Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Awake the Travel Bug

It’s no secret that I love to travel. If you’ve read other posts on this blog, you’ll know that I take every chance I get to explore the world. Alas, travel can be a bit expensive, so while I’m saving up for my next great adventure, reading books that take me to exotic locales is the next best thing. Here are a few of my favourites for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl:

1. Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan – “Alamak!” All of the fantastic locales that Kwan describes… and the food alone makes me want to hop on a plane and set out for Singapore. The entire series is an awesome and hilarious adventure.
2. Love and Gelato, by Jenna Evans Welch – Again, with the food. I love Italy, and this book took me right back to visiting the Duomo and eating too much gelato.
3. An Age of License, by Lucy Knisley – I’m a huge fan of Lucy Knisley’s graphic memoirs, but this one is especially fun, because readers get to follow her as she travels through Europe.
4. The Royal We, by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan – Set in London, The Royal We features tons of cool locations in one of my favourite cities. Also, did I mention that there is a handsome, single prince in this book? Seriously, even if you hate London, the Prince is enough to keep things interesting.
5. Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon – Does time travel count? I mean, it’s still travel… Also, did I mention the super-hot scotsman in this one? No? Well… Why else does one travel?
6. Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert – Yes, I was inspired by the travel. Also, this book just made me hungry.
7. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain – Perhaps not an exotic locale for me, but I liked Twain’s descriptions of the languid Mississippi river set as the backdrop for boyhood adventures. If you are a fan of Nick Offerman (because why wouldn’t you be?) there is an audiobook out where he narrates.
8. Wild, by Cheryl Strayed – I think I liked reading this one so much because for a few hundred pages I could experience hiking the Pacific Crest trail without actually having to hike. I hate hiking, ya’ll. But, I loved this book.
9. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien – Confession: I kind of gave up in book two, because what is with all of that “they walked through the forest” for like a million pages BS? Sorry, bookish internet. I promise to go back and read it again. The Lord of the Rings did inspire some of my travels in New Zealand, though.
10. Paper Towns, by John Green – One night, Quentin’s crush Margo climbs in through his window and everything changes. An awesome mystery/road trip novel that always makes me want to return to Florida.

What books make you want to travel more?