Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are destination, and the journey. They are home. - Anna Quindled
Since the day I started travelling solo, almost everyone asked me the same question, "why do i love to travel alone?" I never had a specific answer to that question. How could I explain to them my craving for freedom, that longing for anonymity, the need to distance myself from everything and everyone?
There are some of my favorite books that boosted my wanderlust. Although I don't really need books to inspire wanderlust in me. But, sometimes i want to enter in the world created by someone else's imagination and nothing is better than a book to enter in the world unknown without even moving.
1) Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer:
How well I feel connection with this book can't be expressed. I liked that it showed great individuality and freedom of choice as to living life rather differently than how we ordinarily would, caring little about what people would think. it made me rethink my choices and encouraged me to spend time alone. Chris was brave because it takes courage to follow your own heart.
2) Wild by Cheryl Strayed:
This book inspired me in many ways. At some point she said,“Fear, to a great extent, is born of a story we tell ourselves, and so I chose to tell myself a different story from the one women are told. I decided I was safe. I was strong. I was brave. Nothing could vanquish me” and her words became my guide.
Reading Wild helped me realize that every step forward is a step into a new future, new hope and new opportunity. And however scary you find that, what you can’t do, and must never do, is stop walking. That day I promised myself that no matter what, I'll always be brave and strong.
3) Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer:
This is one of my favorite books. I dream of climbing mount Everest too. But this movie, it brings you not an inch but miles closer to reality. It tells that one comes across many hardships while scaling the mountain. You’ll feel alive even if you won’t be able to breathe. The thrill, the risk, humanity, luck, hardship, life, death! This book is Jon Kraukauer's personal account of the 1996 disaster on Mt Everest.
I hope that one day I can also scale THE EVEREST and can feel the joy of standing on the top of the world.
4) The Shooting Star:
If I have to take one thing from the book it's "Una Vida" - One life. We all dream of one path to walk through, while only few us actually take that path and follow our dreams. I loved how Shivya followed her heart and chose the other path over the life of safety and secure future. I hope one day I can also gather the courage to choose my own heart over everything else.
5) A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson:
I loved this book because it pressed all my favorite buttons: Humor. Adventure. Danger. Storytelling. Nature. Local/personal interest etc. Reading this book was an ultimate experience. It felt like I myself was hiking Appalachian Trail.
6) All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven:
This book is not an adventure book. I personally liked this because as I felt very connected to the main character Theodore Finch. It explained many aspects of life and It incorporates serious themes such as depression and suicide. When you read this book, you'll realize how important it is to love yourself and how important it is to come forward and talk about what you are going through.
7) Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert:
Like 'Wild' this book is also an example of how travel can heal your broken heart. In this book, Gilbert's journey takes her first to Italy, where she heals her body, mostly through the pleasures of food; then to India, where for months she meditates and prays; finally to Bali, Indonesia, where she completes her healing and finds new love when she was sure she never again would. I agree to the fact that solo travel changes us in most wondrous ways.
That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet....
