There are books you read. And then there are books that become places. Or, like in my case, trips.
Books that smell like airports, trains, long stretches of silence, and lives changing slowly. Some make you want to book a flight immediately, others make you travel while staying exactly where you are.
Maybe because they both do the same thing: they take you far away without really asking for permission.
So here are a few books that, for different reasons, I’d always bring along with me. Not necessarily travel guides, but stories about searching, freedom, change, and that constant urge to feel alive somewhere in the world.
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Christopher McCandless’s story is one that stays with you for years. It’s about freedom, escape, nature, and this almost desperate need to find something real.
It’s not a romantic “drop everything and leave” kind of book. It’s a lot more complicated than that. And that’s exactly why it pulls you in so much.
Perfect for a long trip, maybe while staring out the window, constantly daydreaming.
On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Chaos, miles, America, freedom.
This book doesn’t follow a set path. It runs. Just like its characters do.
It’s the kind of read that makes you want to leave without an overly detailed plan and with the perfect playlist in your headphones.
And even though it was written decades ago, it still has that restless energy we recognize so well today.
Always been one of my favorite books, and honestly, my dream trip in book form.
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
A book meant to be read slowly. It’s not really about cities. Or rather: it’s about the people, the memories, the desires we leave behind in places.
Every page feels like a tiny surreal postcard. It’s one of those books that changes the way you look at cities, even long after you’ve finished it.
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
A small, gentle book, full of quiet.
Tokyo, a secondhand bookshop, slow days, and people trying to piece themselves back together.
It’s not a book that shouts. It’s more one of those stories that just quietly keeps you company.
Perfect for trains, airports, or rainy afternoons on the road.
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
One of the most honest books ever written about getting lost.
Cheryl Strayed sets off alone along the Pacific Crest Trail after a devastating period in her life, and the journey turns into something so much bigger than just a hike.
It hurts in certain parts. But at the same time, it leaves you with this incredible sense of strength.
It’s the book I’d read before setting off alone toward something that scares me. Even if maybe it’s a little too late for that, for me.
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
India, chaos, escape, crime, love, spirituality.
This book is massive in every sense of the word. There’s so much life packed into it that at times it feels almost impossible.
Bombay becomes a full-on character in its own right, and after a few chapters, you can practically feel the heat, the noise, and the chaos on your skin.
Profondo come il mare, leggero come il cielo by Gianluca Gotto
One of the books that made me think the hardest about what happiness actually means.
There’s travel in it, sure, but mostly personal searching. The kind of searching that often only begins once we step away from our habits.
It has a simple, direct, deeply human tone. But honestly, all of his books have made me dream and book a trip to Vietnam.
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
A classic of the “I left to find myself” genre, but for good reason.
Italy, India, and Bali become three completely different ways of looking at life. And even though some parts can feel pretty idealized, it’s still one of those books capable of making you want to drop everything and book a flight.
Or at least look up flights without actually buying one. Which, honestly, is already something.
Some books become travel companions not because of where they’re set, but because of what they manage to leave inside you.
Every trip needs the right book.
Not to kill time on a plane or a train, but because certain stories manage to amplify whatever you’re living through in that moment. They make you look a little closer out the window. They make certain departures feel less lonely. They make you slow down.
And maybe that’s the real beauty of books and travel: they don’t really end when you reach the last page, or when you get back home.
