{"id":19,"date":"2023-04-10T10:58:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-10T09:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:63887\/blog\/?p=19"},"modified":"2024-06-05T20:36:58","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T19:36:58","slug":"our-5-favourite-travel-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/freebirdclub.com\/article\/our-5-favourite-travel-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Our 5 favourite travel books"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reading and travelling go hand-in-hand – whether you\u2019re engrossed in a beach page-turner, or learning more about your favoured destination – there are plenty of adventures to disappear into.<\/p>\n

With such a broad range of travel books out there, it can be hard knowing which to read or where to start. As huge travel advocates ourselves, we wanted to provide a reference point to start your journey.<\/p>\n

Limiting ourselves to a top 5 was extremely difficult. As such we\u2019ve aimed to pick a range of differing styles – designed to both inspire and be enjoyable reads whilst you\u2019re away!<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re travelling with Freebird club, you could even buy one for the trip and gift it to your host. Alternatively, if you are hosting, why not start a travel book collection for your guests.<\/p>\n

1. In a Sunburned Country<\/a> – Bill Bryson  <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

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No travel reading list would be complete without a Bill Bryson entry. The most well-travelled of folk has written a litany of books, but we\u2019ve chosen his love-letter to Australia. <\/p>\n

A varied journey across the country-cum-contintent, Bryson describes in wonderful detail the places he visits and people he meets – not to mention his connections with wildlife – leaving you with a very definite feeling about what Australia is\u2026 and whether or not it\u2019s for you! <\/p>\n

Even though it\u2019s nearly 25 years old, the refreshing thing about Bryson\u2019s style (and perhaps a commentary on life) is that the core of what he\u2019s written remains accurate, informative, and as fresh today as it did when it was written.<\/p>\n

2. Around the world in 80 trains<\/a> – Monisha Rajesh
 <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

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In her previous book, \u2018Around India in 80 Trains\u2019, the train-loving Rajesh enjoyed a locomotive experience around her ancestral India. In this broader entry, she expands her horizons ,(literally) exploring if the romantic way of global slow-travel is still viable in this day and age, sharing the experience with her fiance. <\/p>\n

Although she doesn\u2019t technically travel around \u2018the world\u2019 (she starts in Europe and much of the book occurs in Asia) it is an engrossing read about the joy of travelling long distances via a means that allows conversation and bonding with like-minded souls to help create a community in its own right. <\/p>\n

3. Taste: My Life Through Food<\/a> – Stanley Tucci
 <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

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One of the most savoured parts of travelling is the food. A local delicacy can change your world and broaden your horizons. <\/p>\n

In his food-documentary \u2018Searching for Italy\u2019, Stanley Tucci explores his Italian heritage and showcases his love of all Italian cuisine. In \u2018Taste\u2026\u2019 he continues this journey in delicious detail, cooking up a real treat of a read that encompasses favourite (and least favourite) dishes, family stories and tales from filming that come together in a glorious concoction that will surely prove the \u2018sauce\u2019 of inspiration for your next Italian adventure. <\/p>\n

4. Atlas of Georgraphical Curiosities <\/a>– Vitali Vitaliev <\/h2>\n

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If you\u2019re looking for something slightly different for your next adventure, you should start your investigation here. This book of wonders contains 59 entries of some of the weird and wonderful peculiarities that define where we live.<\/p>\n

From countries that don\u2019t actually exist, to others that change allegiances depending up which law they prefer, via other quirks of geography, Vitali Vitaliev has collated some of the best oddities in the world – which at the very least will offer some conversation at your next dinner party, and may prompt a different direction for your next adventure.<\/p>\n

5. Hidden Places<\/a> – Sarah Baxter<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

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Along similar lines as the \u2018Atlas\u2019 above, travel journalist Sarah Baxter delves into some of the more obscure places around the world to bring us this selection of 25 secluded and secret places. <\/p>\n

A guide that showcases the bittersweet (the English village that was evacuated for the war effort and now stands deserted) the wonderous (a mini Atlantis) and more, it is beautifully illustrated by Amy Grimes. <\/p>\n

Presenting you with a semi-bucket list (some of the locations are unreachable), it will at the very least perhaps inspire you to do some discovering off the beaten track of your own.<\/p>\n

6. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy<\/a> – Douglas Adams
 <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

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Yes this is number 6. But an honourable mention is surely required. We couldn\u2019t have a travel guide without the greatest travel book of all. <\/p>\n

Adams\u2019 book certainly transcends time (and space) as the hapless Arthur Dent travels across the galaxy after the destruction of Earth, supported and guided by a cast of miscreants, aliens and general vagabonds. As witty and intelligent today as it was when it came out. Just make sure to avoid the Vogan poetry. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading and travelling go hand-in-hand – whether you\u2019re engrossed in a beach page-turner, or learning more about your favoured destination […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/freebirdclub.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/freebirdclub.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/freebirdclub.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freebirdclub.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freebirdclub.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/freebirdclub.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211,"href":"https:\/\/freebirdclub.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19\/revisions\/211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freebirdclub.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/freebirdclub.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freebirdclub.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/freebirdclub.com\/article\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}