A collection of some of my favorite pieces of travel literature that I've read over the years.
Travel Literature Public
Created by Sean Bala
A collection of some of my favorite pieces of travel literature that I've read over the years.
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5 stars
In this “exquisite personal blend of philosophy and engagement, inner quiet and worldly life" (Los Angeles Times), an acclaimed author …
Sean Bala says: A bit less of a travel narrative than "The Monk and the Lady," this is a beautiful follow up to that book. Iyer has lived half the year in Japan with his wife and here you get a sense of what it is like to be a long-term expat. This book is a moving meditation on death and family.
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Ghost Train to the Eastern Star by Paul Theroux
In Ghost Train to the Eastern Star, Paul Theroux retraces the steps he took thirty years ago in his classic …
Sean Bala says: This was the first travel book I read and it got me hooked. Theroux retraces the journey he took in "The Great Railway Bazaar" thirty years later, reflecting on what it means to be a "ghost" in the places you had been before.
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The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux
In 1973, Paul Theroux embarked on a four-month journey by train from the United Kingdom through Europe, the Middle East, …
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The snow leopard by Peter Matthiessen (Penguin nature classics)
4 stars
This lovely book (1978) describes a two month search for the snow leopard with naturalist George Schaller in the Dolpo …
Sean Bala says: I love this book. A beautiful blending of spirituality, philosophy, nature, and storytelling. I've returned to it multiple times in my life.
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The Lady and the Monk by Pico Iyer
4 stars
When Pico Iyer decided to go to Kyoto and live in a monastery, he did so to learn about Zen …
Sean Bala says: I originally did not like this book but I found that it has grown on me over time. Much more subtle than you might initially think. Read "Autumn Light" afterwards to find out what happens to Iyer after.
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A Beginner's Guide to Japan: Observations and Provocations by Pico Iyer
“Arguably the greatest living travel writer” (Outside magazine), Pico Iyer has called Japan home for more than three decades. But, …
Sean Bala says: A good companion book to read with "The Monk and the Lady" and "Autumn Light"
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A Pilgrimage to Eternity: From Canterbury to Rome in Search of a Faith by Timothy Egan
Moved by his mother's death and his Irish Catholic family's complicated history with the church, Timothy Egan decided to follow …
Sean Bala says: Not the best of books, I like it for its Italian section where you see the joy of a person returning to a place they lived for many years. The book is a good meditation on faith in modernity and the loss of geographic meaning in a secularized world.
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City of Djinns by William Dalrymple
4 stars
Sparkling with irrepressible wit, City of Djinns peels back the layers of Delhi's centuries-old history, revealing an extraordinary array of …
Sean Bala says: One of the best travel books about India and Delhi. Written by a person who has a deep love for India, its history, and culture.
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From The Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple
3 stars
In the spring of A.D. 587, John Moschos and his pupil Sophronius the Sophist embarked on a remarkable expedition across …
Sean Bala says: Another good one from William Dalrymple. Some beautiful passage going through the 1990s Middle East.
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Confederates in the Attic by Tony Horwitz
4 stars
Confederates in the Attic (1998) is a work of non-fiction by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Tony Horwitz. Horwitz explores his deep …
Sean Bala says: Part travel book and part meditation on historical memory, Horwitz looks at the way people continue to engage w the American Civil War. Horwitz was a hands-on, active reporter who really got to the level of his subjects. Memorable, thoughtful, and genuinely hilarious book.
