Books for your wanderlust

While travel restrictions are likely to remain for a while, there is no denying the many things we miss about travelling. 

In pre-pandemic times, we took trips as a restful pause to our hectic, everyday lives, to get inspired as we encountered new people, places and things. We also took trips to understand ourselves a little better, as we discovered different ways of seeing and experiencing the world.

Still, there is no need to suppress the wanderlust while we are homebound, nor to give up our spirit of exploration and curiosity entirely. There are other ways to wander, wonder and dive into the unknown, and these three books will help us do just that.

They uncover some of the most incredible places that we never knew existed, allow us to observe the most stylishly-dressed people from New York to Paris and Tokyo, and are filled with fascinating trivia and stories about this strange and wonderful world that we live in. 

Whether you have always dreamed of being a character in a Wes Anderson film, or have simply been wishing you could be globe-trotting right now, Accidentally Wes Anderson is the perfect book to get lost in.

It features photographs and stories of the most charming and special places on Earth, from sunny yellow train stations to curiously-shaped landmarks in the middle of nowhere, and even a few spots in Singapore! 

A celebration of the quirky and unexpected, the book is also an invitation for us to see the same in our own familiar environments.

Borrow the book here: eBook

Of course, one of the little joys of travelling is being able to people-watch. We could quietly observe people of all walks of life as they went about their days, taking in the way they dressed and their mannerisms and expressions.

Replicate such an experience – while picking up style tips – with Scott Schuman’s (the man behind the famous street style website thesartorialist.com) The Sartorialist – X, and glimpse into the lives of beautiful strangers from Marrakesh to New York, Paris to Kiev, Tokyo to Bhutan.

Borrow the book here: eBook

When we travel, we pick up fascinating little facts about the people, places and things that we encounter. We hear in passing the backstories of famous landmarks, why a certain ingredient is favoured in a particular cuisine, the origins of curious sayings and exclamations in a certain culture. 

Even if we cannot do so in person, this book attests that we can still Learn Something New Every Day. Find out why the subway system in London is called the Tube, where the coldest place on Earth is, and how Pablo Picasso was once suspected to have stolen the Mona Lisa from the Louvre – little tidbits of information that will probably impress your travel mates when it is finally safe to explore the world freely again.

Borrow the book here: eBook

For more book recommendations, follow the National Reading Movement Facebook or Instagram, or download the NLB Mobile app to explore on your own and download books for free.