, 2008, 2:33 AM
Geography of Bliss by Eric Stein was a fascinating comparative look at what makes people happy around the world; part research, part experience. Focused on interesting places and people and makes me want to continue his quest. Great sense of humor, I couldn't put it down until finished.
Posted By LuLu Lurie on May 26, 2008, 4:12 AM
Pat Conroy's story on Umbria, Italy in the book Endless Feasts (edited by Ruth Reichl) makes me want to explore not only Italy but just to be so much more aware of my surroundings and experiences wherever I travel.
If you love travel and you love food, you should read Endless Feasts.
Posted By Tara on May 26, 2008, 8:41 AM
Let's Not Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood, by Alexandra Fuller. I felt I actually experienced Africa close-up in reading Fuller's memoir -- the smells, the sounds of insects and hyenas and lions and lizards skittering across the wall, the heat and night-time relief from heat, the let-down-your-hair dress and decor, and more. Soon after I registered for the safari described in the last issue, then fractured both wrists. But I AM going on that safari before I'm 70!
Posted By Catherine on May 26, 2008, 8:49 AM
Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney. One woman's tale of the joy and terror of sailing down the Nile without a male companion.
Posted By Mari Denniston on May 26, 2008, 9:55 AM
At 61 it took a bit of reflection but I remember a book of stories about other counties that I read in elementary school. One of the stories was about Lapland and I remember wishing I could jump into the pictures--lots of snow, real reindeer, dogs pulling sleds and children bundled in heavy coats, hats and mittens. It was so different from small town, southern USA. Fifty years later I still feel the same pull to see how other people experience life.
Posted By Pat Allen on May 26, 2008, 12:34 PM
Most books by James Michener, especially those centered on the Pacific Ocean. His description of the origins of the islands in the South Pacific lured me into reading "Tales of the South Pacific", "Return to Paradise", "Rascals in Paradise", all vivid descriptions of the characters and the unsurpassed beauty of the area. He prodded me into making 5 trips to French Polynesia.
Posted By Richard Skudlarek on May 26, 2008, 4:32 PM
"The Greek Treasure" by Irving Stone published in 1976 was my inspiration for my first trip to Europe in 1978 and specifically Greece. Greece has remained one of my favorite European countries since then and we will be traveling there again in the Fall.
Posted By shirley Seal on May 26, 2008, 5:13 PM
Don't Fall Off the Mountain by Shirley MacLaine. It was the first time I realized there was a difference between being a tourist and being a traveler.
Posted By Nancy Haggarty on May 26, 2008, 5:21 PM
Don't laugh but the first book that made me want to travel was James Harriott's All Creatures series.
Those books were a door into another world and made me think about how many different places and people were really out there.
Posted By Silvera on May 26, 2008, 5:42 PM
Dan Brown's Angels & Demons had me booking a trip to Italy.
Posted By Lili on May 26, 2008, 11:48 PM
Dark Star Sarafi by Paul Theroux. Not only did it make me want to travel, it made me want to travel differently than I ever have before.
Posted By heidi on May 27, 2008, 9:41 AM
Honeymoon with My Brother: A Memoir
by Franz Wisner - 2006
Eat, Pray, Love: Elizabeth Gilbert
On Mexican Time: A New Life in San Miguel: Tony Cohan ...
All of these books really inspired me to travel, and to travel with purpose, not just vacation.
Posted By Lorraine on May 27, 2008, 12:15 PM
Log from the Sea of Cortez, by John Steinbeck was the first book that set my wanderlust in motion. The slow but purposeful drifting of the boat and the attention to scientific detail made me want to get out of small town California!
Posted By Pam Autio on May 27, 2008, 2:32 PM
West With the Night, by Beryl Markham. This book made me fall in love with Africa years before I had the chance to travel there. Her life as one of the world's first female aviators is fascinating enough, but she also writes so beautifully about the country she loved.
Posted By Carolyn Brakhage on May 28, 2008, 11:34 AM
I read Richard Halliburton's "Complete Book of Marvels" when I was 13 years old. I followed that up with the rest of his wonderful books and have wanted to travel ever since- and have. I'm now 72 and still have not had the opportunity to swim in the pool in front of the Taj Mahal under a full moon as he did! But I'll be heading for India this November.
Posted By Trish Taylor on May 28, 2008, 11:15 PM
Great recommendations! Here are some of mine: I loved the story of a mom who took her kids out of school for a year to track down "Heidi's Alp" and other locations from their favorite children's books. And that's the title, "Heidi's Alp," by Christina Hardyment. I also loved the adventures of the intrepid Freya Stark who wrote "The Valleys of the Assassins" in 1934, when she went looking for an ancient fortress described by Marco Polo in a wild and wooly area of Persia. She was breathtakingly bold and wrote with a liveliness and perception that keeps you up late at night reading.
More travel-inspiring books reviewed in The Ultimate Travel Library on NatGeo Traveler's site:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/extras/travellibrary/library.html
Posted By Marilyn Terrell on May 30, 2008, 6:50 PM
"Under the Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes made me want to visit Italy and the Tuscan region. All the recipes in the book inspired me to cook some great Italian food and drink red wine.
Posted By Elaine Poole on June 2, 2008, 3:33 PM
Judy's Blume's novel "Summer Sisters" has had me itching to visit Martha's Vineyard.
Posted By Catherine Lawrence on June 3, 2008, 5:12 PM
"Under the Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes was my travel dream come true. Not only could I see myself vacationing in Tuscany but I could even imagine buying a villa, fixing it up, and living there...at least for a while. I still pick up the book once in a while or watch the heart-warming movie with Diane Lane, just for inspiration.
Posted By Pat Guth on June 9, 2008, 7:33 PM
I am not sure this book made me crave the traveling experience in the first place, but reading On the Road completely overhauled whatever concept of travel I had had. It influenced the ways and means of experiencing the world, and added an expanded perception of comfort, or lack of need for it. It opened up a sort of freedom in me as a traveler and, subsequently, the ways I've expressed those experiences as a writer, poet and photographer.
Posted By Adam Williams on July 28, 2008, 3:49 PM