While all of our travel plans are on hold right now, dreaming about travel doesn’t have to be. Nor should we ignore the need for a brief mental reprieve. As author Jhumpa Lahiri once said: “That’s the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.” Absent travel, reading is perhaps the ultimate form of escapism. So until we can travel again, here are 15 books set in faraway places that will inspire your mind to wander:
1. “A Gentleman in Moscow” by Amor Towles
Set in: Moscow, Russia
2. “Outlander” by Diana Gabaldon
Set in: The Highlands of Scotland
3. “Shantaram” by Gregory David Roberts
Set in: Bombay (now Mumbai), India
4. “Beautiful Ruins” by Jess Walter
Set in: Porto Vergogna and Florence, Italy; Hollywood, CA; Edinburgh, UK; Portland, OR
5. “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail” by Cheryl Strayed
Set in: California, Oregon, and Washington
6. “All the Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr
Set in: Saint-Malo and Paris, France; Zollverein, Schulpforta, and Berlin, Germany
7. “Sweetbitter” by Stephanie Danler
Set in: New York, NY
8. “Pachinko” by Min Jin Lee
Set in: Yeongdo, Korea; Osaka and Tokyo, Japan
9. “This Must Be the Place” by Maggie O’Farrell
Set in: County Donegal, Ireland
10. “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delia Owens
Set in: North Carolina
11. “The Paris Wife” by Paula McLain
Set in: Paris, France
12. “A Tale for the Time Being” by Ruth Ozeki
Set in: Tokyo, Japan and British Columbia, Canada
13. “The Map of Salt and Stars” by Zeyn Joukhadar
Set in: Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, and Spain
14. “The Yellow House” by Sarah M. Broom
Set in: New Orleans, LA
15. “The Night Tiger” by Yangsze Choo
Set in: Malaysia
