sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

June 12, 2018


books that awaken the travel bug in me
posted by soe 1:03 am

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday invites us to consider our favorite books that inspire a love of travel:

  1. Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence: Our trip to France took us to Provence — Aix and Avignon — in large part because of this book and how much it made me laugh.
  2. L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables: One of these days I’m going to Prince Edward Island and it will be largely because of this series (and the charm of raidergirl3, of course).
  3. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett: Similarly, I long to see the moors of Yorkshire simply because of this book.
  4. Heidi Heilig’s The Girl from Everywhere: It didn’t kindle an interest in seeing Hawaii (that would be Buffy Saint Marie’s appearances on Sesame Street when I was a kid), but it underscored it.
  5. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares: I can’t remember everywhere they went, but the Greek islands stand out (and then was reinforced by the film adaptation).
  6. Gayle Forman’s Just One Day: That whole bop around Europe thing is so appealing.
  7. Maureen Johnson’s 13 Little Blue Envelopes: Ditto.
  8. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: It might be the romance, but boarding school in Paris has never sounded so good.
  9. The Magician by Michael Scott: In the second book of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, they end up in Paris in the catacombs, which sounds really cool, particularly if you don’t encounter monsters in them.
  10. Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods: Hiking does not especially appeal to me, but Bryson mixes history, humor, and hubris so well in his works — but particularly this one about the Appalachian Trail — that it nearly makes want reconsider. (But not quite.)

There are others of course (Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books and the Great Plain states, for instance), but these were the first ten I thought of. How about you? Have you read books that particularly made you want to travel?

Category: books,travel. There is/are 5 Comments.



Great post! I just love what books do for us!

Comment by Kat 06.12.18 @ 6:40 am

Great list! I’d like to see Prince Edward Island as well, especially because it is so beautifully described in the Anne of Green Gables series. Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.

Comment by Poinsettia 06.12.18 @ 8:56 am

I’ve been to some of the Greek Islands (Crete and Santorini) and they’re gorgeous! Well worth a visit 🙂
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/06/12/top-ten-tuesday-163/

Comment by Jo 06.12.18 @ 12:21 pm

I loved a walk in the woods. The movie was goofy and not good, but I liked the book . Hmmmm, books that make me want to travel….well. i would have to say no. Unless you include books on the iditarod. That sounds amazing to watch.

Comment by kathy b 06.12.18 @ 5:58 pm

Let me know when you are coming!

Wild did not make me want to walk the Pacific Trail, but I read a book about the Camino Trail in Spain that sounds much more civilized.

Based on books read, London, and England in general is at the very top of my list. Also, Switzerland is a place I’d like to see because of Heidi, obvs.

Comment by raidergirl3 06.13.18 @ 8:28 am