Most read Travel books

In 1996, journalist Jon Krakauer joined a climbing expedition on Mount Everest, a journey that tragically became the deadliest in the mountain's history. Krakauer details the extreme conditions and harrowing events that unfolded on the treacherous slopes. This account explores the immense physical dangers and the powerful human drive that leads people to face such extreme risks.

• survival
• quest

Nana is a stray cat with a crooked tail who has found a comfortable life with his owner, Satoru. But when Satoru suddenly needs to find a new home for Nana, the two set off in a silver van to visit Satoru's old friends across Japan. As they travel through changing seasons and beautiful landscapes, Nana tries to figure out the real reason behind their journey.

• road trip
• found family
• multiple povs

In April 1992 Christopher McCandless walked alone into the Alaskan bush north of Mount McKinley. Four months later moose hunters found his body. Jon Krakauer retraces the two-year odyssey that took him there, drawing on journals, letters and the people who met him along the way.

• survival
• road trip
• coming of age

Le flegmatique Phileas Fogg parie qu'il bouclera le tour de la Terre en quatre-vingts jours. Avec son domestique Passepartout, il s'élance de Londres dans une course haletante à travers Suez, l'Inde, la Chine et l'Amérique, talonné par un détective convaincu de tenir un voleur en fuite. Le grand roman d'aventures de Jules Verne, éloge du progrès et du sang-froid.

• road trip
• quest

Bill Bryson sets out to answer the biggest questions there are: how the universe began, how the Earth was formed, how we came to know its age, what everything is made of, and how life — and eventually we — arose from it all. Rather than simply reciting facts, he tracks down the answers and the often eccentric, quarrelsome, and brilliant scientists who found them. Ranging from the Big Bang to quantum physics, from the depths of geologic time to the fragility of life on a small blue planet, Bryson translates dense and forbidding science into vivid, funny, endlessly curious storytelling. Along the way he conveys just how improbable, precarious, and astonishing our existence really is. A hugely popular work of science writing, it turns the history of nearly everything into an accessible and genuinely delightful adventure.

Elizabeth Gilbert's blockbuster memoir of a year spent rebuilding herself after a shattering divorce: pleasure and food in Italy, devotion and silence in an Indian ashram, and balance—and unexpected love—in Bali. Candid, funny, and searching, it became a defining book of modern self-discovery.

After suffering a series of devastating personal losses, a young woman embarks on a solo, 1,100-mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. This journey pushes her to her physical and emotional limits, forcing her to confront her grief and ultimately rebuild her life. It is a story of resilience, self-discovery, and the healing power of nature.

• survival
• quest
• coming of age
• redemption arc

A sprawling first-person account of restless youth, jazz, and the American road — Sal Paradise and his frenetic friend Dean Moriarty crisscross the country in a desperate search for something that can't be named. Kerouac's propulsive prose captures the frantic energy of the Beat Generation as it emerged.

This true story chronicles a unique friendship that blossomed between a New York writer and the staff of a London bookshop. Over many years, their correspondence, filled with wit and warmth, bridges the Atlantic, creating a bond through shared love of books.

• epistolary

Bill Bryson, home after twenty years in England, sets out to walk the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine with an old friend in no shape for it. A very funny account of blisters, bears and bad weather, threaded through with the history and ecology of the eastern woods — and a plea for keeping them.

• quest
• survival
• fish out of water

In 1938, Japanese novelist Aoyama Chizuko travels to Taiwan, seeking authentic experiences beyond the colonial government's agenda. Her guide, the younger Taiwanese Chizuru, not only fulfills Chizuko's culinary desires but also captures her heart. As their bond deepens over shared meals and conversations, Chizuru's hesitant distance hints at unspoken complexities, leading to a painful separation that forces Chizuko to confront hidden truths about their relationship and the island's history.

• forbidden love
• slow burn

Lin, a fugitive from an Australian prison, escapes to Bombay, leaving his past behind. He quickly becomes known as Shantaram, the man of God's peace, and navigates the city's vibrant streets and dangerous underworld with his guide, Prabaker. As he falls for the enigmatic Karla, Lin finds himself entangled in a world of crime, love, and self-discovery. This epic story offers a deep dive into Bombay's heart, blending adventure with profound insights into humanity.

• fish out of water
• redemption arc
• anti hero
• survival

Who would have thought that love can grow within a day? This novel shows how love can bloom in unexpected situations and how it can prevail even when love seems lost. The story revolves around a 17-year-old girl named Hadley and her "long" journey to London.

Step into the sultry, mysterious world of Savannah, Georgia, where a shocking murder case exposes the city's hidden underbelly. This true crime account reads like a novel, introducing you to a cast of unforgettable characters and the eccentricities of a Southern city. It's a deep dive into a sensational trial and the unique culture that surrounds it.

• morally grey

Follow the true story of Percy Fawcett, a British explorer who vanished in the Amazon in 1925 while searching for a lost ancient city. This book traces his perilous journey and the decades-long obsession of those who sought to uncover the jungle's secrets. It's a tale of exploration, mystery, and the enduring human drive to discover the unknown.

• quest
• survival

Noemi is a soldier sworn to protect her planet, Genesis, while Abel is an advanced machine, abandoned and evolving, seeking freedom. These two enemies from opposing sides of an interstellar war are forced to unite on a dangerous mission. As they journey through the stars, they begin to question everything they've been taught, discovering what it truly means to be human and where they belong in a perilous galaxy.

• enemies to lovers
• forbidden love
• coming of age
• sacrifice

A 1940 explorer claimed he found a sacred lost city in Honduras, then died without naming its location. Decades later, lidar reveals ruins in a remote valley, and Douglas Preston joins the team sent in, where the jungle and a deadly disease wait.

Sent abroad by her nephew to recuperate from an illness, Jane Marple finds herself at a sun-drenched resort on the West Indian island of St Honoré.

• betrayal
• secret identity
• morally grey

Flight attendant Mina works the inaugural twenty-hour non-stop flight from London to Sydney, a journey the world is watching. Shortly after takeoff she receives an anonymous note: there are people on board intent on bringing the plane down, and they need her help, or her five-year-old daughter dies. Trapped at 30,000 feet, Mina must choose between hundreds of strangers and the one life that matters most. A tense locked-room thriller from Clare Mackintosh.

• locked room

With wit, heartwarming stories and a keen insight into new and exciting ways to see both the past and the future of the country, the actor, writer and woodworker takes a literary journey to America's frontier to celebrate the people and landscape that have made it great.

• road trip

Following a plane crash, Conway, a British consul; his deputy; a missionary; and an American financier find themselves in the enigmatic snow-capped mountains of uncharted Tibet. Here they discover a seemingly perfect hidden community where they are welcomed with gracious hospitality. Intrigued by its mystery, the travellers set about discovering the secret hidden at the shimmering heart of Shangri-La.

Join Sarah Vowell on a unique journey across America, visiting the sites of presidential assassinations and other acts of political violence. This tour uncovers lesser-known historical details and examines how popular culture and tourism have shaped our understanding of these pivotal moments. It's a witty and insightful exploration of American history, memory, and the enduring fascination with its darker chapters.

• road trip