Pre-Departure Reading

There are many ways I get ready to travel to a new place: I study up on the local language, pore over travel guides, read relevant blogs, canvass friends who’ve been there, and scour the internet for information. But another way I prep for a journey is to read books, particularly ones that will give me a sense of the culture I’m about to encounter or an education in the major historical events and people that shaped the area. Some of these books have been so good that I just have to share.  A few notes about the list:

• An asterisk (*) indicates I’ve been to the country.
• A laughing emoji 🤣 indicates just what you would expect—that I chuckled, snorted, or guffawed my way through the book.
• If I didn’t like a book, it’s not on this list.
• All the titles are either nonfiction or historical fiction.  In most cases they’re travel memoirs.
• With time and travel I’ll be adding to the list, so check back periodically.

Photo by Berkalp Turper on Pexels.com

ARMENIA

The Hundred Year Walk: An Armenian Odyssey by Dawn Anahid MacKeen

AUSTRALIA

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson 🤣

CENTRAL ASIA (The 5 Stans)

Stans By Me—A Whirlwind Tour of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan by Ged Gillmore 🤣

Sovietistan: Travels in Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan by Erika Fatland

CHINA

Lost on Planet China: The Strange and True Story of One Man’s Attempt to Understand the World’s Most Mystifying Nation, or How He Became Comfortable Eating Live Squid by J. Maarten Troost 🤣

DENMARK

The Year of Living Danishly—Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country by Helen Russell

ENGLAND*

Notes From a Small Island by Bill Bryson 🤣

Philippa Gregory’s historical fiction series on the six wives of Henry VIII (read in this order):

• The Constant Princess
• The Other Boleyn Girl
• The Boleyn Inheritance
• The Taming of the Queen

FRANCE*

French Like Moi – A Midwesterner in Paris by Scott Carpenter 🤣

Almost French – Love and a New Life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull

Bringing Up Bebe – One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman

JAPAN

Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji – On Finding Myself in Japan by Cathy Davidson

PERU

Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Adams

PORTUGAL*

10 Lisbon Stories by Joke Langens

UNITED STATES*

Charles Kuralt’s America by the late Charles Kuralt (best listened to on unabridged audiobook narrated by the dearly departed himself)

MULTIPLE COUNTRIES or GENERAL TRAVEL

Lands of Lost Borders: A Journey on the Silk Road by Kate Harris

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If you’ve read any of these titles, what did you think?  If you have a book you’d recommend for this list, let me know. Bonus points if you recommend a 🤣 book.