Top Ten Tuesday used to be a weekly post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. “It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” This is definitely something I can understand and want to participate in.
I don’t know about you, but I love travel. Maybe I have wanderlust, maybe I just like exploring the world, but I have big goals for my travel itinerary. Unfortunately, my budget doesn’t support my dreams of exploring the world, so I’m forced to live vicariously through a combination of fictional and nonfiction books about other places. Which brings me to this week’s prompt, books that feature travel, or as I prefer to call it, places I’m too poor to visit, so a book will have to make do.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase through my links. You can purchase the books by clicking on the titles below.
- Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi. The main character has spent her entire life in Bombay under British occupation. She has big dreams as well, and finds herself given the task of delivering three paintings to people who played a major role in the artists life. So Sona finds herself traveling to Europe, and it was glorious to live the experience along with Sona.
- Nowhere Girl by Cheryl Diamond. This memoir focuses on the author’s young life, where she was brought up in a wide range of places around the world, living in five different continents before she was in double digits.
- My Name is Emilia del Valle by Isabel Allende. I love when a main character has the travel bug. In this book, I got to travel to Chile in the 1890s, and it didn’t even cost me a dime!
- The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen. This book is amazing, but also focused on travels. The characters travels range from Scotland and England to India, Ukraine, Tibet, and Mongolia, and it was incredible to see what so many of these places were like in the past, before they were the places they are now.
- The Astrology House by Carinn Jade. A group of NYC adults decides to get away and attend an astrology-themed retreat at the east end of Long Island, and that’s not only a few hours traveling (if you take the train or a jitney), probably double that if driving out there from Manhattan. However, this is a completely different world that can be found a few counties away, so I consider it travel!
- Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. I loved this book, and how the vibe changed depending on where the characters were living. The characters travel from an unnamed Caribbean island to England, Scotland, Italy, and America as their lives change drastically with each location.
- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Yes, this is the obvious choice, but the author travels to three places on my bucket list—India, Bali, and Italy—and explores how the different places and her experiences there changed her in the wake of a divorce. The movie with Julia Roberts is also fantastic!
- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. As an Asian-American woman with much of her cultural identity revolving around food shared with her mother during her months-long visits from the US to South Korea. In the wake of her mother’s death, Zauner struggles through her grief and finds solace in traditional Korean foods.
- Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins. A couple is hired to sail from two women from Hawaii to a remote island in the South Pacific Ocean, only to find that the isolated island has a dark history and the trip of their dreams may turn into a nightmare.
- You’ll Always Be My Sunshine: A Story of Love, Promises, and a Really Long Bike Ride by Sean Dietrich. I was already following the author on Instagram before I ever knew he was an author, but I loved this memoir of the author and his wife biking the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal Towpath trail in the wake of learning some potentially scary news.
What are your favorite books featuring travel? Where do you want to visit the most?
Categories: Top Ten Tuesday
Leah's Books 
LOL, I can relate to the being “too poor” comment. I mean there are SO many places I’d like to see, but unfortunately for me, most of these places would be pricier than I would find easy – or wise, to spend. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I figured that some people might relate to that one. Recently I read a couple of books involving travel to Antarctica, and now I would love to go there. Unfortunately, it costs more than I could accumulate in many years, so I’ll just have to find more books set there!
LikeLike
I hope to read Six Days in Bombay someday soon!
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2025/05/20/top-ten-tuesday-books-including-travel/
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you get to read it soon! It’s slow-paced but really good.
LikeLike
I love vicariously travelling through the pages of a book! And real travelling too, but I can do the book one more often!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I completely get it. My brain screams travel, but my pockets scream book travel.
LikeLike
Crying in the H-Mart! Of course, I didn’t even think of it as a book which involved travel but it totally does. Good pick.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It wasn’t one of the first that came to mind, but I loved how it involved travel and how that helped to bridge the gap between Michelle and her mother, as well as how closely food was linked to travel for her.
LikeLike
I enjoy traveling to new places through books. Last year, I took it upon myself to read a book set in a location I was actually going to travel too. After finishing the book, and my vacation, I realized how much the author took real locations and mixed them together for his book. I look forward to reading more by the author, to help take me back to those locations I enjoyed so much.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/lost-in-translation-eleven-favorite-translated-fiction/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, that’s really cool! It’s amazing to see writers bring cities to life and then visiting. That sounds like a great author for you! I decided that I want to try to read more books set in countries I know nothing about.
LikeLike
Thank goodness for free travel through books!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pockets approve this comment!
I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be able to afford a cruise to Antarctica, so I’m going to have to settle for books.
LikeLike
I love to see new places, but the actual traveling there can be so tedious (and expensive)! Armchair traveling is great for so many reasons 🙂 I do a lot more of that than I do actual traveling.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s funny – I love seeing new places, but the traveling process is hectic and exhausting. Reading books in distant locales doesn’t require packing, waiting, and the uncomfortable aspects involved in traveling.
LikeLike
With the kids we haven’t been able to travel. Even going out for the day is a bit much at the moment. Maybe one day 🤣
A great looking list. I have read Eat, Pray, Love and Reckless Girls!
Have a great week!
Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog
My post:
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t even imagine traveling with the cargo you come with! However, once they get older, you can travel with them. Hopefully someday you get to travel as much as you want.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s ridiculous 😂
Fingers crossed although we probably won’t be able to afford it 😶
LikeLiked by 1 person
Maybe one of your kids will be a brilliant millionaire? 🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha we can always hope!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I was only able to start traveling last year, so I feel you on the ‘too poor’ part. Love your list, have several of these on my TBR!
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve always had big travel dreams that don’t align with my finances! But the countries that I’ve been fortunate to travel to have all been gorgeous. Hopefully someday I’ll be able to write a post about books featuring all the places I’ve traveled to.
LikeLike
A Few of these are on my TBR. Here is my post Top Ten Tuesday-Authors that Live in the US – Paiges of Novels
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love how I’m always finding something new that I have in common with someone else.
LikeLike
Nowhere Girl sounds fantastic. I have had Astrology House on my list for a while! Sigh. Maybe soon. Lol.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nowhere Girl is one of those memoirs that reads like fiction. I hope you find time to get to them!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoy Sara Ackerman’s book as they are all set in Hawaii. I did a Hawaiian Cruise for my Retirement and loved it. I read a lot of books set in England in various places and I would love to visit there someday.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s so cool! My nephew was in the army, and was stationed on Oahu. I went to visit and it was wonderful there. Reading through books is making my real travel destination list even longer.
LikeLiked by 1 person