A book can inspire feelings of nostalgia for a place you’ve been before, or ignite the spark for planning your next trip—making it the perfect gift for the travelers on your list.
From fiction novels with a strong sense of place to travel guides to memoirs (and more!), here are 12 books to give to travelers this holiday season.
1. Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
A debut novel that packs a punch: Olga Dies Dreaming is the story of two Brooklynite siblings who are trying to navigate their career dreams and (traditional) family expectations despite an absent mother who left to pursue her own dreams of liberating Puerto Rico and a deceased father.
2. World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever
Considered the late, great Anthony Bourdain’s final word on travel, World Travel: An Irreverent Guide sheds light on the places he loved—and why you should visit them, too. The guide also features essays and anecdotes from those who knew him best.
3. No Meat Required by Alicia Kennedy
Explore the history of plant-based eating, and how it’s evolved in cultures around the world, in this debut book from food (and newsletter) writer, Alicia Kennedy.
4. Four Seasons in Japan by Nick Bradley
Travel from Tokyo to rural Japan—and explore what it means to belong—in Nick Bradley’s Four Seasons in Japan.
5. The Rooster House: My Ukrainian Family Story by Victoria Belim
Victoria Belim’s timely memoir, The Rooster House, weaves her family’s history with that of her native Ukraine.
6. The Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter
TL;DR: Hard things are good for you.
Packed with tales from the Alaskan wilderness—and statistics on why modern-day humans need to get outside their comfort zones—The Comfort Crisis will inspire you to book that flight, sign up for that race, or just get back to nature.
7. Feeding Dangerously by José Andrés and Steve Orlando
The only graphic novel on this list, Feeding Dangerously pays homage to the courageous efforts of World Central Kitchen—the not-for-profit organization dedicated to getting meals to people in places devastated by natural disasters and humanitarian crises.
Right now, $5 of every book sale will be donated to World Central Kitchen.
8. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Help the traveler in your life bide their time between seasons 1 and 2 by gifting the novel: Pachinko features four generations of a Korean immigrant family struggling to make a life—and livelihood—for themselves in Japan.
9. The Searcher by Tana French
In The Searcher, readers are transported to a rural village in Ireland; one with dark secrets—and now home to an outsider who’s determined to uncover them.
10. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Quick—sneak a hard copy of All the Light We Cannot See under the tree before the traveler on your list watches the limited series on Netflix. (But don’t stress if they do—we all know the book is always better.) Readers will travel not only across borders, but also back in time, in this modern classic set in France and Germany during World War II.
11. Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London by Lauren Elkin
In Flâneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice, and London, author Lauren Elkin charts a course through the cities she’s lived in (and loved)—illuminating the art of aimless wandering, and what we can learn from the women who did it best.
12. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Is this a typical travel book? Not at all, but hear me out: If travelers know anything, it’s how to make friends with strangers in new and unexpected places. Project Hail Mary—set in outer space—exemplifies this notion. Get this for the person on your list who needs reminding that we’re never (traveling) alone.
