Eight Books You Shouldn’t Travel Without

04.08.09 | 9:27 AM ET

It happens every time: Within a few hours of buying plane tickets, I find myself standing in front of my bookshelves, fantasizing, calculating and trying to decide exactly which books I’m going to bring on my trip. Inevitably, I end up with a tower of titles that would be tough for Robinson Crusoe to plow through. “War and Peace”? Sure! “Infinite Jest”? No problem! “Don Quixote”? Should be able to knock that one off.

Somehow, I forget that I actually have to do something when I get where I’m going, that the plane ride will end, and that I won’t have time to read everything I’ve always wanted to read. It’s a fantasy, a dream that I am escaping the life where I never make it through my to-read pile. And it’s a fantasy partly fueled by a love of that space Jonathan Franzen called “enforced transition zones” where the outside world is cut off and you have no choice but to read.

Eventually, though, reality sets in, and I put several pounds of books back onto my shelves. I know from years of coming back with too many books unopened, half-read or discarded along the way that I can’t bring everything I want. And being a low-tech, quasi-Luddite traveler, I view the Kindle as being one more gadget to break or lose or have stolen. (Besides, bringing a digitized Library of Congress is not the point. Bringing some books to really read is.) So I’ve developed a system for weeding out wishes from needs. For those of you like me who can’t quite choose which books to bring and which to leave behind—and who have no hope of ever traveling light—consider my list of the eight kinds of books I either bring along on my trip, or buy along the way.

Book 1: Escape

I’m not a huge fan of escapist literature, but when you are overwhelmed by foreignness, the experience can be pure bliss and sometimes can save your sanity. I tend to lean toward science fiction, because the created worlds lend themselves to getting lost.

When I landed in Tanzania as a young teacher, I burned through Dune. I did the same with Snow Crash while I was living in Southern Thailand. A good mystery like The Name of the Rose or Motherless Brooklyn can work just as well.

Book 2: History

You should, I believe, know whereof you travel. And while I’m not saying you should haul along a giant history tome, I think something that gives you the backstory to the place you’re traveling to is essential. This could be combined with Book 3, or it could be a historical novel. Or it could be a local history book you pick up when you get there. (I usually make a beeline for the local bookstore wherever I land.)

Book 3: Guidebook

A necessity. Which brand you pick depends on your taste, and some guidebooks are better for certain areas. I tend to like Bradt Guides (to places you actually need them like Congo, Nigeria and Turkmenistan), though I also enjoy Lonely Planet and Rough Guides. I don’t think the internet or mobile devices will replace these, because when the power goes out, when you drop your bag, when you’re standing at a bus stop in the middle of nowhere, the book in your hand will always be superior. Just remember, it is a guidebook, not a Guide Bible.

Book 4: Local Lit

I always like to try to read some local literature, whether it’s by a writer who moved away and now resides in some American creative writing program or who never left their home country. The stories people tell about themselves are invaluable to expanding your view of a place. You may want to get this book when you arrive.

Book 5: Anthology/Short Stories

Sometimes, you don’t quite know what you’ll be in the mood for, and a good anthology can be the perfect answer to this conundrum. I particularly recommend an anthology if you are going to be away for a long time, be it short stories, like The Art of the Story, or nonfiction like the New Kings of Nonfiction, or Esquire’s Big Book of Great Writing, or some mix, like the Paris Review Book for Planes, Trains, Elevators and Waiting Rooms. Otherwise one of the greatest poetry anthologies is Czeslaw Milosz’s A Book of Luminous Things.

Book 6: Phrase Book/Dictionary

I’m a huge fan of making a fool of myself trying to speak the local language. It’s not so much about functionality as respect, or just acknowledging you are a guest in someone else’s country. This may not be appreciated in major tourism centers, but the farther off the path you get, the more it will be. Fortunately, these books are often small. I’ve found Lonely Planet phrase books to be more useful than Berlitz, but this can vary from language to language.

Book 7: Nostalgia

There is no force on Earth more powerful than nostalgia, and if you are going to be away for a long time, I think you should treat yourself to something that plays into a little homesickness, something that brings home to wherever you find yourself, something like Population 485, or if you want something a little more syllabus-ish, take a classic like Tom Sawyer, or To Kill a Mockingbird. 

Book 8: Travel Writing

This is mainly a category for writers, but I think it’s crucial to bring along some great travel writing or narrative nonfiction to remind yourself to be on the job. Better still if you can find something about the place you are going written by a knowledgeable and sympathetic outsider. Also, the Granta travel writing antholgies or “The Best American Travel Writing” series are good. And you can’t lose with some Bill Bryson or Tim Cahill to lighten the mood. I’d also recommend a relatively unknown book called The Caliph’s House by Tahir Shah.

Think you can keep it at eight? You think these categories are bogus? Others I missed? Post a comment.

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