Travel Bloggers' Treasures: 8 Books Inspiring Journeys & Tips

Travelling, it leaves you speechless and then turns you into a storyteller.

Ibn Batuta, correctly summed up his experiences when came back home in Tangiers 24 years after travelling to exotic locales in Africa, India, Iraq, Anatolia, Persia, etc. The joy, excitement and fear that one feels on travelling to unknown places have been penned down in beautiful, inspiring books. As travel blogging becomes a popular profession in tourism and adventure enthusiasts grow hungry to explore the unknown, we bring to you the ultimate round-up of 8 books on travel blogging that will transport you to places through their pages.

1. On the Road

Author: Jack Kerouac On The Road is a cult novel of the Beat Generation in America. In this novel, Jack Kerouac, a pioneer of the Beat movement, documents his travels across the United States of America in the 1950s. He discovers himself in the process, exploring love, loss, and friendship. He hitchhikes to Denver, California, New Orleans, San Francisco, New York and Mexico, mixing with locals, falling in love and even working as a grape picker. In the end, Kerouac pens down his experiences in this book, invoking wanderlust in generations to come.

2. Under the Tuscan Sun

Author: Frances Mayes Under the Tuscan Sun is a 1996 memoir of Frances Mayes's time spent in the Tuscan town of Cortona where she experienced the local culture and dabbled in the culinary history of the region. She renovated an old villa and has written nine novels on travel and food in this house. The book transports you to the quaint little town of Cortona, with its medieval style Thursday Market, fresh produce, olive picking rituals and warm and hospitable people who run incredible restaurants. Mayes also includes several recipes in the book. A New York Times bestseller, this book is a stirring read for travel enthusiasts, especially women who wish to explore new places before settling down. Mayes recommends knowing the language and making an informed choice when it comes to settling in an unknown region.

3. Vegabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel

Author: Rolf Potts Rolf Potts, a veteran shoestring traveller, celebrates the free spirit of traveling and exploring the world on your own terms in his book Vagabonding. Potts speaks about the importance of taking time off from the chaos of everyday life to see the world in a through a completely fresh perspective. Potts shares his own reflections on financing your travels, deciding your destination, adjusting to life on the road, handling difficulties during the journey and ultimately readjusting to the ordinary life. Vagabonding achieves a fine balance between sharing Potts?s philosophical musings during his beautiful journey and the logistical side of things that one needs to keep in mind before venturing into the world.

4. The Turk Who Loved Apples: And Other Tales of Losing My Way Around the World

Author: Matt Gross Matt Gross's debut travelogue is a humourous collection of anecdotes about his solo travels across the world, his interactions with locals, learning to cope in a completely different culture and his ? misadventures? as much as his adventures. The book is a light read and Gross urges to leave behind those guidebooks, audio guides and tour planners and simply explore. His travels take him to Vietnam, Tunisia and the Orient. This book brings out the difference between the tourist and the traveller and is a must-read for bloggers who aspire to be the latter.

5. A Walk in the Woods

Author: Bill Bryson Bill Bryson is a prolific name when it comes to the travel genre. A Walk in the Woods is an autobiographical account of Bryson's attempt to traverse the Appalachian Trail with his friend Stephen Katz. Although the hike is not entirely successful for it is no easy feat, Bryson ends up with a remarkable story to tell. His hike takes him to Georgia in the south, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Roanoke (Virginia), Centralia and the Hundred Miles Wilderness section of the trail in Maine. While they faced difficulties and had to start over many times, A Walk in the Woods is compelling and speaks of the nitty-gritty of hiking, the historical background of the trail and the beauty of the untamed wilderness.

 6. Friends in Small Places: Ruskin Bond's Unforgettable People

Author: Ruskin Bond While it does not fall into the category of a typical ?travel book?,  Ruskin Bond's memoir of his travels across the country during his youth is a delightful read. The stories are about the people he remembers because of their loveable eccentricities. Blurring the lines between fiction and real life, his adventures in the Indian heartland are so endearing and true to life that it reinstates your love for travel and for people. The book has pictures from his travels that give a sneak-peak into Bond's India.

7. Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guides to the World's Hidden Treasures

Author: Dylan Thuras, Ella Morton, and Joshua Foer Atlas Obscura is a read that shouldn't be missed by any aspiring travel blogger. This book documents more than 600 unexplored gems of the world including the glowworm caves in New Zealand, the baobab tree in South Africa that houses a small pub, Turkmenistan's Door of Hell, bone museums in Italy and many more such natural and architectural marvels that make you realize what a wonderful world we live in and that there is so much to see!

8. Unlikely Destinations: The Lonely Planet Story

Author: Tony and Maureen Wheeler Tony and Maureen Wheeler are the founders of the hugely successful Lonely Planet series. Travel bloggers swear by their extensive range of guides to almost every corner of the world. Unlikely Destinations is the story of Lonely Planet and the Wheelers. It assumes an autobiographical tone, tracing their journey from starting out as a travel guide business to becoming world's largest independent travel publishing company. This book is a riveting account of their struggles and successes, highs and lows and their strangest experiences in the oddest parts of the world, including the time when Tony was gored by a bull in Banaras!

The pages of books are brimming with adventure, humour, laughter, sadness and most importantly, the thrill of seeking out what others haven't dared. These stories inspire awe as one is left admiring the determination of those who dreamt of venturing into the unknown territory and left an indelible mark. So if you are a travel blogger, you must grab a copy of these books and watch your perspective change while your wanderlust is satiated from the comfort of your cozy corner.