2020 has relegated many of us to our private bedrooms. Flights cancelled, airports grinding to a halt, the most likely option of getting anywhere these days is really through a book. At least for me, #Sigh. Without meaning to sound like a cliche, but books transport me to places. I go for reads that are rich in descriptions, every emotion and place coloured in vivid and brilliant tones. From my comfy love seat, cold pepsi in hand, I am off to Paris, the air effused with French perfume and love potions or I head to Zhululand, south Africa watching the beautiful sunrise on the back of an Elephant.
I’ve decided to share a few books that helped me calm wanderlust in this pandemic period and would certainly guide you in filling that travel diary.
Paris In Love (A Memoir) By Eloisa James
This book was an absolute fave. It tells the story of the romance writer Eloisa James, how she battled cancer, recovered and then was reminded of how short life was. She relocated with her family to Paris, a city she had always wanted to visit for a year. The book had several laugh-out-loud moments. It read like a journal with entries for each day on realities of how Paris actually is, plus at the end of the book, there’re cheat sheets on cheap but quality restaurants to visit, museums and several boutiques.
The Good girl’s guide to getting lost By Rachael Friedman
Racheal’s accounts of her travels were something I read and re-read. And every time I did, it blew my mind because she was in her early twenties and she travelled to not just one but three continents. Her tales of the rainy Irish weather in Dublin and how she backpacked to Australia, making stops in Bolivia, Peru and Argentina will leave you with life lessons. She started the journey solo too, I just kept wondering what would happen if I told my parents I wanted to solo travel as she did, the answer is best imagined.
The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony
The story gives a personal account of how Mr Lawrence accepted a herd of dangerous elephants that no one wanted, his writings will lead you through the enthralling Thula Thula Wildlife reserve in Zululand South Africa, it’s like cruising in a book safari
Love with A Chance of Drowning By Torri DeRoche
Though the story looks at first like a classic love tale: Girl meets Boy and then they travel the world. But in this case, they do it by sailing the Pacific Ocean and the girl, Torri DeRoche is deathly afraid of water. The story was so relatable and Torri’s writing elevated the book from being average to just amazing, I laughed for the most part of it.
These are my best picks but there are a whole lot of travel books i.e places to discover. So from one book addict to another, which do you recommend? Share in the comments.