5 Travel Books You Should Read

Part of the tool belt of any traveler is a good book. Long bus, train, or plane rides can get pretty boring and can give you a lot of dead time. Even if you're not traveling, you will want to feel inspired to travel or have a glimpse of the destinations you are longing to explore.

Here are the books you might want to add to your reading list:

1. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

One of the most-read books of this generation. The story follows a young shepherd boy from Spain to Egypt. The constant theme is to pursue your dreams by following what your heart desires and following the language of the omens. It is filled with many inspirational quotes.

It starts with Santiago, a shepherd boy, having a recurring dream about a child who tells him that he will find a hidden treasure if he travels to the Egyptian pyramids. With each hurdle, there is a lesson to learn and each lesson teaches the young boy that he must always follow his heart, as it is the language of God.

2. Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to The World of Food and the People Who Cook by Anthony Bourdain

"Tony comes to us in this book a little older, a little more worn, and above all, wiser and apologetic for his staunch stances of the past. He's still the same Anthony Bourdain, with the same convictions about what makes good cooking, but the years on the road have softened his soul in this memoir," Meagan Drillinger, a travel writer and owner of women's entrepreneurial retreat company Vaera Journeys said.

Here, Bourdain is no longer a working chef; the moral authority of being an anonymous, hardworking, weathered veteran cook is gone in Medium Raw. He's another outsider now.

3. The Beach by Alex Garland

Travelers will identify with Richard and his quest to "do something different and get off the beaten path," but in the end see that as an illusion. This novel follows an optimistic and slightly delusional English tourist as he travels to Thailand seeking a Utopia.

Themes include the dream of utopia, the dangers of authenticity, human selfishness, and the nefarious lengths humans will go to in order to survive.

A perfect book to read in winter where you'll disappear off into your own little paradise world.

4. The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton

"Many travel-themed books play to our daydreams about travel, but de Botton takes a brutally honest and philosophical look at why we travel and brings to light truths that we don't want to see or believe, namely that the fantasies we have about a place can often be better than the reality we encounter once we arrive," Michelle Halpern, travel blogger at Live Like It's The Weekend said.

The Art of Travel is less a series of ruminations leading to a grand revelation of the ancient pastime of travel than an undirected survey of many great artists and thinkers who traveled significantly.

Happy reading.