A5 Travel Books Blog

3/6/2023

Exploring the World’s Best Travel Book Stores

Bookstore with wall of books and sun shining in

We think there isn’t all that much better in life than getting lost in a good book. For all the travel book lovers out there, what could be more inspirational than finding a great travel bookstore? As such, we are happy to share our opinions on some of the best travel bookstores around the world. From charming boutiques to sprawling megastores, these travel bookstores are definitely worth a visit!

Strand Book Store (New York, USA) – This legendary bookstore has been in operation since 1927 and contains over 18 miles of books. Walking in can be overwhelming, but in a good way. Strand specializes in art and photography books but also has an impressive selection of travel literature. It's a great place to find unique souvenirs that will last longer than a t-shirt or trinket. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable, and the atmosphere is cozy yet bustling. It's the perfect spot for an afternoon spent browsing through bookshelves full of titles from all over the world.

Daunt Books (London, England) - Daunt Books in London is a travel lover's dream! This bookstore was founded in 1990 to specialize in travel books, although they now offer a broader selection. Not only is there a large travel book selection with books about every corner of the globe, but they also have maps from around the world, albums of travel photos, and even famous travel journals. The Marylebone High Street location is probably the most famous of their locations, with an amazing internal gallery that just begs for a photo.

No list of great travel bookstores is complete without Stanfords. Also located in London, this is a must visit for travel lovers. The knowledgeable staff is of course passionate about travel, and they have a generous selection of vintage travel books, maps and travel accessories. Visitors can even special order hard-to-find titles or specific items they'd like to take home as a remembrance of their trip.

Shakespeare & Company (Paris, France) – This small iconic bookshop opened its doors in 1951 as a tribute to its namesake store from 1922 that was frequented by Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, and other literary luminaries. Located in the Left Bank, its walls are lined with books in several languages, including a remarkable selection of English-language literature about Paris and France itself. The shop’s interior is absolutely divine and makes it one of the most romantic places to browse through piles of gorgeous books.

Shakespeare and Company bookstore, Paris

Livraria Lello (Porto, Portugal) – This one-of-a-kind bookstore opened in 1906 and is widely considered one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. Its stunning art nouveau facade features two large stained-glass windows depicting Portuguese literature figures Camoes and Bocage while its interior showcases intricate woodwork ceilings with carved angels holding up ornate lamps that light up rows upon rows of shelves filled with books from across Europe. Absolutely a must-see in our opinion for those lucky of enough to be visiting Porto. We actually have not yet gotten to go, has anyone reading this actually been there?

Our other favorite bookstores include the famous Powell’s Books in Portland, City Lights in San Francisco, Moon Palace Books in Minneapolis, Black Pearl Books in Austin, Changing Hands in Phoenix, and the quirky not-to-be-missed The Last Book Store in Los Angeles. No matter where your travels take you, there is almost certainly a great bookstore waiting to be discovered. Whether your tastes lean towards classic travel literature, local insights or funny travel books, these stores have something for everyone looking to explore new places through reading.

Help us - what great bookstores did we miss?

Happy traveling!
Alan

Photo Credits:
Strand Book Store, NYC: Postdlf, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
Daunts, London: CVB, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Livraria Lello, Porto: A_nostalgia_na_Lello.jpg: Alegna13A_Livraria_Lello_e_Irmão.jpg: Alegna13A_ponte_de_encanto.jpg: Alegna13derivative work: Morray, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Powells, Portland: Adam Jones, Ph.D., CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The Last Book Store, Los Angeles: vagueonthehow from Tadcaster, York, England, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

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12/13/2020

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Holiday Gift Recommendations - Travel Books Of Course!

Many insightful things have been written about the horrific impact of COVID-19 on travel, and many predictions have been made around when travel will return. Here at A5 Travel Books, it is now time to look forward. It will be possible to travel again, and our prediction is that 2021 will bring a renewed appreciation for the tremendous impact travel can have on our lives. As such, now is the perfect time to inspire others with the gift of travel books. Here are our recommendations for some inspiring and affordable holiday presents this year.

Our top holiday gift travel book recommendation is Humans, the new book by Brandon Stanton. Most people know Stanton from his enormously popular blog Humans of New York, a series of short interviews with real-life people all over New York City. Stanton has a gift for empathetically capturing the true worries, hopes and dreams of regular people. With Humans, Stanton took his approach overseas, traveling to over 40 countries across the world and providing an intimate view into humanity that wonderfully illustrates how we all are so very alike. It is an uplifting book at a time when the world needs uplifting, and an excellent present.

Travel writing collections are always a good option for those who love travel. Our two recommendations this year are The Best American Travel Writing (2020 edition) and the Best Women’s Travel Writing (vol 12), both which were just recently released in November. Each series has consistently delivered a new handpicked selection of the best short travel stories from the previous year. We also recommend buying past editions; the writing doesn’t go out of date and it can be interesting to see how life has changed over the years.

2021 will be a year to celebrate travel, and there may be no bigger travel enthusiast than Don George. Don is well known in the travel writing community for his literary skills and for his experience as a travel editor at Lonely Planet Publications and National Geographic Traveler. We highly recommend The Way of Wanderlust: The Best Travel Writing of Don George.

Coffee table books are almost always a good present. Our first recommendation is Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travel List 2: The Best Places on the Planet. The famous travel guide company’s second edition was published in October 2020, providing this year’s ranking of the 500 greatest travel destinations on earth. For those who might want something more obscure, we recommend Atlas Obscura, the bestselling collection of curious and unique destinations, including both architectural wonders and bizarre events. Be sure to get the second edition, published in late 2019.

In 2020, travel writing lost one of the genre’s more interesting figures, the renowned Jan Morris who died at the age of 94. Travel writing devotees might enjoy The World: Travels 1950-2000, a compilation of her best selections from her many books and from her many years as a global correspondent. Highlights include historic eyewitness accounts of Edmund Hilary’s successful ascent of Mt. Everest, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to return control to China.

And finally, why not go with an old-fashioned travel magazine subscription as the perfect present for a traveler? National Geographic remains our favorite, with a year’s subscription available for just $39. National Geographic is of course the iconic magazine from the National Geographic Society covering culture, science, geography and nature, famous both for stunning photography and high-quality writing.

We here at A5 Travel Books sincerely wish you and yours health and happiness over the holiday season and of course for a return to travel in 2021.

All the best -
Alan

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8/8/2020

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My New Life Abroad: Moving to the Other Side of the World

Written by: Melissa Fitzgerald

So, what makes someone move to a country and continent they have never been to? Fear. I had begun to worry that if I stayed much longer in San Francisco, I would forget why I loved living there. I had grown weary of city life and dreamed of warmer weather. I was nearing my 40th birthday and after 10 years of living in the Bay Area, I knew I needed to leave for adventure. It was time to trade the life I built year by year for a new home and one where I would see things which I would never have the opportunity to otherwise.

Relocating to Singapore and precisely 8,434 miles away from my normal, predictable and mainly happy life was what I needed at the time. It’s a risk which when learned of, perfect strangers would comment that they wished they could do the same with a wistful look. When friends and family learned where I was moving, shock registered on their face. They worried for me and knew nothing of Singapore and knew I didn’t either, but I was beginning to feel as though the world I lived in didn’t inspire like it used to and moving abroad just seemed right. I also wanted to prove to myself and everyone else I could do it.

That being said, I didn’t move alone. I moved with my partner which meant I knew at least one person in Asia. It was a scary and humbling experience but electrifying. For the honeymoon period of the move which most say lasts about 6 months, it was impossible to feel boredom. There is just too much to see and do and eat. During this period, I ate everything and was travel-obsessed and visited Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia twice, Vietnam, and Cambodia. I was overwhelmed by different cultures and I couldn’t get enough. I learned how to say thank you and cheers for each new language of the country visited, tried street food, disastrously drank water from the tap in Vietnam, saw exotic wonders I never imagined I’d see, had my photo taken with strangers because of my dark-blonde hair and found the world to be so completely welcoming I often couldn’t keep a smile from my travel-worn face. It was everything I dreamed of and more.

About 3 months into my arrival to Singapore, I began work. Getting a job in Singapore as a foreigner is not easy unless you transfer with your company, but I was lucky as I was offered a role with a company I had worked for in San Francisco. It was perfect but it also became monotonous after the honeymoon period ended. Work is still work after all. The realities of normal life may have brought frustrations, but my silver-living was I negotiated more vacation time which enabled more travel than I would have otherwise. My first year abroad, I spent more time researching travel deals, locations and consulting Google Maps than anyone ever in the history of travel, or at least it felt that way. Despite work, I still managed to travel to the Philippines and Taiwan but only home once after only a couple of months of moving to Singapore.

It’s now been over a year and the opportunity to see my loved ones again seems unlikely now unless by video call. The hardest thing about living abroad has been the physical and emotional distance between friends and family and one I struggle with but try to circumvent with making an effort to stay in contact and to be available when people call/message. Technology luckily makes it easier than ever to keep in contact with people, but it is not equal to a hug from a loved one although seeing their faces for a time helps.

As challenging as the distance can be, I found my adopted home to be welcoming and very livable. All the signage is in English and there were only a few language hurdles to overcome. I found culturally there are some unexpected differences, but when moving to another country, it’s best to take full responsibility to understand them since as a guest, we’re all tasked to follow them. We are in their home after all.

With regards to my work environment, I did find myself lucky and in an office with only Singaporeans surrounding me which I found later from other expats, is not the norm. I had the absolute best guides and wonderful people in my office who I grew to care about and in turn, they did their best to show me who they are. My favorite was and is my office counterpart and consummate guide to all things Singaporean, Alvin. He relished in showing me his favorite food and would take me to only the best stalls, but he also gave me a glimpse into the kindness of the Singaporean people and also the pride they have in their country. We still had a good deal of laughable miscommunications (the chocolate rice/sprinkle debacle being my favorite) but our genuine wanting to learn more about each other and camaraderie made it some of the most fun I’ve had since moving to Singapore. I will forever be grateful to the people here who have opened up their minds and hearts to this direct and opinionated American.

Sarah Turnbull wrote in her novel Almost French about her experiences moving to Paris, “It is a bitter-sweet thing, knowing two cultures. Once you leave your birthplace nothing is ever the same.” Her words capture what it is to live in an adopted country beautifully because once having lived abroad for any extended period, you are forever changed and neither you nor your home will be the same. Bitter-sweet describes my life in Singapore, but the sweet far offsets the bitter. It is only in the early mornings or when I think of my loved ones back home fleetingly, that a pining for home tightens in my chest and I wish myself back to them.

Melissa Fitzgerald is an American expat who has worked in the travel industry for the past ten years and is also a writer and used her time in lock-down to write her first novel. Fitzgerald is a Contributing Writer for Honeycombers.com and has a lighthearted travel blog under the website https://melissaannfitzgerald.com.

Some of the best travel writing comes from the challenges and thrill of those who decide to leave the comfort of home to relocate to a brand-new country and an entirely different world. Our favorite recommendations include:

Dispatches from Pluto – British journalist Richard Grant’s adventure buying an old house and moving deep into the heart of the Mississippi Delta
Under the Tuscan Sun – Frances Mayes’ famous experience restoring an old villa in Tuscany
The Caliph’s House – the story of Tahir Shah’s life-changing decision and highly entertaining experience bringing his family from the comforts of London to build a new life in Casablanca
A Year in Provence – the story of an English couple’s first year living in the French countryside
A Trip to the Beach – a Vermont couple’s decision to escape the rat race and move to open a restaurant on the island of Anguilla

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4/18/2020

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Satisfying Wanderlust While Staying At Home

Written by: Alan Josephs

Thirty days here into the shelter-at-home directive here in the San Francisco Bay Area and like many, I miss travel. Our most popular family dinner topic is where we all want to go as soon as we can, and the popular options are a little more exploratory and adventurous than normal. As always, I go to books for inspiration. Here are some suggestions on the best ways to satisfy wanderlust with some great travel books.

One of my all-time favorite travel books, and perhaps the book that awakened my own love of travel, is Paul Theroux’s The Great Railway Bazaar. In this famous travelogue, Theroux recaps a 1973 four-month train trip across Europe, the Middle East, India, Southeast Asia and Russia. Truly a classic in travel literature, especially for someone who loves trains.

Fans of travel fiction will love Yann Martel's popular 2001 novel, The Life of Pi; the tale of a 16-year-old Indian kid and a 450-pound Bengal tiger together in a lifeboat while lost at sea. The movie is very good too but seriously, start with the book first!

Those looking for true exploration and adventure will love The Worst Journey in the World, the tragic story of the Robert Falcon Scott 1910-1913 expedition to Antarctica. The book is renowned for the honest depiction of the extreme challenges faced.

In these dark and uncertain times, a little sense of humor goes a long way, and in travel writing that means Bill Bryson. We like all his work and recommend In a Sunburned Country, his funny review of his visit down under. Australia is an enormous and truly unique place, and there is no one better than Bill Bryson to explain its wonders.

Finally, if you are looking to encourage your children’s desire to explore, I recommend the beloved Dr. Seuss lyric classic, Oh, the Places You’ll Go. The story carries a meaningful message about embracing new adventures and the fun of trying new things.

In the words of the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” The opportunity to travel will come back someday, so for now please stay safe.

Alan

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12/31/2019

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Inspiration to make 2020 a year of travel

Written by: Alan Josephs

A happy New Year from A5 Travel Books!

If you are like me, resolutions for each New Year include hopes for the opportunity to hit the road and to explore the world. What better time to step back to consider what is important in life? Several recent studies now confirm what avid travelers already know; experiences like travel are more socially connecting, bringing a longer and more meaningful sense of satisfaction than material things. My goal is to figure out how to get to visit my brother-in-law in Helsinki, Finland this summer and to take the train from there to finally see the iconic architecture of St. Petersburg, Russia.

We here of course always look to books for travel inspiration. Here are some idea for motivation to help 2020 become a year of travel.

Our first recommendation is A Cook's Tour by the late celebrity chef and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain. His television shows are enjoyable, but the book provides a much more personal and insightful reminder into Bourdain's love for different cultures. amazing food, and the human condition.

New Year's resolutions ultimately aspire toward happiness, for ourselves and our loved ones. Eric Weiner explores what makes some cultures happy in The Geography of Bliss. The book at its core is a travelogue, with a nice little sprinkle of psychology and life lessons. Not too heavy, and occasionally funny.

Fans of travel writing know Don George, one of the world's most experienced travel writing editors and one of the most prominent supporters of the genre. The Way of Wanderlust is a brilliant collection of his own work. Funny and inspiring, this travel writing collection is a great way to kick off the year.

Those looking to fuel a spirit of adventure should try In Xanadu, the fiercely intelligent and ferocioiusly funny recount by William Dalrymple of his quest as a 22-year old to retrace Marco Polo's famed journey from Jerusalem to Xanadu, the summer palace of Kubla Khan.

Our final recommendation is to rejoice in one of the ultimate classic travel books, The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain. A brilliant recap of his 1867 voyage to Europe and the Holy Land, and a book that any fan of travel literature should own.

With that, we will leave 2019 with a quote from Twain on New Year's resolutions; "Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual".

Happy reading -
Alan

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Exploring the World’s Best Travel Book Stores

Holiday Gift Recommendations - Travel Books Of Course!

My New Life Abroad: Moving to the Other Side of the World

Satisfying Wanderlust While Staying At Home

Inspiration to make 2020 a year of travel

the A5 TRAVEL BOOKS blog