For me, traveling without a book is like traveling naked. Books are my personal passports for the mind and I couldn’t imagine myself going on a journey without another journey inside of my pocket.

I’ve gotten stuck at airports for more than 24 hours without money; I’ve had to endure 8-hour road trips with no radio (or good road trip songs!) and I’ve fought against many, many jetlags on my trips, and I couldn’t have done it without a book by my side.

So, weather is printed or digital (printed all the way! No matter what my currently full e-library says) make sure to bring at least one of these options next time you hit the road.1. A short story book.

1. A short story book

As you may have seen, I’m a big fan of short stories. I write them, I read them, I love them! A short story book is the perfect choice for traveling. You can enjoy one or two tales while you are waiting to board a flight or during those dead moments in public transport or queues. They’re these little transportable windows of wonder inside your carry-on.

I have a lot of favourites, but lately, Pizzeria Kamikaze, by Etgar Keret can really take me away when I most need it. If you like black humour, magic realism and stories where the characters rebel against their creator and force them to write (Suddenly a knock on the door, you can’t miss it), this Israelian author is definitely for you.

2. The smallest kiss by Mathias Malzieu

If you are short in space, but more inclined towards printed books (like me), size does matter. So, if you want a book that won’t cost you extra in the airline counter, this one can do the job.

The Smallest Kiss, as the names suggests, is a cute little story written by Mathias Malzieu. The book follows the life of a young inventor who kisses a girl one night and said girl disappears. Not metaphorically, she literally disappears after the kiss, poof. The inventor then has to find the girl with the help of a detective, his parrot and the girl from the drug store.

Yeah, I never said it was a normal book, but it is quite charming! Malzieu always gives us these adorable fairy-tale like stories with a twist that connects with some raw part of the humanity. I know it sounds a bit naïve and childish, but it has a more complex subtext that will turn any trip into an adventure.

3. A book from a saga

Call it Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, The Millennium Trilogy… A saga is the comfort reading by excellence. There is something endearing about that long-term commitment with one story. Since they are longer, you have more time to bond with the characters and to really immerse in the universe.

I’m a Harry Potter gal myself (you can check a small tribute I illustrated here). When I was younger I couldn’t get away from home without a paperback in my purse (usually The Prisoner of Azkaban). As I got older (and the pages got looser) it became a bit unpractical to carry with my worn-out copies everywhere. So now I just keep the entire collection in my iPad. Though it’ll be a lot harder to get them signed if I ever meet J.K Rowling wondering across the streets of Edinburgh…

So just pack your favourite volume wherever you go or make the most out of your e-reader and download the whole collection. Weather is The Shire, Narnia or Hogwarts, a book saga will always make you feel at home.

4. A children’s book

I’ve always thought that children’s books are highly underestimated. While they may look simple and ingenuous, kids literature can have many layers. You may have really enjoyed your favourite Roal Dahl when you were five, but I can assure you, you will see it in a different light as an adult.

Besides, there are so many wonderful adventures and fantastic places inside children books that it seems only suitable to include them on a personal journey. Alice Adventures in Wonderland and Peter Pan have always been a must in my shelf and in my suitcase. No matter how many times I read them, they turn any trip into my personal wonderland.

5. A book in your native language.

I love reading English books (I was planning to do a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing in an English-speaking country, after all). Nevertheless there is something soothing about your mother tongue that none other language can quite accomplish.

When I was living in London, Spanish was a very scarce language to find in the surroundings. Besides my weekly calls to my parents and occasional chats with some Spaniards friends, I found myself speaking, reading and thinking mostly in English. So after a long period of “angloexclusivity”, I started to crave the comforts of my native tongue.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (Original title “La Sombra del Viento”) gives me that instant break from the outer, foreign world. No need to overthink the text or double read the sentences. Just a plain, enjoyable
mystery set in post civil-war Barcelona.

6. Murder in the Orient Express, by Agatha Christie

Nothing better to keep a trip interesting than a good mystery. Murder in the Orient Express has the perfect combination between an exotic location, highly compelling characters and the sense of intrigue that accompanies any trip to a foreign land. And, since I guess most of us want our trips to be murder-free, what better way to get seduced by the secrets of a crime than reading about it!

7. A book about your home country

Whenever I bring a book abroad with me, I want it to be a comfort zone for me. I want it to make me feel safe or marvelled. Or, sometimes, to make me forget homesickness (it is rare, but it happens). So a book that reminds me of home can help cure any case of nostalgia.

Of course it will vary depending on where are you from. However, in my case, José Emilio Pacheco is the perfect choice. His book Battles in the Desert (Las Batallas en el Desierto) really captures the essence of Mexico. It is set in a different time than mine, but it can still give me the sense of home when I travel for a long while. The language, the scenarios and the plots an always make me travel back to my homeland quicker than any plane.

This are just some options I like, but if you are looking for more, you can check this aditional guide which has some amazing titles! What’s your opinion? Do you have any preferred book to travel? Which book set in your home country or in your native tongue best suit you when abroad? Make sure to leave it in the comments!

I guess I’ll see you on the road.

Love,