One year into COVID-19, and it’s still apparent we can’t do much about our current situation. 

The temptation to book a new trip is sometimes too much to handle. As we casually browse airline websites and find that $500 round trips are now $100 (sometimes even less), it can seem as if we are stuck in a virtual reality where travel is now affordable, yet we still can’t act on it due to this damn pandemic.

As I reflect on the past year, I can recall that the one thing that got me through the first round of quarantine was reading. I’m not much of a puzzle person, and I detest baking, so I turned to paperbacks during my time of boredom. Instead of booking trips, I flew to travel books.

While reading the following novels, I truly felt as if I was taking a vacation; even though I was just sitting on my couch. I was able to tap into the authors’ feelings and use their stories as inspiration for my own future travels.

 

Here were some of my favorite travel reads during quarantine:

 

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

I know you don’t need an explanation for this one, as I’m sure you’ve seen it countless times before on other blog sites. However, this book is just too good not to mention. 

Eat Pray Love actually inspired my first solo trip to Europe and is always a warm, comforting friend to turn to when I am in-between series or stuck without a new read. 

I know I can always return to Elizabeth Gilbert and her adventures as if they were my own. Her wit, intuition, and, not to mention, indisputable courage to embark on her own journey is truly inspirational. This is the perfect book to turn to when you feel down, lost, or just in a weird funk. Her satiric tones and sensory detail create an immersive experience for the reader; almost as if you are sitting alongside her in an Italian pizzeria – unbuckled jeans and gelato on display for all to see. 

 

What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin Newman

This find was a straight winner. What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding follows Kristin Newman’s adventures as she navigates through her 20s and 30s as a single, care-free, and sometimes (actually, all the time) erotic nomad. 

We can all see a little bit of ourselves in Kristin; she is an adventurous, raunchy, and lively television writer searching for more than the white-picket-fence-lifestyle with 2.5 babies in tow. 

Kristin makes it acceptable to choose the path less traveled. She makes it okay to have casual flings and honest experiences. If you’re looking for someone to give you the clarification you need to choose your own path, this read takes you there especially when you long to say, “Screw everyone, I’m doing my own thing!”

 

The Girls Guide To Getting Lost by Rachel Friedman 

 

This book is for the goody-goody – the one who always plays by the rules never rocks the boat, and always has a plan. The Girls Guide To Getting Lost follows Rachel, the consummate good girl, and her experiences booking on-a-whim tickets to Ireland, Australia, and South America. 

If you’ve always flown under the radar and you’re looking to do something spontaneous, this book will give you the confidence you need to take a leap of faith. Rachel shows us that sometimes, simply living for the moment and choosing your heart over your head is what leads to the best adventure of your life. 

 

Girls Who Travel by Nicole Trilivas 

 

There are many reasons why we might opt out of traveling alone. However, there are also many reasons why you should. Kika Shores is a twenty-three-year-old who got a taste of the travel life and now can’t seem to settle back into normalcy in her high-end New York City job. As we all know, it’s challenging to get rid of the travel bug. 

This book follows her story as a nanny in London and her hopes to jet set off on the next adventure. If you’re searching for a heart-warming, coming-of-age book, this one is the perfect selection for you. Heartwarming, comical, and comforting, this read is ideal for the person who is questioning whether or not there is more to life than a 9 to 5.

If you haven’t read these books yet, stop everything you are doing now and order them! With Amazon’s exceptional service, there is no need to wait to devour these fantastic reads.

We’re all vying to get out and see the world, and while it’s not quite doable right now, you can curl up, indulge, and anticipate what inevitably awaits us after the pandemic. 

 

Want more reads? Contact me today!