Top Ten Tuesday -- Books that Feature Travel in Some Way

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This week's Top Ten Tuesday topic is Books that Feature Travel in Some Way.  Lori and Jamie came up with their ten picks for the best books dealing with travel.  Can't wait to see your picks!

1. On the Road by Jack Kerouac--Obviously.   You just can't write a post about books featuring travel and not include THE novel about road tripping.  Sal Paradise (Jack Kerouac) and his friends go on several cross-country trips and do a whole lot of drugs.  It has some really interesting ruminations about life and man's existence.  And just some funny instances because of everyone's strung out state.  I read the original published edition a few years ago.  I'm reading the Original Scroll--the transcript of Kerouac's manuscript, which had no paragraph or chapter breaks--this summer.  Should be a fun challenge.

2. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert--I totally envy this trip.  I would love to go to Italy, India, and Indonesia.  This memoir is really inspirational and it makes you want to go places.  I want to eat my weight in pasta in Italy, then meditate it off at an ashram in Italy, then study with an old medicine man in Indonesia.  Who wouldn't?  I recently watched the movie and think I might need to reread the book soon.  And do some yoga...

3. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes--I count this as a book with travel...even though she's kind of mostly describing the process of buying and fixing up a new home.  But she is a US resident.  I love this book so much.  It makes me want to travel to Italy even more than I already do, which is a lot, so in a way, it IS about travel.

4. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares--I do read some YA :)  I read all four of these one summer in a complete tear.  They were light, fun reads.  The first one includes more travel than the others because three of the four girls are traveling for the summer.  They're just fun and talk about the changing nature of friendships as you grow into adulthood.  (I need to read the fifth one sometime soon!)  I went to the Greek Islands a couple of years ago and would love to go back.  Greece really is as beautiful as depicted in the movie.

5. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson--Another novel about driving around and doing copious amounts of drugs.  This book was pretty funny--more funny than On the Road.  There were some musings about life and existence.  It made me wish I could be a journalist from the 1950s/1960s.  I need to see the movie sometime soon.






Lori's top 3 would definitely be on my list!

6. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson: I had some problems connecting with this book but I really enjoyed the travel aspect and the journey she was on!












7. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard: One of my all time favorites!! I loved vicariously backpacking around South America!
















8. Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck: I love this travelogue from John Steinbeck about his travels across the US with his dog Charley. It was really quiet and reflective and I get so caught up sometimes in exotic places but after reading this I wanted to do a cross country road trip!






9. The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner: This was an interesting travelogue because it wasn't just about the adventure but an interesting study in happiness around the world.








10. In Honor by Jessi Kirby: A very emotional road trip that I adored!