10 Professional Travelers Share Their Favorite Books For Wanderlust

Ernest Hemingway once famously declared, “there is no friend as loyal as a book.” And that sentiment rings doubly true during a quarantine, when solitary isolation is nothing short of civic duty. And, in this particular moment, we’d recommend readers look no further than the author’s Paris memoir, A Movable Feast. The mind still has to travel, after all, even amid a mandatory lockdown. As for how Papa himself would be handling the current moment, we’d guess he’d be self-isolating in the green hills of Africa—and, unsurprisingly, the eternally restless author appears multiple times on our list. (As does his frenemy, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and we’d argue these literary luminaries had equally excellent taste in resort towns and wilderness retreats as they did in story construction and wordplay.)

Since travel is, ultimately, a state of mind, we consulted ten professional globetrotters on their favorite books to embark upon a journey of the soul. And the diversity of our resulting list reflects the eclectic tastes of our fearless adventurers, always looking forward to the next trans-Atlantic (or trans-Pacific) flight—when they’re not self-isolating, of course.

Our literary suggestions range from the unexpected to the modern classics. Crime and Punishment may at first appear to be an unlikely choice of travelogue. However, we’d argue the entire canon of Russian literature is inspiring enough to book your next flight to St. Petersburg. (Save us some vodka when you arrive.) And, of course, the stories that launched a thousand treks (and even more flights to Bali) make an appearance, with Elizabeth Gilbert and Cheryl Strayed gracing on our list. And how could they not? We did consult a cohort of female travel writers, after all. (Though their wanderlust-inducing appeal is not limited to a single gender.) 

So, go ahead and read on for our ultimate quarantine reading list, sure to satisfy all the would-be globetrotters who are growing restless spending these endless days at home. We guarantee this reading list will make your self-isolation a little more international, and a lot more exciting. We recommend taking advantage of this plethora of downtime by embarking on a journey of the mind. Rather than binge another Netflix series, why not spend a lazy afternoon in the wilds of South Africa or the glamour of the French Riviera? Or, perhaps you’d prefer exploring the extraterrestrial deserts of Utah or the Arctic tundra of Norway. Though our options may be limited these days, this (literary) choice is yours. Happy reading!

Crime and Punishment

Fedor Dostoyevsky

Crime and Punishment to St. Petersburg, Russia inspired me to go there and even do a tour of the places from the book. I read Crime & Punishment in high school and was always intrigued by Russia and the Russian authors like Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, etc. I went to Leningrad/St. Petersburg for the first time at 21 years old and have been back 5-6 times since and have traveled through some 30 oblasts in Russia.

—Lee Abbamonte

The Little Paris Bookshop 

Nina George

For some time now, I’ve been researching owning and operating a hotel barge. Serendipitous timing, my mom offered me a book she just read called The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George. Monsieur Perdu, the protagonist, has a floating bookstore on the Seine in Paris, prescribing books like therapy for the souls that came aboard. And one day, he finally goes on an adventure to follow the letter of his lost love to the south of France, bobbing and weaving the canals with a ragtag crew along the way. It’s hard not to get caught up in the adventures, unlikely encounters, and soul searching with the backdrop of Provence and the sun-splashed beaches of France. This story only spurred me on to chase this floating dream. I highly recommend the read in self-quarantine. Until it becomes official (I completed my barge Inland Waterways certification this past fall), I continue to work as a travel publicist, working remotely from our family farmhouse in Pennsylvania until I get the all-clear to fly again. 

—Jessica Parker 

Green Hills of Africa

Ernest Hemingway

I have very few hard and fast rules when it comes to travel, but I always say—if you have an opportunity to go to Africa, you must go. I’ve seen leopards in Uganda and mountain gorillas in Rwanda, I’ve been chased by gators on the Zambezi in Zimbabwe, and I’ve crushed grapes during the harvest in Franschhoek. I can’t get enough of Africa. And when it comes to travel books, Hemingway’s Green Hills of Africa can’t be beat. This sentence, in particular, really captures what it feels like to be in Arica, a place so beautiful you almost miss it even when you’re still there: “All I wanted to do was get back to Africa. We had not left it, yet, but when I would wake in the night I would lie, listening, homesick for it already.”

—Todd Plummer

Eat, Pray, Love

Elizabeth Gilbert

Eat, Pray, Love. I know it’s a cliché answer, but it reminds me of three of my favorite vacations I’ve ever taken (to Italy, Bali, and India), and serves as a reminder of just how transformative travel can be. Elizabeth Gilbert’s descriptions of the food in Italy transport me back to my first ever trip to Rome, and the way she describes the sights and smells of India makes me want to book a trip to an Ashram. Bali will always have a special place in my heart, the same way it does the author’s.

—Zoe Weiner 

Pippi Longstocking

Astrid Lindgren 

When I was a child, Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking books were among my favorites, so much so that I ended up being a Rotary Exchange Student to Sweden in 1985-86. As an adult, I enjoyed Ann Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, set in New Orleans. I share a name with the child-vampire character (no relation), but I really fell for its depiction of the south and the beautiful decadence of NOLA.

—Claudia LaRoye

Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube

Blair Braverman

I love Blair Braverman’s Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube, which makes me want to go to Norway and learn how to dogsled. Actually, after reading her book, I did go to Sweden to dogsled. She’s such a beautiful writer, and the book is so much deeper than dogsledding.

—Kassondra Cloos

Desert Solitaire

Edward Abbey 

As a traveler, self-proclaimed environmentalist, and outdoor enthusiast, Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire continues to inspire me to explore new places while being mindful of my impact on the environment. The book, which was recommended to me by a close friend during my first trip to explore the deserts of Utah, is an autobiographical account of Abbey’s experience as a park ranger at Arches National Park in the 1950s. It discusses the impact development has on our natural landscape through personal stories and observations. The book creates a desire to travel to lesser-known natural destinations, gaining an appreciation for the remaining parts of the world that have been left unspoiled. 

—Josh Laskin

Wild

Cheryl Strayed 

Cliché as it may be, this book always inspires me to grab my backpack and hike the mountains! I hiked the Alps on the German border for two weeks with nothing but a backpack and hammock. I love the raw emotion Strayed pours into her portrayal of her relationships, especially with her mother, and the constant reminder that nature heals all wounds. 

—Merissa Principe

The Garden of Eden

Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway’s posthumously published The Garden of Eden has long been one of my favorite books, but the more I reread it, the more I find myself entranced by the beautiful places the story unravels in. Set between the French Riviera and Côte d’Azur, the novel’s main focus is challenging our perception of gender roles. Still, throughout, the plot’s post-modern European surroundings seem responsible for such forward-thinking. Hemingway is famous for leaving his writing to the reader’s interpretation. But, to me, “The Garden of Eden” is as much a product of early-nineteenth-century France as it is an exploration of gender and sexuality, and I truly can’t help but long for the beautiful coasts of France every time I read it.

—Gabby Shacknai

The Elephant Whisperer

Lawrence Anthony

If you’ve ever had the tiniest of inklings to drop everything and board the first plane to southern Africa in hopes of forgetting your past life and becoming one with wildlife (and, seriously, who hasn’t?), then The Elephant Whisperer will officially put you over the edge. Is it a coincidence that I first read this captivating memoir written by Anthony, an esteemed South African conservationist, before deciding to focus the vast majority of my professional career as a travel writer on conservation and sustainable safari tourism? I think not. This bestselling novel invites readers into a heard of rogue elephants and their lives on an African game reserve, in the broader context of the KwaZulu-Natal’s Zulu culture in post-Apartheid South Africa. Anthony’s story physically comes to life if you have the opportunity to visit the genuine Thula Thula Game Reserve outside of Durban, where the story takes place.

Do you know that feeling of watching every Disney princess movie on VHS as a child and then feeling ignited by magic when you experience Disney World for the first time? Yes, that’s how I felt stepping out of my safari jeep and onto the vast, cragged eastern African lands where Thula Thula Game Reserve seamlessly blends into the landscape. And though Anthony sadly passed away at age 61 in 2012, I could swear he was sitting shotgun in our safari vehicle, commenting on the loyalty of the mama elephant caressing her baby, nuzzling him with her trunk to take first steps. And before you have the opportunity to experience the magic of the bush yourself, Anthony’s captivating descriptions are so vivid that I promise you’ll feel like you’re a passenger (sitting cozily between Anthony and me), getting jolted around in our safari car as well. 

—Olivia Balsinger