40 Books That Inspire Travel & Teach You About The World

I LOVE ESCAPISM. For me, sitting down with a book that will transport me to an entirely different time and place (especially if it’s a destination I love or have on my bucket list) is like heaven. My favorite types of escapism are historical fiction that has some element of a love story tied in, travel romance, and books that teach me about a different culture or a different country through storytelling. That all being said, this list of 40 books that inspire travel and teach you about the world and different cultures is made up of a mix of historical fiction, non-fiction memoirs/chronicles, as well as travel romance.

The stories on this list range from heart-wrenching, war-torn plots to frivolous romances in Rome. There’s heartbreak, there’s romance, there’s comedy – but one thing is for sure, all of the books on this list will transport you to another time and place where you can taste the food, smell the smells, and see the sites. My hope is that these books inspire you to travel or help you learn something new about the world or about a culture you don’t know much about. They have opened up my eyes, my heart, and my mind, and have made me feel like I’m connecting with the world even from home on my sofa.

(all summary descriptions taken from Amazon)

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1. Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton:

Summary: Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, 19-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cuba’s high society, where she is largely sheltered from the country’s growing political unrest – until she embarks on a clandestine affair with a passionate revolutionary. Miami, 2017. Freelance writer Marisol Ferrera grew up hearing romantic stories of Cuba from her late grandmother Elisa, who was forced to flee with her family during the revolution. Elisa’s last wish was for Marisol to scatter her ashes in the country of her birth. Arriving in Havana, Marisol comes face-to-face with the contrast of Cuba’s tropical, timeless beauty and its perilous political climate.

Note from Wanderluluu: Probably my favorite book I have read in the past several years. I loved the mix of romance and historical fiction and I left learning SO much about Cuba’s tumultuous political climate – that is still going on today.

To buy: amazon, $10.98

2. When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton:

Summary: The Cuban Revolution took everything from sugar heiress Beatriz Perez – her family, her people, her country. Recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Fidel Castro’s inner circle and pulled into the dangerous world of espionage, Beatriz is consumed by her quest for revenge and her desire to reclaim the life she lost. As the Cold War swells like a hurricane over the shores of the Florida Strait, Beatriz is caught between the clash of Cuban-American politics and the perils of a forbidden affair with a powerful man driven by ambitions of his own. When the ever-changing tides of history threaten everything she has fought for, she must make a choice between her past and future – but the wrong move could cost Beatriz everything – not just the island she loves, but also the man who has stolen her heart.

Note from Wanderluluu: In the second book of the series, When We Left Cuba was captivating and I loved that it was from the perspective of a different Perez sister this time. Filled with romance and real facts about Castro and Cuba – it was another opportunity to learn so much about a country I’ve never visited.

To buy: amazon, $10.98

3. The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton:

Summary: A feud rages in Gilded Age New York City between newspaper tycoons William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer. When Grace Harrington lands a job at Hearst’s newspaper in 1896, she’s caught in a cutthroat world where one scoop can make or break your career, but it’s a story emerging from Cuba that changes her life. Unjustly imprisoned in a notorious Havana women’s jail, 18-year-old Evangelina Cisneros dreams of a Cuba free from Spanish oppression. When Hearst learns of her plight and splashes her image on the front page of his paper, proclaiming her, “The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba,” she becomes a rallying cry for American intervention in the battle for Cuban independence. With the help of Marina Perez, a courier secretly working for the Cuban revolutionaries in Havana, Grace and Hearst’s staff attempt to free Evangelina. But when Cuban civilians are forced into reconcentration camps and the explosion of the USS Maine propels the United States and Spain toward war, the three women must risk everything in their fight for freedom.

Note from Wanderluluu: Honestly, I can’t get enough of Chanel Cleeton’s novels on Cuba. Again, I learned so much about Cuba, but this time pre-Castro times, dating back to when the Spanish occupied Cuba. Such a great story of feminine strength and the lengths people will fight to gain their freedom.

To buy: amazon, $13.42

4. The Last Train to Key West by Chanel Cleeton:

Summary: For the tourists traveling on Henry Flagler’s legendary Overseas Railroad, Labor Day weekend is an opportunity to forget the economic depression gripping the nation. But one person’s paradise can be another’s prison, and Key West-native Helen Berner yearns to escape. After the Cuban Revolution of 1933 leaves Mirta Perez’s family in a precarious position, she agrees to an arranged marriage with a notorious American. Following her wedding in Havana, Mirta arrives in the Keys on her honeymoon. While she can’t deny the growing attraction to her new husband, his illicit business interests may threaten not only her relationship, but her life. Elizabeth Preston’s trip to Key West is a chance to save her once-wealthy family from their troubles after the Wall Street crash. Her quest takes her to the camps occupied by veterans of the Great War and pairs her with an unlikely ally on a treacherous hunt of his own. Over the course of the holiday weekend, the women’s paths cross unexpectedly, and the danger swirling around them is matched only by the terrifying force of the deadly storm threatening the Keys.

Note from Wanderluluu: Although this one solely takes place in the Florida Keys – I still wanted to include it because it includes elements from Cuba and also is just such a great story where all the characters’ paths eventually cross paths.

To buy: amazon, $13.42

5. The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi:

Summary: Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist – and confidante – to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own. Known for her original designs and sage advice, Lakshmi must tread carefully to avoid the jealous gossips who could ruin her reputation and her livelihood. As she pursues her dream of an independent life, she is startled one day when she is confronted by her husband, who has tracked her down these many years later with a high-spirited young girl in tow – a sister Lakshmi never knew she had. Suddenly the caution that she has carefully cultivated as protection is threatened. Still she perseveres, applying her talents and lifting up those that surround her as she does.

Note from Wanderluluu: From the descriptions of the henna art, food, and atmosphere of the bustling city you will truly feel transported to Jaipur! I learned a lot of interesting things about Indian culture throughout the book and loved that there was some romance sprinkled in as well. A MUST-READ!

To buy: amazon, $13.98

6. The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi:

Summary: It’s the spring of 1969, and Lakshmi, now married to Dr. Jay Kumar, directs the Healing Garden in Shimla. Malik has finished his private school education. At 20, he has just met a young woman named Nimmi when he leaves to apprentice at the Facilities Office of the Jaipur Royal Palace. Their latest project: a state-of-the-art cinema. Malik soon finds that not much has changed as he navigates the Pink City of his childhood. Power and money still move seamlessly among the wealthy class, and favors flow from Jaipur’s Royal Palace, but only if certain secrets remain buried. When the cinema’s balcony tragically collapses on opening night, blame is placed where it is convenient. But Malik suspects something far darker and sets out to uncover the truth. As a former street child, he always knew to keep his own counsel; it’s a lesson that will serve him as he untangles a web of lies.

Note from Wanderluluu: In the sequel to The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur is told from Malik’s point of view – which I absolutely love. You’ll learn more about life in Jaipur and Indian culture through great storytelling and delicious descriptions. And trust me. this is one of those can’t-put-it-down types of books!

To buy: amazon, $17.99

Looking to inspire your little ones to travel and learn about the world?

Wally The Wandering Wallaby is a curious creature who wanders the globe in search of new experiences and new friends with a wide-open heart and mind. In both children’s picture books of the series, Wally teaches children greetings in different languages from around the world, plus introduces children to many new people places things, and food from around the world like what Machu Picchu is, who Frida was, and what Tom Yum soup is! There’s even a stuffed animal to accompany the picture books!

7. The Little Paris Book Shop by Nina George:

Summary: Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can’t seem to heal through literature is himself; he’s still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened. After Perdu is finally tempted to read the letter, he hauls anchor and departs on a mission to the south of France, hoping to make peace with his loss and discover the end of the story. Joined by a best-selling but blocked author and a lovelorn Italian chef, Perdu travels along the country’s rivers, dispensing his wisdom and his books, showing that the literary world can take the human soul on a journey to heal itself.

Note from Wanderluluu: Be prepared to get transported to the Seine and get wrapped up in Monsieur Perdu’s literary world. Filled with love and the reminder that life is meant for living, this book leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy inside!

To buy: amazon, $9.84

8. The Little French Bistro by Nina George:

Summary: Marianne is stuck in a loveless, unhappy marriage. After 41 years she has reached her limit, and one evening in Paris she decides to take action. Following a dramatic moment on the banks of the Seine, Marianne leaves her life behind and sets out for the Brittany coast. There she meets a cast of colorful and unforgettable locals who surprise her with their warm welcome and the natural ease they all seem to have, taking pleasure in life’s small moments. These new friends help Marianne rediscover parts of herself that she has long forgotten, including a special gift for empathy and healing. And when she finds love with a handsome artist, Marianne is forever changed.

Note from Wanderluluu: Escape to coastal France in this feel-good book! You’ll taste the salt air and smell the French cooking and you’ll root for Marianne as she tries to re-find herself in her 40s.

To buy: amazon, $14.27

9. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See:

Summary: In 1937, Shanghai is the Paris of Asia, a city of great wealth and glamour, the home of millionaires and beggars, gangsters and gamblers, patriots and revolutionaries, artists and warlords. Thanks to the financial security and material comforts provided by their father’s prosperous rickshaw business, 21-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Though both sisters wave off authority and tradition, they couldn’t be more different: Pearl is a dragon sign, strong and stubborn, while May is a true sheep, adorable and placid. Both are beautiful, modern, and carefree…until the day their father tells them he has gambled away their wealth and that in order to repay his debts, he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from California to find Chinese brides. As Japanese bombs fall on their beloved city, Pearl and May set out on the journey of a lifetime, one that will take them through the Chinese countryside, in and out of the clutch of brutal soldiers, and across the Pacific to the shores of America. Along the way, they face terrible sacrifices, make impossible choices, and confront a devastating, life-changing secret, but through it all, the two heroines of this astounding new novel hold fast to who they are: Shanghai girls.

Note from Wanderluluu: Love how the book starts off giving a glimpse into the glamorous life in Shanghai. But let me warn you – before you pick up this book – please go grab a box of tissues. You will need them throughout this entire book. Pretty much start to finish. It is absolutely heartbreaking but probably one of my favorite books of all time. Lisa See often focuses on the unbreakable bond between mothers and daughters and this book very much fits in that category!

To buy: amazon, $9.25

10. Dreams of Joy by Lisa See:

Summary: Reeling from newly uncovered family secrets, and anger at her mother and aunt for keeping them from her, Joy runs away to Shanghai in early 1957 to find her birth father—the artist Z.G. Li, with whom both May and Pearl were once in love. Dazzled by him, and blinded by idealism and defiance, Joy throws herself into the New Society of Red China, heedless of the dangers in the communist regime. Devastated by Joy’s flight and terrified for her safety, Pearl is determined to save her daughter, no matter the personal cost. From the crowded city to remote villages, Pearl confronts old demons and almost insurmountable challenges as she follows Joy, hoping for reconciliation. Yet even as Joy’s and Pearl’s separate journeys converge, one of the most tragic episodes in China’s history threatens their very lives.

Note from Wanderluluu: This one is a DOOZY. It’s the sequel to Shanghai Girls and taught me so much I didn’t know about “Red China” in the ’50s during “the Great Leap Forward” and the suffering that Chinese civilians went through during this time.

To buy: amazon, $17.17

11. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See:

Li-yan and her family align their lives around the seasons and the farming of tea. There is ritual and routine, and it has been ever thus for generations. Then one day a jeep appears at the village gate – the first automobile any of them have seen – and a stranger arrives. In this remote Yunnan village, the stranger finds the rare tea he has been seeking and a reticent Akha people. In her biggest seller, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, See introduced the Yao people to her audience. Here she shares the customs of another Chinese ethnic minority, the Akha, whose world will soon change. Li-yan, one of the few educated girls on her mountain, translates for the stranger and is among the first to reject the rules that have shaped her existence. When she has a baby outside of wedlock rather than stand by tradition, she wraps her daughter in a blanket, with a tea cake hidden in her swaddling, and abandons her in the nearest city. After mother and daughter have gone their separate ways, Li-yan slowly emerges from the security and insularity of her village to encounter modern life while Haley grows up a privileged and well-loved California girl. Despite Haley’s happy home life, she wonders about her origins, and Li-yan longs for her lost daughter. They both search for and find answers in the tea that has shaped their family’s destiny for generations.

Note from Wanderluluu: This is another one by Lisa See that highlights the unbreakable mother-daughter bond and the lengths at which a mother will go to save her child. I loved learning about tea throughout the book and what the business of tea is like in China.

To buy: amazon, $12.29

12. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:

Summary: Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be Black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland.

Note from Wanderluluu: If you can, I would recommend listening to this book as an audiobook instead or in addition to physically reading it. The reason I suggest that is because I feel like I was able to learn how to properly pronounce a lot of the characters’ names and also, felt like I learned a lot more about Nigerian culture just by listening to how the narrator delivered the dialogue. Also, as a white American, I feel like I learned and listened to an entirely different perspective I never had considered before. It definitely opened up my eyes and opened up my world and I think it should be a required reading for all.

To buy: amazon, $10.08

13. City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert:

Summary: In 1940, 19-year-old Vivian Morris has just been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to an entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand-dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and no-nonsense stage manager. But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her new world upside down in ways that will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads her to a new understanding of the kind of life she craves – and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest. Now 89 years old and telling her story, at last, Vivian recalls how the events of those years altered the course of her life – and the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it.

Note from Wanderluluu: Although this isn’t about travel outside of the USA – this book transports you into the glamorous world of 1940s New York City life. The story had me captivated from beginning to end and I think I finished it in under a week. So in the name of escapism – I had to include it!

To buy: amazon, $11.56

14. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden:

Summary: Nitta Sayuri tells us in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate of her life as a geisha. Her story begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl’s virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion.

Note from Wanderluluu: One of my favorite pieces of literature of all time. Prepare to learn so much about Japanese culture and specifically what the life of a geisha was in the 30s and 40s. It’s heartbreaking, infuriating, and a true tale of perseverance.

To buy: amazon, $14.49

15. Villa in Italy by Elizabeth Edmondson:

Summary: Four very different people are named in a will. Delia, an opera singer robbed of her voice by illness; George, an idealistic scientist who cannot face what his skills have created; Marjorie, desperately poor and unable to dislodge her writer’s block; and Lucius, ostensibly in control but whose personal life is in chaos. All are summoned to the Villa Dante, home of the late Beatrice Malaspina. But who was she? While they wait to find out, the villa begins to work its seductive magic. With its faded frescoes, overgrown garden, and magnificent medieval tower, it is unlike anywhere they have been before. Slowly four characters who have gone to great lengths to hide their troubles find that change – and even hope – is possible after all. But the mysterious Beatrice has a devastating secret to reveal that will affect them all.

Note from Wanderluluu: A fun and light read with a mystery you can’t wait to uncover that will truly take you to a villa in Italy. It’s an interesting plot that will get you questioning how these characters’ stories intertwine and why they’ve all come to this strange yet beautiful villa!

To buy: amazon, $12.89

16. Villa on The Riviera by Elizabeth Edmondson:

Summary: Polly Smith is struggling to make a living as an artist when her friend and patron, Oliver, invites her to the south of France. But her world is unexpectedly turned upside down when she digs out her birth certificate to apply for a passport. Her parents are not who she believed them to be – even her name is different. Fleeing to the Riviera, Polly finds that the serenity and sunshine brings her art to life as never before. But all is not well in the grand house. Oliver’s father was forced to leave England in a cloud of scandal and his past is about to catch up with him. And Polly’s own future begins to take on a new and fascinating shape.

Note from Wanderluluu: Another fun and light mystery novel by Edmondson, but this time taking place in the French Riviera. I fell in love the characters of this book, especially Polly, and would say this fed my need for escapism perfectly!

To buy: amazon, $14.53

17. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi:

Summary: Effia and Esi are born into different villages in 18th-century Ghana. Effia is married off to an Englishman and lives in comfort in the palatial rooms of Cape Coast Castle. Unbeknownst to Effia, her sister, Esi, is imprisoned beneath her in the castle’s dungeons, sold with thousands of others into the Gold Coast’s booming slave trade, and shipped off to America, where her children and grandchildren will be raised in slavery. One thread of Homegoing follows Effia’s descendants through centuries of warfare in Ghana, as the Fante and Asante nations wrestle with the slave trade and British colonization. The other thread follows Esi and her children into America. From the plantations of the South to the Civil War and the Great Migration, from the coal mines of Pratt City, Alabama, to the jazz clubs and dope houses of 20th-century Harlem, right up through the present day, Homegoing makes history visceral and captures, with singular and stunning immediacy, how the memory of captivity came to be inscribed in the soul of a nation.

Note from Wanderluluu: Be prepared – this book is HEAVY – and in my opinion, should be a required reading for every human on earth. Following two storylines starting in the 1800s all the way up to the present day, you will read about the unimaginable horrors of the Trans Atlantic slave trade and how the participation of West Africans (often incited by British slave traders) helped to fuel it. One thing to keep in mind when reading this book is that every single character and story is linked, so I would recommend trying to read it all at once (i.e in a few weeks). I put it down for a while and it was a bit difficult to remember and get back up to speed on where I left off. Just a tip!

To buy: amazon, $13.53

18. A House in Fez by Suzanna Clarke:

Summary: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco by Suzanne Clarke: The Medina — the Old City — of Fez is the best-preserved, medieval walled city in the world. Inside this vibrant Moroccan community, internet cafes and mobile phones coexist with a maze of donkey-trod alleyways, thousand-year-old sewer systems, and Arab-style houses, gorgeous with intricate, if often shabby, mosaic work. While vacationing in Morocco, Suzanna Clarke and her husband, Sandy, are inspired to buy a dilapidated, centuries-old riad in Fez with the aim of restoring it to its original splendor, using only traditional craftsmen and handmade materials. So begins a remarkable adventure that is bewildering, at times hilarious, and ultimately immensely rewarding. A House in Fez chronicles their meticulous restoration, but it is also a journey into Moroccan customs and lore and a window into the lives of its people as friendships blossom. When the riad is finally returned to its former glory, Suzanna finds she has not just restored an old house, but also her soul.

Note from Wanderluluu: This is one of the very few non-fiction books on the list and is written kind of like a memoir of this particular journey in her life. I loved being transported to Morocco and seeing the process of moving to Fez through a foreigner’s eyes, though I did find the author made the local people sound untrustworthy and sketchy at times. I spoke to my Moroccan friend (Morocco with Nezik) who also had the same criticism for this book. Despite that though, it’s a fun read and makes you feel like you’re right there building a house in Fez!

To buy: amazon, $15.99

19. The Rome Affair by Karen Swan:

Summary: 1974 and Elena Damiani lives a gilded life. Born to wealth and a noted beauty, no door is closed to her, no man can resist her. At twenty-six, she is already onto her third husband when she meets her love match. But he is the one man she can never have, and all the beauty and money in the world can’t change it. 2017 and Francesca Hackett is living la dolce vita in Rome, leading tourist groups around the Eternal City and forgetting the ghosts she left behind in London. When she finds a stolen designer handbag in her dustbin and returns it, she is brought into the orbit of her grand neighbor who lives across the piazza – famed socialite Viscontessa Elena dei Damiani Pignatelli della Mirandola. Though the purse is stolen, Elena greets the return of the bag with exultation for it contains an unopened letter written by her husband on his deathbed, twelve years earlier. Mutually intrigued by each other, the two women agree to collaborate on a project, with Cesca interviewing Elena for her memoirs. As summer unfurls, Elena tells her sensational stories, leaving Cesca in her thrall. But when a priceless diamond ring found in an ancient tunnel below the city streets is ascribed to Elena, Cesca begins to suspect a shocking secret at the heart of Elena’s life.

Note from Wanderluluu: Although this isn’t a book you will learn much from, it is super-light escapism at its FINEST, bringing you to the cobblestone streets of Rome where you can smell fresh pizza out of the oven wafting down the alleyways and side streets of the city. I don’t know if this is a category or not, but I call this type of book a “travel romance novel.” It’s what I bring to the beach or pick up when I just need to escape from everyday life without the heaviness of a serious novel.

To buy: amazon, $13.95

20. The Greek Escape by Karen Swan:

Summary: Before every new beginning, there must be an ending…. Running from heartbreak, Chloe Marston leaves her old life in London for a fresh start in New York. Working at a luxury concierge company, she makes other people’s lives run perfectly, even if her own has ground to a halt. But a terrible accident forces her to step into a new role, up close and personal with the company’s most esteemed and powerful clients. Charismatic Joe Lincoln is one of them and his every wish is her command, so when he asks her to find him a secluded holiday home in the Greek Islands, she sets about sourcing the perfect retreat. But when Tom, her ex, unexpectedly shows up in Manhattan and the stability of her new life is thrown off-balance again, she jumps at the chance to help Joe inspect the holiday house; escaping to Greece will give her the time and space to decide where her future truly lies. Tom is the man she has loved for so long but he has hurt her before – can she give him another chance? And as she draws closer to Joe, does she even want to? As magnetic as he is mysterious, there’s an undeniable chemistry between them that she can’t resist. But whatever her heart is telling her, she’s in over her head – another client’s wife has mysteriously disappeared and serious allegations about Joe threaten more than just her happiness. Who can she trust? And will Chloe uncover the truth in time?

Note from Wanderluluu: Similar to The Rome affair, The Greek Escape is a super-light travel romance novel. This one mainly takes place in NYC but brings you to the white and blue filled islands of Greece, on private planes and yachts, and is just a fun frivolous read to escape into!

To buy: amazon, $15.95

21. In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson:

Summary: Australia exists on a vast scale, a shockingly under-discovered country with the friendliest inhabitants, the hottest, driest weather, the most peculiar and lethal wildlife to be found on this planet, and more things that can kill you in extremely malicious ways than anywhere else: sharks, crocodiles, the 10 most deadly poisonous snakes on the planet, fluffy yet toxic caterpillars, seashells that actually attack you, and the unbelievable box jellyfish. In a Sunburned Country is a delectably funny, fact-filled, and adventurous performance by a writer who combines humor, wonder, and unflagging curiosity. Wherever Bryson goes he finds Australians who are cheerful, extroverted, and unfailingly obliging. They are the beaming products of a land with clean, safe cities, cold beer, and constant sunshine. Australia is an immense and fortunate land, and it has found in Bryson its perfect guide.

Note from Wanderluluu: If you’ve read Bryson before you know you’ll be laughing your booty off while he chronicles hilarious anecdotes about his time Down Under and all the ways he just might die by being there. It’s also important to note that Bryson observes, comments on, and explores the dark past (and present) of how Australia has treated indigenous Aboriginal communities.

To buy: amazon, $11.79

22. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho:

Summary: This story, dazzling in its simplicity and wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way, he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an Alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way, but what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a meditation on the treasures found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an art eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.

Note from Wanderluluu: I think everyone probably knows about this book so I don’t need to go into detail, but it is one of those books that I revisit over and over again to remind myself to always pursue my dreams and follow my heart.

To buy: amazon, $16.60

23. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie:

Summary: With effortless grace, celebrated author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie illuminates a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra’s impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in southeastern Nigeria during the late 1960s. We experience this tumultuous decade alongside five unforgettable characters: Ugwu, a 13-year-old houseboy who works for Odenigbo, a university professor full of revolutionary zeal; Olanna, the professor’s beautiful young mistress who has abandoned her life in Lagos for a dusty town and her lover’s charm; and Richard, a shy young Englishman infatuated with Olanna’s willful twin sister Kainene. Half of a Yellow Sun is a tremendously evocative novel of the promise, hope, and disappointment of the Biafran war.

And here are 31 MORE books to inspire travel and help you learn about the world that are on my MUST READ list that I haven’t had a chance to read just yet!

24. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan:

Summary: Four Chinese women, drawn together by the shadow of their past, meet in San Francisco to play mahjong, invest in stocks, eat dim sum, and to “say” stories to each other. Nearly 40 years later, one of the women has died, and her daughter arrives to take her place. However, the daughter never expected to learn of her mother’s secret lifelong wish – and the tragic way in which it has come true. The revelation creates among the women an urgent need to remember the past. What is lost between generations and among friends – and what is salvaged – resonates throughout this novel of friendship among women and the relations between mothers and daughters.

25. In Every Mirror She’s Black by Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström

Summary: Three Black women are linked in unexpected ways to the same influential white man in Stockholm as they build their new lives in the most open society run by the most private people. Successful marketing executive Kemi Adeyemi is lured from the U.S. to Sweden by Jonny von Lundin, CEO of the nation’s largest marketing firm, to help fix a PR fiasco involving a racially tone-deaf campaign. A killer at work but a failure in love, Kemi’s move is a last-ditch effort to reclaim her social life. A chance meeting with Jonny in business class en route to the U.S. propels former model-turned-flight-attendant Brittany-Rae Johnson into a life of wealth, luxury, and privilege—a life she’s not sure she wants—as the object of his unhealthy obsession. And refugee Muna Saheed, who lost her entire family, finds a job cleaning the toilets at Jonny’s office as she works to establish her residency in Sweden and, more importantly, seeks connection and a place she can call home. Told through the perspectives of each of the three women, In Every Mirror She’s Black is a fast-paced, richly nuanced yet accessible contemporary novel that touches on important social issues of racism, classism, fetishization, and tokenism, and what it means to be a Black woman navigating a white-dominated society.

***Ps. This is written by a fellow Wanderful Member and I’m super excited to support her debut novel – and so should you, Buy it HERE!

26. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

Summary: Raised in the same household and sharing the same wet nurse, Amir and Hassan grow up in different worlds: Amir is the son of a prominent and wealthy man, while Hassan, the son of Amir’s father’s servant, is a Hazara – a shunned ethnic minority. Their intertwined lives, and their fates, reflect the eventual tragedy of the world around them. When Amir and his father flee the country for a new life in California, Amir thinks that he has escaped his past. And yet he cannot leave the memory of Hassan behind him.

To buy: amazon, $10.50

27. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini:

Summary: Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss, and by fate. As they endure the ever-escalating dangers around them, in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul, they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation. With heart-wrenching power and suspense, Hosseini shows how a woman’s love for her family can move her to shocking and heroic acts of self-sacrifice, and that in the end it is love, or even the memory of love, that is often the key to survival.

28. The Paris Secret by Karen Swan:

Summary: When high-powered fine-art agent Flora Sykes is called in to assess objets d’art in a Paris apartment that has been abandoned since WWII, she is skeptical at first – until she discovers that under decades of dust the treasure trove of paintings is myriad…and priceless. The powerful Vermeil family to whom they belong is eager to learn more and asks Flora to trace the history of each and every painting. Thrown into their rarified world, Flora soon realizes that there is more to this project than meets the eye, and, as she researches the provenance of their prize Renoir, she uncovers not only a scandal surrounding the painting but also a family secret. The fallout places Flora in the eye of a storm that carries her from London to Vienna to the coast of Provence, but Xavier Vermeil, the brusque scion of the family, is determined to separate her from his family’s affairs…in spite of the attraction that propels them together. What secrets is he trying to hide, and what price will Flora pay to uncover the truth?

29. The Spanish Promise by Karen Swan:

Summary: One of Spain’s richest men is dying. But as he prepares his estate, his family is shocked to discover he is making plans to give away his wealth to a young woman they have never even heard of. Who is she and what hold does she have over him? Charlotte Fairfax is asked to travel to the troubled family’s home in Spain to get to the bottom of the mysterious bequest. It’s the week before her wedding but she is confident she has time – there’s only one reason an older man leaves his money to a beautiful woman, isn’t there? But in Madrid, things don’t go to plan when the woman denies knowing anything about the gift. Is she lying? Looking for clues, Charlotte digs into the prominent family’s history and unearths a dark and shocking past in which two people were torn apart by conflict. But now, their long-buried secrets are starting to reach into the present and Charlotte starts to wonder whether love does not need to forgive or forget in order to endure – but just needs two hearts to keep beating.

30. That Month in Tuscany by Inglath Cooper:

Summary: He’s a rock star with a secret he can no longer live with. She’s a regular person whose husband stood her up for a long-planned anniversary trip. On a flight across the Atlantic headed for Italy, a drunken pity party and untimely turbulence literally drop Lizzy into Ren’s lap. It is the last thing she can imagine ever happening to someone like her. But despite their surface differences, they discover an undeniable pull between them. A pull that leads them both to remember who they had once been before letting themselves be changed by a life they had each chosen. Exploring the streets of Florence and the hills of Tuscany together – two people with seemingly nothing in common – changes them both forever. And what they find in each other is something that might just heal them both.

31. The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield:

Summary: The Celestine Prophecy begins when an ancient manuscript is found amid ruins deep in the Peruvian jungle. Revealing nine key insights that are critical to the evolution of the human race, it contains secrets that are changing the world, and reveals how to make connections to events happening in readers’ lives right now. The Celestine Prophecy comes to light at a time when the world deeply needs to hear its words. A gripping story of adventure and discovery, it is also a guide that has the power to crystallize perceptions of why one is where they are in life, and to provide a new energy and optimism to head toward a brighter tomorrow.

32. All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr:

Summary: Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is 12, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel. In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge.

33. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah:

Summary: France, 1939: In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive. Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others. With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France–a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.

34. The Nakano Thrift Shop by Hiromi Kawakami:

Summary: Objects for sale at the Nakano Thrift Shop appear as commonplace as the staff and customers that handle them. But like those same customers and staff, they hold many secrets. If examined carefully, they show the signs of innumerable extravagancies, of immeasurable pleasure and pain, and of the deep mysteries of the human heart. Hitomi, the inexperienced young woman who works the register at Mr. Nakano’s thrift shop, has fallen for her coworker, the oddly reserved Takeo. Unsure of how to attract his attention, she seeks advice from her employer’s sister, Masayo, whose sentimental entanglements make her a somewhat unconventional guide. But thanks in part to Masayo, Hitomi will come to realize that love, desire, and intimacy require acceptance not only of idiosyncrasies but also of the delicate waltz between open and hidden secrets.

35. Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami:

Summary: Tsukiko, 38, works in an office and lives alone. One night, she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, “Sensei”, in a local bar. Tsukiko had only ever called him “Sensei” (“Teacher”). He is 30 years her senior, retired, and presumably a widower. Their relationship develops from a perfunctory acknowledgment of each other as they eat and drink alone at the bar, to a hesitant intimacy, which tilts awkwardly and poignantly into love. As Tsukiko and Sensei grow to know and love one another, time’s passing is marked by Kawakami’s gentle hints at the changing seasons: from warm sake to chilled beer, from the buds on the trees to the blooming of the cherry blossoms. Strange Weather in Tokyo is a moving, funny, and immersive tale of modern Japan and old-fashioned romance.

36. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain:

Summary: Chicago, 1920: Hadley Richardson is a quiet 28-year-old who has all but given up on love and happiness—until she meets Ernest Hemingway and her life changes forever. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris, where they become the golden couple in a lively and volatile group—the fabled “Lost Generation”—that includes Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Though deeply in love, the Hemingways are ill prepared for the hard-drinking and fast-living life of Jazz Age Paris, which hardly values traditional notions of family and monogamy. Surrounded by beautiful women and competing egos, Ernest struggles to find the voice that will earn him a place in history, pouring all the richness and intensity of his life with Hadley and their circle of friends into the novel that will become The Sun Also Rises. Hadley, meanwhile, strives to hold onto her sense of self as the demands of life with Ernest grow costly and her roles as wife, friend, and muse become more challenging. Despite their extraordinary bond, they eventually find themselves facing the ultimate crisis of their marriage—a deception that will lead to the unraveling of everything they’ve fought so hard for.

37. Ways to Disappear by Idra Novey:

Summary: Beatriz Yagoda was once one of Brazil’s most celebrated authors. At the age of sixty, she is mostly forgotten until one summer afternoon when she enters a park in Rio de Janeiro, climbs into an almond tree, and disappears. When her devoted translator Emma hears the news in wintry Pittsburgh, she flies to the sticky heat of Rio. There she joins the author’s son and daughter to solve the mystery of Yagoda’s disappearance and satisfy the demands of the colorful characters left in her wake, including a loan shark with a debt to collect and the washed-up editor who launched Yagoda’s career. What they discover is how much of her they never knew. Exquisitely imagined and as profound as it is suspenseful, Ways to Disappear is at once a thrilling story of intrigue and a radiant novel of self-reckoning.

38. Blackass by A. Igoni Barrett:

Summary: Furo Wariboko, a young Nigerian, awakes the morning before a job interview to find that he’s been transformed into a white man. In this condition he plunges into the bustle of Lagos to make his fortune. With his red hair, green eyes, and pale skin, it seems he’s been completely changed. Well, almost. There is the matter of his family, his accent, his name. Oh, and his black ass. Furo must quickly learn to navigate a world made unfamiliar and deal with those who would use him for their own purposes. Taken in by a young woman called Syreeta and pursued by a writer named Igoni, Furo lands his first-ever job, adopts a new name, and soon finds himself evolving in unanticipated ways.

39. Chronicle of a Last Summer by Yasmine El Rashidi:

Summary: Cairo, 1984. A blisteringly hot summer. A young girl in a sprawling family house. Her days pass quietly: listening to a mother’s phone conversations, looking at the Nile from a bedroom window, watching the three state-sanctioned TV stations with the volume off, daydreaming about other lives. Underlying this claustrophobic routine is mystery and loss. Relatives mutter darkly about the newly appointed President Mubarak. Everyone talks with melancholy about the past. People disappear overnight. Her own father has left, too – why, or to where, no one will say. We meet her across three decades, from youth to adulthood: as a six-year-old absorbing the world around her, filled with questions she can’t ask; as a college student and aspiring filmmaker preoccupied with love, language, and the repression that surrounds her; and then later, in the turbulent aftermath of Mubarak’s overthrow, as a writer exploring her own past. Reunited with her father, she wonders about the silences that have marked and shaped her life.

40. Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray:

Summary: With both of her parents dead, Princess Selene and her two surviving brothers are left at the mercy of their captors, taken from Egypt and put on display as war trophies in Rome. Trapped in an empire that reviles her heritage and suspects her faith, Selene struggles for survival in a court of intrigue. She can’t hide the hieroglyphics that carve themselves into her hands nor can she stop the emperor from using her powers for his own ends. Faced with a new and ruthless Caesar who is obsessed with having a Cleopatra of his very own, Selene is determined to resurrect her mother’s dreams and succeed where she failed. But there’s no telling what success will cost her in a treacherous political game where the only rule is win or die.

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Wander On,

Wanderluluu xx