Six books to bring out the Travel Bug in You (Part 1)

*Content Warning* Mushy, sentimental introduction coming up.  If that’s not your thing, you might want to skip the first paragraph of this post.

As many of my readers know, my very first career (many moons ago) was as a high school literature teacher.  In fact, some of you reading these words right now might be former students of mine. (The fact that some of you felt me worthy of remaining in your life all these years later brings me great joy). I consider my time in the classroom my way of paying it forward to those ridiculously talented and amazing teachers that I had.  Continuing a cycle of learning and loving that extends far beyond the classroom is why so many people teach in the first place.

I didn’t really start to travel in a serious way until after I had already left the classroom.  Today, the separate strands of my life come together in this post.  Here are some books that made me itch to get on a plane and see as much of this big, beautiful world as I could while young and able.  Please don’t take offense at the fact that most of these books happen to involve other countries.  I am sure that I have read books that involved our own nation too, but I am having trouble remembering all the thousands of things that I have read.  It just means that someday I will need to write a domestic literature post.  Feel free to help me remember by suggesting your favorite locale-rich books in the comments section.   

A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle

This book is a classic and most travel bloggers and others in the travel industry have likely read it.  Years ago, I talked about wanting to travel but never did.  In 2005, someone extremely dear to me (love you, H.S.) gave me a copy of this book with an inscription inside the front cover that was intended to make me take action.  It worked.  I bought plane to tickets to Europe and never looked back.

The book is the true story of Mr. Mayle’s adventure, wherein, he buys an ancient, crumbling French farmhouse with his wife and fixes it up.  He recounts the first year of their project and all the trials and tribulations that come with buying, restoring and operating a large, historic property in a foreign country.  It is funny, terrifying and nostalgic all at the same time.  For most Americans, their only familiarity with France is Paris.  This book is not about Paris. It will make you want to visit & explore the French countryside.  For the record, I haven’t done that yet.  I am embarrassed to say, I have only visited Paris, but life is long, my friends. . .

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

This collection of essays by one of America’s greatest humorists recounts the author’s experiences preparing to move overseas.  While the author has a more recent book called, Calypso, that centers on his travel experiences, I believe this older collection still gives a great sense of what it is like to be a fish out of water. 

Unlike the other books on my list, this one doesn’t rely on locale and landscape descriptions quite so much.  Rather, Sedaris recounts what it was like to move to France with his husband.  In preparation for this move, they purchased a ramshackle house to fix up and he needed to learn French.  Several essays describe his experience taking a French class in Paris designed for foreigners.  Anyone who has ever taken a foreign language in high school will appreciate his frustration. 

Sedaris’s humor is known to be a bit dark.  However, this book is a little lighter than some of his other collections.  If you have a chance, try to get an audiobook version where he reads the essay himself.  The truth is, having an author read their own work aloud is always the best way to hear an audiobook, but Sedaris is a true master.  He has been touring the world for decades, giving public readings of his own essays.  Therefore, he has mastered accents, tone, pacing and all the things that make storytelling riveting.   His broken description of the students in his French class trying with limited vocabulary (mostly nouns, few verbs, present tense only) to explain Easter traditions in their home countries to one another makes me laugh until I snort.  Seriously.  So funny.  You gotta hear it.

Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen

Come on, this is just a classic.  Isak Dinesen is the pen name for Baroness Karen Blixen and this book tells the true story of a good-old fashioned strong, female protagonist who kicks butt and takes names.  Blixen moved from Denmark to Kenya with her husband to run a coffee plantation.  Their marriage was terrible, mostly because he was a sleazy, alcoholic, bed-hopper.  Eventually, the two of them separate and she runs the massive coffee plantation alone. She takes a lover, who is of mythological proportions himself.  He is a big game hunter who comes and goes in and out of her life and steals her heart.  It would all be super sappy chick lit if it wasn’t true, but it is true.  That’s the gut-punch.

The rich descriptions of the African veldts, mountains, and wildlife encounters are so captivating that you might find yourself Googling African safari tour companies.

 After you have read the book, reward yourself with a movie night so you can see Robert Redford and Meryl Streep bring the characters to life.  Remember to keep a box of tissues on your lap for the final scenes.  It doesn’t matter how many times I read or watch, I ugly snot cry every damn time.  Now, that’s good literature!

Stay tuned for part 2 for the rest of my list!