13 Wanderlusty Books to Read this Summer

Trevor Noah’s memoir begins with the admission of a crime: his birth. Born to a white Swiss dad and a black Xhosa mum, this was illegal during the time of apartheid in South Africa. This is his story of growing up “a crime” and eventually becoming the host of The Daily Show but also the story of his relationship with his mum and the struggles they overcame. I would highly recommend listening to this as an audiobook. Noah is a really good story teller and is so good at the accents and different languages.

Tom Michell arrives in Argentina in the 1970s as a restless 20-something looking for adventure. Before he begins his stint as an English teacher in an all-boys boarding school, he travels to Uruguay where he comes across a penguin caught up in an oil slick. After rescuing and cleaning up the newly named Juan Salvador, he comes to discover that Juan refuses to leave his side and has no choice but to take him back to Argentina. This is a lovely book and another I would highly recommend listening to via audiobook.

Laura was in her 20s and feeling a little bit lost when she decided to quit her job and backpack to Bolivia. What was meant to be only a few weeks became years once she found herself living and working at a wildlife sanctuary where she was assigned to look after Wayra the puma. This is the story of Laura’s relationship with Wayra as well as the other sanctuary residents, the impact of deforestation and forest fires and the illegal pet trade.

A dual narrative story told in and around the town of Plaka, Crete and the island of Spinalonga, a former leper colony. Alexis decides to visit Crete to learn more about her mother’s secretive past. Sofia gives her daughter a letter to take to an old friend with the promise that she will find the answers to all of her questions. When she reaches Plaka, Alexis finds her mother’s friend Fotini and at last hears the story Sofia could never speak of.

Another dual narrative story by Victoria Hislop. This time set In Granada, Spain. Sonia travels to the city to learn how to dance. In a quiet café, a collection of old photographs and a chance conversation with a local takes her back 70 years. In 1936 the same café is home to the Ramirez family who will soon be torn apart by the Franco led civil war. It’s not hard to get sucked in by Hislop’s writing. This book in particular had me in tears by the end of it and wanting to book a flight to Granada immediately.

Set in Malibu in 1983 and telling the story of the famous Riva siblings Nina, a talented surfer and model, her brothers, Jay and Hud and sister Kit. It’s the day of Nina’s annual end of summer party and the anticipation is through the roof, for all except Nina. As the night draws on and it becomes clear that the siblings are all keeping a secret, the party starts getting out of control and by morning the mansion will be overwhelmed by flames. 

This is a beautiful non-fiction book from Lonely Planet which takes you through every country in the world. As well as some basic information and gorgeous photos, this book offers suggestions on what to read, listen to and watch before visiting each country. 

You may recognise Chris Broad from his YouTube channel of the same name. When he decided to move to Japan to teach English, he landed in a rural village with no teaching experience and spoke no Japanese. In Abroad in Japan he shares his experiences of living in Japan for 10 years, visiting all 47 prefectures and some pretty unusual encounters. 

Another memoir of life in Japan, this time from Garrett Wilson. Similar to Abroad in Japan, Garrett arrived in a rural area before being thrown into the bright lights of Tokyo. This is a slightly darker look at Japan and Garrett is pretty open about the fact that he behaved pretty badly during his time there. 

This is a historical fiction novel with a dual timeline and various locations. We meet our Greek main character Calista in present day London as she reminisces about leaving her home in Athens to see the world in the 1970s. In America she gets the opportunity to work for famed director Billy Wilder and heads to the film set in Corfu. From there they continue the movie in Munich. 

While I’m not sure how much of this is fact, Billy Wilder was a real movie director which always adds an interesting dynamic to a book. 

The LoveTravel series is a set of 11 chick lit / rom coms set in different exotic locations. These are the perfect books for some light hearted escapism. Some of these include Out of The Blue set in Crete, Cafe Tropicana set in Costa Rica, Winter Wonderland set in Quebec and The Paradise Room set in Tahiti. I will include a link to the whole series. 

Euphoria is set in 1930s Papua New Guinea and inspired by the true story of anthropologist Margaret Mead. The main characters are husband and wife team Nell and Fen Stone and Andrew Bankston. All three are anthropologists studying tribes in PNG. When Nell and Fen flee from an aggressive tribe and head to Australia, Andrew convinces them to return to PNG and settle several hours from him with a more inviting tribe. Thus begins a strange relationship filled with love, jealousy, paranoia and even violence.

Eat, Gay, Love is a McSwiggan’s story of travelling the world after finding himself single after a broken engagement. From teaching in Italy to an animal sanctuary in Thailand, Calum tells the story of his journey to happiness and the LGBTQ+ people he meets along the way. Please be aware that there are some darker subjects discussed in the book that some people may find upsetting.