Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Fuel My Wanderlust

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is Books That Awaken the Travel Bug In Me. I think one of the reasons I read a lot of books is because they take me to so many different places: other countries, other worlds, even into outer space. There are so many possibilities within books and most books (if not all) make me long to travel, whether the destination is real or fictional.

Anne of Green Gables series by L.M. Montgomery: One of my top dream vacation destination is Prince Edward Island due to the Anne of Green Gables books. Other than Green Gables sounding like a wonderful place, I have no idea what kind of value this island has when it comes to destinations, but the way it’s described in the books makes me long to visit it, even if it’s just to say I did.

Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder: Growing up, I read the Little House books over and over, and it almost felt like I had joined the Ingalls family and took a road trip through the Midwest. I reread the whole series a few years ago, and it made me want to take an actual road trip to visit all the places Laura and her family lived.

Camp Half-Blood Chronicles by Rick Riordan: All of Uncle Rick’s books include demigods being tasked with a prophecy, which usually means they take a trip somewhere. The main group has been all across America from New York City to the St. Louis Arch to Las Vegas and Los Angeles. They’ve been to other countries, heck they’ve been to other “dimensions” like the Underworld and Mount Olympus. Let’s just say, these books make me want to take a road trip across America and wonder if any mythological monsters are lurking in the shadows.

River of Time series by Lisa T. Bergren: After reading this series, I’ve longed to visit Italy. Just think of all the historical sites from castles in Siena to the architecture in Rome. I don’t think I’d be so infatuated with this country if it weren’t for this book series.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee: There are several historical books I’ve read with character taking a trip or “grand tour” across Europe. These books always fuel my wanderlust to backpack through Europe and see all the major sites. How freaking cool would it be?

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater: While the island of Thisby is fictional, the way Maggie Stiefvater describes the place makes it feel real. The descriptions are based off the smaller islands of the British Isles, which makes me think visiting any of those small islands would satisfy this wanderlust desire.

The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis: I don’t think a list about books that make me want to travel would be complete with Middle-earth or Narnia. The worlds from these stories come to live between the pages, and they always make me long for a place like them. The Hobbit in particular awakens my desire to travel in the same way Bilbo’s “Tookish” side awakens when the dwarves throw a party at his home.

Invictus by Ryan Graudin: This book awakens a different kind of wanderlust in me: time-travel. While the character do travel to various places around the world, most of the time they travel to them during a different time period than where they are originally from. Time-travel just opens up so many possibilities.

Space books in general: There are so many outer space books from Star Wars stories and Heart of Iron to Illuminae and The Lunar Chronicles that evoke this desire to travel in outer space. While I don’t know if I’ll ever have the opportunity to do so, these books give me a glimpse of what it would be like and propel my starry daydreams further into space.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones: Of course, a list about bookish travel would be incomplete without the coolest literary mode of transportation: Howl’s moving castle. I mean, there’s just nothing like traveling around in a moving house with a sentient fireplace and a bunch of weirdos living inside. *sighs*

What books make you want to travel and what are your top travel destinations? Don’t forget to join the link-up!

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