Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Books for Armchair Travelers (Submitted by Laurie C @ Bay State Reader’s Advisory)
I’ve traveled a bit when I was younger, mostly around the Asia and Australasia area, but it’s been a while since I traveled and there are still so many places in the world I’d love to see. In full honesty, I prefer to travel in comfort and would probably be too afraid, and frankly not in any shape, to do some of the extreme adventure traveling depicted in these books, so except for the food/travel books, I’m happy to experience them all through the pages of the books and leave them at that!
What about you? Have you traveled a lot? Do you prefer traveling in comfort or do you enjoy extreme adventures?
Top Ten Books for Armchair Travelers
- A Cook’s Tour by Anthony Bourdain – My favorite part of traveling has always been about trying new foods. I also love Anthony Bourdain and there’s nothing I would love more than to get to know the world and different foods through his perspective!
- Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper by Fuchsia Dunlop – In the same vein, I love Sichuan food and I’ve heard that Fuchsia Dunlop is the go-to person to learn more about the Sichuan food and culture.
- The Wager by David Grann – Once upon a time I wanted to be a marine biologist, but that never happened because I have a very big, healthy fear of the sea. I can’t get rid of my fascination for it though, so I’m always drawn to stories of sea adventures and braver adventurers than me.
- Maiden Voyage by Tania Aebi – The fact that she was 18 years old, and sailed the world alone for two years(!) makes me want to read her story and live vicariously through her. I have so much respect for people who can do this but I would never!
- Ice Ghosts by Paul Watson – I read The Terror by Dan Simmons last year and loved it but it was a fictional account of the Franklin Expedition and I have so many questions! Then I saw this book on Aj @ Read All The Things! listed as one of their best books of 2025 and I knew I had to read it!
- The Last Place on Earth by Roland Huntford – My friend saw me reading The Terror last year and recommended this book to me. It’s not related to the Franklin Expedition, but it is about brave explorers doing incredible things.
- A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson – After all the harrowing adventure stories, I think this one might be a little more my speed. I love the idea of walking through the woods, but honestly, the Appalachian Trial sounds challenging to me and the most I’m probably going to do is walk on my treadmill while reading this book!
- The Geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner – I love the idea; the author travels the world looking for the happiest places and asking questions about what makes people happy.
- The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux – Traveling through Asia by train sounds like something I could possibly do, but I’m thinking it’s a good idea for me to read about it before doing it in real life! Although things have probably changed since the book was written in 1975.
- Wild by Cheryl Strayed – Another hiking story that I’ll read without taking a step out of the comfort of my own home! I haven’t read this book but I know it was hyped up and very popular at one point. I’m curious and have had it on my TBR for a while.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
