Around the World in 7 Travel Books

You might be in between adventures right now, but staying at home doesn’t mean you can’t experience other cultures. Dive into one of these travel books to envelop yourself within another world while you wait for your next big trip!

If you’re unable to visit a bookstore in person or budgeting for your next adventure, check out your local library (find yours here).

Without further ado, here are 7 marvelous travel books to transport you across each continent from the comfort of your own couch.

1. Africa

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Three of her sister’s boyfriends have ended up dead and Korede is starting to think it’s not a coincidence. When her sister turns her deadly attention towards the man that Korede has been pining after for years, she must make a decision. Who should she protect – the man she loves, or the family that has always come first? This offbeat, dark comedy set in Nigeria will make you laugh… and then feel guilty about it.

2. Antarctica

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Bee’s mom spent decades trying to fold herself into a domestic life that she never expected to be her own. When a school fundraiser goes horribly, horribly wrong, Bee’s mom simply disappears, leaving her daughter behind to unravel the twin mysteries of who her mother is and where she’s run away to. A quirky take on the family drama trope, this novel is a touching exploration of mother-daughter love and the sacrifices this love bears out.

3. Asia

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie

A magical realism epic that stretches across contemporary Indian history, this novel follows Saleem Sinai and the other 1,000 children born at the stroke of midnight on the night of their country’s independence. Both fantastical and informative, this pleasantly rambling novel is worth sticking with to the end.

4. Australia

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

In a suburb that feels familiar to anyone who has dreamed of leaving home for a brighter and better world, Ed Kennedy proves that you don’t need to go far to transform yourself and the lives around you. Though he is best known for The Book Thief, this early novel by Australian author Markus Zusak is not to be missed.

5. Europe

Numbers in the Dark by Italo Calvino

This genre-bending collection of short stories highlights the absurdities of life with a wink and a nod. Written over the course of his lengthy career, these stories by one of Italy’s greatest authors are uncategorizable, indescribable, and impossible to pin down. Grab this off the shelf to see what I mean.

6. North America

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

In a world wrecked by global warming, all humans have lost their ability to dream and fallen into madness, except for North America’s Indigenous peoples. This power, and the cure held in their bone marrow, ignites a hunt that threatens the survival of this culture. Dystopic, powerful, and at times gruesome, this Canadian YA novel illuminates the struggle of Native populations in a story both emotionally affecting and entertaining.

7. South America

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez

Though only 120 pages, this story will reverberate through your mind long after you put it down. Nearly thirty years after a shocking murder, a man returns to the scene of the crime only to discover that none of the witnesses were especially shocked when the victim wound up dead. Desperate for impossible answers, the narrator leads readers into the dark corners of a small town society in this Colombian classic.

So what are you waiting for? Start your literary world tour today with one of these riveting travel books. Bon voyage!

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by Emily Zinger

Emily is a librarian and a Third Culture Kid who has lived in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Costa Rica, and Canada.

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