Sitting in the sun reading books is one of my favorite things to do!

And since I just finished reading a book all about the US national parks that I LOVED, I decided I had to share this (and other) travel book recommendations with you.

So here are some of the best books to read if you love to travel, or if you love to read, or if you love to read while you travel.

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Leave Only Footprints

I had the opportunity one summer to meet Conor Knighton at Chautauqua Institution. Conor spent a year traveling to every national park in America, in honor of the national park system’s 100th anniversary in 2016.

After hearing his lecture, I had to buy his book, Leave Only Footprints. And every few pages I had to stop and Google each new national park I now want to go to (which is pretty much ALL of them!).

This is definitely one of the best books to read if you love to travel, or nature, or pretty much anything really. I highly suggest this book!

Through Painted Deserts

I fell in love with Through Painted Deserts when I first read it in college: 2 twenty-somethings with no money leaving everything behind to drive in a van from Texas to Oregon.

But it’s not just about the adventures they face on their way across country; Donald Miller has a way of spouting deep truths about the universe in poetic quips while he regales us with his travels.

I love anything by Donald Miller, but this one is an especially good book to read for travel lovers (and lovers of deep truths about the universe).

A Walk Across America

& The Walk West

I randomly found A Walk Across America (and its sequel: The Walk West) on a paperback swap website several years ago. This incredible book, written in the 60s & 70s, inspired me to want to cross America (in a camper van… not walking…) even before camper vans were cool!

Peter Jenkins is a college graduate disillusioned with America (it’s nice to know things haven’t changed…), but a wise mentor encourages him to get to know his country before he judges it too harshly. So naturally, he sets off on a walk across all 2,742 miles of it (more or less).

This is a book that will make you fall in love with America (and maybe even with walking)! It definitely deserves its place on a list of good books to read!

The Innocents Abroad

I was familiar with Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, of course, but I didn’t know any other of Mark Twain’s works, until I visited the Mark Twain House in Connecticut (which was a lot of fun!).

Naturally I had to pick up a new book in the gift shop (and a magnet with his famous quotation about travel), so I bought The Innocents Abroad. The book is a comical recounting of his 1867 journey across the Atlantic and Europe to the Holy Land (Israel).

I have to warn you, it does get wordy and off topic (it was originally written in separate articles for the newspapers back home. In other words, Mark Twain was the first travel blogger!). It’s also a little… dated. I mean, it was written in the 1800s, so it’s safe to say that our culture has somewhat changed in the last 150+ years.

But, if you enjoy Mark Twain, or reading about what the world was like back then, it can be a fascinating and entertaining read.

The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America

Some of the best travel books to read are really anything by Bill Bryson. Before this book, I had only read his book on the development of the English language, which one would think would be rather boring. But actually I remember it being fascinating and hilarious!

So when I visited my cousins in Cape Cod, and they laid out all their old books for me to pick from (yay!), I immediately grabbed one of Bryson’s travel books: The Lost Continent: Travels in Small Town America.

• Actually, fun story, I had been looking at one of his books at a local bookshop in Provincetown the night before, but decided to save my money. An even funnier story (in my opinion…) is that I also had been looking at a Lord of the Rings board game at a shop in P-Town, but again decided to save money. It turns out my friend in New Hampshire (whom I visited next), was getting rid of the same game! So, moral of the story is, never buy souvenirs when you’re staying with friends! 😉

This book is from the ’80s, so it’s a little dated (he was astounded that he had to pay a whole $35 for a hotel room!!!!!), but it’s also a funny and poignant read. It seems a bit meandering (the author is meandering his way across America…), but it’s ultimately entertaining, and occasionally moving (even 40 years later).

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More Book Recommendations:

That’s all the travel book recommendations I have for now.

If you have any good book recommendations you want to share, be sure to add them in the comments below!

If you’re looking for more good books to read, be sure to check out all of my nerdy checklists. Here are a couple of my favorite reading lists for getting hyped up to travel (or daydream):

• Books to read and movies to watch before visiting the UK.
• Books to read and movies to watch before visiting New Zealand

 

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Have any recommendations?

If you have any suggestions of your favorite travel books to read, please share them in the comments below!

Looking for a good book recommendation?

Save this pin for later to remember all the best travel books to read:

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• Visiting Chatsworth House: A Pride & Prejudice Filming Location
• Lord of the Rings Places to See Around the World
• Harry Potter Places to Visit in the UK
• Gilmore Girls Inspired Travel

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