The most recommended travel books

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1,000 authors created a book list connected to travel, and here are their favorite travel books.
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Book cover of Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration

Heidi Beierle Author Of Heidi Across America: One Woman's Journey on a Bicycle Through the Heartland

From my list on slow travel adventures by women.

Why am I passionate about this?

Outdoors has always been a nourishing place for me, even when I edged into risky or dangerous places, especially solo. When I got rid of my car (for financial reasons), I found my options to reach outdoor adventures limited. Soon after, I began working in transportation, tourism, and recreation and sought ways for everyone to access outdoor recreational opportunities, regardless of their abilities or any limiting barriers. Slow travel is broadly inclusive, enabling anyone to benefit from outdoor experiences and their transformative potential. Slow travel helped me feel less alone, more connected, more balanced emotionally, healthier physically, and more creative; it revealed the path to Love.

Heidi's book list on slow travel adventures by women

Heidi Beierle Why did Heidi love this book?

Yes, give me one woman adventuring on a bike. Yes, have her be a nerd (or a geek or whatever)! Yes, have her teach me fun words about butterfly bugs, like frass, imago, instar, and eclose. Yes, have her take me to a mountain forest in Mexico where butterflies hang from trees like moss. Yes, the journey is the destination. 

I applaud Dykmanā€™s awareness of resource use, climate change, and connecting the whole sphere of human influence to ecology and the effect that has on the miraculous migration lifecycle of eastern monarch butterflies. It blows my mind that a little bug somehow knows to fly from Mexico to Canada and back when it takes three to four generations to do so.

By Sara Dykman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bicycling with Butterflies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sara Dykman made history when she became the first person to bicycle alongside monarch butterflies on their storied annual migration-a round-trip adventure that included three countries and more than 10,000 miles. Equally remarkable, she did it solo, on a bike cobbled together from used parts.

In Bicycling with Butterflies-praised as "poetic" (Publishers Weekly) and called "a collective cry for climate action" (Booklist)-Dykman recounts her incredible journey. We're beside her as she navigates unmapped roads in foreign countries, checks roadside milkweed for monarch eggs, and shares her passion with eager schoolchildren, skeptical bar patrons, and unimpressed border officials. We also meetā€¦


Book cover of Llama Drama

Susie Kelly Author Of The Valley of Heaven and Hell: Cycling in the Shadow of Marie Antoinette

From my list on travel adventures on two wheels.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m a writer, living in southwest France since 1995, and previously in Kenya for 20 years. Travel has always been my passion. Iā€™ve written about hiking across France in Best Foot Forward, touring the perimeter by camping car in Travels with Tinkerbelle, cycling through the Marne Valley in The Valley of Heaven and Hell, and a Kenyan safari in Safari Ants, Baggy Pants and ElephantsRecently, due to COVID and with an elderly dog that suffers from separation anxiety, I couldn't leave for any length of time; I satisfy my wanderlust by reading other peopleā€™s adventures. My taste is for tales that include plenty of humour, and Iā€™ve selected five which I have particularly enjoyed.

Susie's book list on travel adventures on two wheels

Susie Kelly Why did Susie love this book?

A vivid, amusing account of the author and her friend cycling and sleeping in the wild from Bolivia to Argentina. It is a story of determination and endurance as they push themselves to the extreme, always taking the hardest, highest route. Exhaustion, frustration, and sickness put their friendship to the test. 

As somebody who is the polar opposite, always seeking the easiest way, I was fascinated by this coupleā€™s approach to adventure, and awed by their achievements.  

By Anna McNuff,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Llama Drama as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**WINNER of the 2020 Amazon Kindle Storyteller Literary Award**

"Llama Drama is simply hilarious. If anyone wants something witty and moving at the same time. Also, something empowering, then this is the one for them. I literally inhaled it." -  Claudia Winkleman, TV Presenter and Author

What Amazon readers are saying about Llama Drama:

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜… ā€œLoved every minute of it!ā€

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜… ā€œAn antidote for the madness of 2020ā€

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜… ā€œTruly inspiringā€

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜… ā€œA brilliant book for anyone interested in travel, conquering their fears, cycling, adventure, South Americaā€

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜… ā€œI couldn't put it down!ā€

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜… ā€œBuy the damn thing. Itā€™s awesome!ā€ā€¦


Book cover of Moods of Future Joys: Around the World by Bike Part One: From England to South Africa

Susie Kelly Author Of The Valley of Heaven and Hell: Cycling in the Shadow of Marie Antoinette

From my list on travel adventures on two wheels.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m a writer, living in southwest France since 1995, and previously in Kenya for 20 years. Travel has always been my passion. Iā€™ve written about hiking across France in Best Foot Forward, touring the perimeter by camping car in Travels with Tinkerbelle, cycling through the Marne Valley in The Valley of Heaven and Hell, and a Kenyan safari in Safari Ants, Baggy Pants and ElephantsRecently, due to COVID and with an elderly dog that suffers from separation anxiety, I couldn't leave for any length of time; I satisfy my wanderlust by reading other peopleā€™s adventures. My taste is for tales that include plenty of humour, and Iā€™ve selected five which I have particularly enjoyed.

Susie's book list on travel adventures on two wheels

Susie Kelly Why did Susie love this book?

A beautifully painted account of the authorā€™s journey through Africa, as much about his conflicting emotions as about cycling. Mainly eating jam sandwiches, and sleeping in dangerous places and filthy hostels, he pedals his way towards South Africa across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and war-torn Sudan. He finds friendship in unexpected places, and disappointment in others.

It appealed to me as both a cycling adventure, and having lived in Kenya I was keen to read about his experiences in Africa.

By Alastair Humphreys,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Moods of Future Joys as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This enthralling account details Alastair Humphrey's epic journey across Africa, through Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya. His experience is at times brutal, and though he faces loneliness, despair, and harsh conditions, he also survives through trust in the kindness of strangers.

Moods of Future Joys is a story of the triumphs over adversities, of one man who set off from his home in Yorkshire to cycle the world, fundraise for charity and... to live a little.


Book cover of Africa Solo: My World Record Race from Cairo to Cape Town

Sean Conway Author Of Big Mile Cycling: Ten Years. 60000 Miles. One Dream

From my list on long distance cycling.

Why am I passionate about this?

Sean Conway is a record-breaking endurance cyclist who has cycled over 100,000 miles in the last decade including cycling around the world, LEJOG twice, and the world record for the fastest person to cycle across Europe.

Sean's book list on long distance cycling

Sean Conway Why did Sean love this book?

Having grown up in Africa I found Markā€™s Cairo to Cape Town cycling world record captivating from start to finish. Completing the ride in 41 days (which is faster than many people drive it) was a feat of unimaginable endurance.

By Mark Beaumont,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Africa Solo as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

SHORTLISTED FOR ADVENTURE TRAVEL BOOK OF THE YEAR

In the spring of 2015, Mark Beaumont set out from the bustling heart of Cairo on his latest world record attempt - solo, the length of Africa, intending to ride to Cape Town in under 50 days. Seven years since he smashed the world record for cycling round the world, this would be his toughest trip yet. And he would set a new mark that would simply break the limits of endurance.

Despite illness, mechanical faults, attempted robbery and stone-throwing children, as well as dehydration in the deserts and unprecedented levels ofā€¦


Book cover of Lands of Lost Borders: A Journey on the Silk Road

Mimi Zieman Author Of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

From my list on women exploring the world and self.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m an OB/GYN, passionate about adventuring beyond whatā€™s expected. This has led me to pivot multiple times in my career, now focusing on writing. Iā€™ve written a play, The Post-Roe Monologues, to elevate womenā€™s stories. I cherish the curiosity that drives outer and inner exploration, and I love memoirs that skillfully weave the two. The books on this list feature extraordinary women who took risks, left comfort and safety, and battled vulnerability to step into the unknown. These authors moved beyond the stories theyā€™d believed about themselvesā€“or that others told about them. They invite you to think about living fuller and bigger lives. 

Mimi's book list on women exploring the world and self

Mimi Zieman Why did Mimi love this book?

I found the author's gorgeous writing and deep reflection to be irresistible. Harris is a true explorer of the world and the self as well as a brilliant writer.

This book showcases the curiosity and awe that drove Harris and her best friend to bicycle across the Silk Road. While pedaling out of bounds on her bicycle, she effortlessly led me to new territories of thought and imagination. Her descriptions are vivid, and I identified fully with her love of wildness.

By Kate Harris,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Lands of Lost Borders as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Lands of Lost Borders carried me up into a state of openness and excitement I haven't felt for years. It's a modern classic."-Pico Iyer

A brilliant, fierce writer, and winner of the 2019 RBC Taylor Prize, makes her debut with this enthralling travelogue and memoir of her journey by bicycle along the Silk Road-an illuminating and thought-provoking fusion of The Places in Between, Lab Girl, and Wild that dares us to challenge the limits we place on ourselves and the natural world.

As a teenager, Kate Harris realized that the career she craved-to be an explorer, equal parts swashbuckler andā€¦


Book cover of Through Sand & Snow: a man, a bicycle, and a 43,000-mile journey to adulthood via the ends of the Earth

Sean Conway Author Of Big Mile Cycling: Ten Years. 60000 Miles. One Dream

From my list on long distance cycling.

Why am I passionate about this?

Sean Conway is a record-breaking endurance cyclist who has cycled over 100,000 miles in the last decade including cycling around the world, LEJOG twice, and the world record for the fastest person to cycle across Europe.

Sean's book list on long distance cycling

Sean Conway Why did Sean love this book?

Also very well written. Charlie chooses the roads less travelled and he meanders for nearly 4 years from the UK to Singapore then back and down through Africa to Cape Town before turning around and cycling back up Africa to the UK. He got arrested in Tibet. Had a pony stolen in Mongolia and nearly got killed by a drunken mob in Ethiopia. Gripping throughout.

By Charlie Walker,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Through Sand & Snow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"A genuinely remarkable adventure. True grit and rabid perseverance." - Sir Ranulph Fiennes

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜… "Excellent, gritty travel at its humid best"

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜… "Fast paced, humble, fascinating, eloquently written. 100% recommend"

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜… "Gripping from start to finish. I read it in just one sitting!"

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜… "An amazing and wonderfully written adventure...I'm not sure what will ever follow it"

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜… "Factual, funny, interesting and gripping. A must read"

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜… "So articulately written with real humility and honesty. I canā€™t wait to read more!!!"

ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜…ā˜… "A romping true adventure with struggle, strife, love and loss. Topped off with a glorious sense of achievement"ā€¦


Book cover of Gironimo! Riding the Very Terrible 1914 Tour of Italy

Peter Cossins Author Of Climbers: How the Kings of the Mountains Conquered Cycling

From my list on manā€™s exploration of the mountains.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been writing about cycling for 30 years and over that time Iā€™ve become increasingly fascinated by the exploits of bike racers in the mountains and, above all, by this magnificent terrain itself. This ultimately led to my family leaving our home in the north of England and moving to the French Pyrenees, to a tiny hamlet thatā€™s close to nowhere but is surrounded by mountains, where we can walk and ride endlessly through stunning countryside. I may not be French, but this is where I feel most at home.

Peter's book list on manā€™s exploration of the mountains

Peter Cossins Why did Peter love this book?

Tim has long been one of the funniest writers to cover the cycling scene and its many quirks.

All of his books are very readable, but this one stands out for me because it gets to the heart of the horrendous difficulties and dangers that riders in the early 20th century faced when racing in the mountains.

Tim follows the route of the 1914 Giro dā€™Italia, and does so on a bike from that era. His tales of how he came by bike and then builds up are hilariously recounted, then lead into the ride itself on what is widely recognized as the toughest multi-day race the sport has ever seen, only eight of 81 starters finishing the event. Itā€™s laugh-out-loud funny.

By Tim Moore,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Gironimo! Riding the Very Terrible 1914 Tour of Italy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The 1914 Giro dā€™Italia: The hardest bike race in history. Eighty-one riders started and only eight finished after enduring cataclysmic storms, roads strewn with nails, and even the loss of an eye by one competitor. And now Tim Moore is going to ride it. And heā€™s committed to total authenticity. . .

Twelve years after Tim Moore toiled around the route of the Tour de France, he senses his achievement being undermined by the truth about 'Horrid Lance'. His rash response is to take on a fearsome challenge from an age of untarnished heroes: the notorious 1914 Giro d'Italia. History'sā€¦


Book cover of You Are My Sunshine: A Story of Love, Promises, and a Really Long Bike Ride

Jayne Jaudon Ferrer Author Of Hayley and the Hot Flashes

From my list on entertaining stories about relationships.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in a small town, with wonderful librarians who introduced me to books I remember fondly to this day. The Flicka, Ricka, Dicka series, the Bobbsey Twins, Trixie Beldon, Nancy Drew, and, of course, Little Women shaped my love for stories about relationships and the simple pleasures of daily life. Whether itā€™s a mystery or a memoir, I want interesting interactions between the main characters, meaty descriptions of daily activities and affairs, and, of course, a happy ending. As Iā€™ve gotten older, I like books with older protagonists; those are hard to come byā€”one reason I wrote a novel about the adventures of five middle-aged girlfriends!

Jayne's book list on entertaining stories about relationships

Jayne Jaudon Ferrer Why did Jayne love this book?

I canā€™t remember when Iā€™ve enjoyed a book this much.

Sean is a brilliant writer, and funny as all get out. We share a love of the South, a love of words, a fear of snakes, and an aversion to traffic. As I read, I earmarked nearly a dozen passages I shared with family and friends, like, ā€œCovid cases climbing like decisions at a Billy Graham crusadeā€ and ā€œI have nothing against fog machines and stage lights, but ordering a Starbucks in a church lobby just feels wrong."

His account of his and his wifeā€™s bicycle trek down the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal Towpath trail put to rest once and for all any aspiration I harbored about walking the Appalachian Trail. Some things are better read about!

By Sean Dietrich,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked You Are My Sunshine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A laugh-out-loud funny true story of a loving relationship, a grand adventure, and a promise kept.

It was only a few years after the starry-eyed young couple got married when scary news threatened to take the wind out of their sails. But Sean Dietrich's wife, Jamie, wouldn't let it. She dared to hope for and plan for a great big adventure, and she made him promise to do it with her. For love and the promise of biscuits along the way, Sean--who was never an athlete of any kind--undertook the bike ride of a lifetime and lived to talk aboutā€¦


Book cover of One More Croissant for the Road

Ann Claire Author Of A Cyclist's Guide to Crime & Croissants

From my list on reading trip to France.

Why am I passionate about this?

Until recently, my lovely in-laws kept a home in southern France near where my father-in-law grew up. Their hilltop village was everything my summer-in-France fantasies could imagine: red-tile roofs, overflowing flower boxes, croissants on every corner (or at least four), bustling markets, and palm trees framing a snowcapped peak. Downsizing in their eighties meant selling the house, but some of my fondest memories will always reside there. This summer most of my travels will take place from my garden in Colorado. I plan to trek the world through books. These are some of my favorite reads for an armchair trip to France through romance, mysteries, exploration, and cooking.  

Ann's book list on reading trip to France

Ann Claire Why did Ann love this book?

This book is a delicious food memoir, travelogue, and two-wheeling adventure around France. London-based food writer Felicity Cloake sets out on her own Tour de France: a cycling tour to taste Franceā€™s iconic regional delicacies. Now, Iā€™m an ardent Tour de France fanā€”from my sofa!

As for cycling, I stick to quiet bike paths. Iā€™m in awe of Cloakeā€™s tour and bravery. She cycles long distances on motorways. She crests mountains. She lugs camping gear. She camps! I felt right there with her, rolling through gorgeous places, struggling uphill, savoring stunning meals, and envying every croissant, even those she rated less than ten out of ten.

I enjoyed the audio version so much that I bought a paper copy for the included recipes. 

By Felicity Cloake,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked One More Croissant for the Road as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Joyful, life-affirming, greedy. I loved it' - DIANA HENRY

'Whether you are an avid cyclist, a Francophile, a greedy gut, or simply an appreciator of impeccable writing - this book will get you hooked' - YOTAM OTTOLENGHI

The nation's 'taster in chief' cycles 2,300 km across France in search of the definitive versions of classic French dishes.

A green bike drunkenly weaves its way up a cratered hill in the late-morning sun, the gears grinding painfully, like a pepper mill running on empty. The rider crouched on top in a rictus of pain has slowed to a gravity-defying crawl when,ā€¦


Book cover of Higher Calling: Cycling's Obsession with Mountains

Peter Cossins Author Of Climbers: How the Kings of the Mountains Conquered Cycling

From my list on manā€™s exploration of the mountains.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been writing about cycling for 30 years and over that time Iā€™ve become increasingly fascinated by the exploits of bike racers in the mountains and, above all, by this magnificent terrain itself. This ultimately led to my family leaving our home in the north of England and moving to the French Pyrenees, to a tiny hamlet thatā€™s close to nowhere but is surrounded by mountains, where we can walk and ride endlessly through stunning countryside. I may not be French, but this is where I feel most at home.

Peter's book list on manā€™s exploration of the mountains

Peter Cossins Why did Peter love this book?

I did a short promotional book tour with Max and was enthralled by his descriptions of road cyclingā€™s obsession with the mountains.

I read his book subsequently and was equally captivated, particularly by his travels in remote areas of the southern French Alps and on Bonette-Restefond pass, the highest road pass in Europe.

By Max Leonard,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Higher Calling as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Why do road cyclists go to the mountains? Many books tell you where the mountains are, or how long and how high. None of them ask 'Why?'

After all, cycling up a mountain is hard - so hard that, to many non-cyclists, it can seem absurd. But, for some, climbing a mountain gracefully (and beating your competitors up the slope) represents the pinnacle of cycling achievement. The mountains are where legends are forged and cycling's greats make their names.

Why are Europe's mountain ranges professional cycling's Wembley Stadium or its Colosseum? Why do amateurs also make a pilgrimage to theseā€¦


Book cover of Bicycling with Butterflies: My 10,201-Mile Journey Following the Monarch Migration
Book cover of Llama Drama
Book cover of Moods of Future Joys: Around the World by Bike Part One: From England to South Africa

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