Books By Destination - Touring Tales

The great thing about reading is when a novel, travelogue or memoir takes you on a journey. Through reading we can travel and explore the world even when we can’t leave home.

Unless you’re being paid to travel for work (lucky you), then exploring the world is limited to precious holiday time each year. I’m often frustrated at not being able to get away as much as I’d like. That’s why I love to read fiction and non fiction books that allow me to discover new places.

Below is a list of books ordered by their destination in the world. I thought this might be a fun way to share my book reviews and hopefully inspire your next travel adventure.

Where do you fancy travelling to next?

Select a destination from my book list below
Read my book review and grab yourself copy of the book
Snuggle up, open your book and explore somewhere new

Books Set In The UK

Devon: Limelight (Graham Hurley) – Fiction. Based in the seaside town of Budleigh Salterton.
Oxford: The Dictionary of Lost Words (Pip Williams) – Historical Fiction. Esme spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of lexicographers are gathering words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary.
Mersey: The Mersey Estuary A Travel Guide (Kevin Sene) – Discover the Mersey’s hidden gems in this comprehensive travel guide.
Ireland: Fresh Eggs and Dog Beds 2 (Nick Albert) – Travel Memoir. Nick and Lesley’s desire for a better life in the countryside sees them move to Ireland.
Scotland: The Vanished Days (Susanna Kearsley) – Historical Fiction. Set in Edinburgh in the 1700s
Scotland: Scars (Dan Scottow) – Fiction. Set on a Scottish Loch a reclusive couple take on a new live-in carer. As Lucy gets to know her new employers she wonders if the house haunted or is something far more sinister is living within the walls?
Around UK: A Year In The Life (Lucy Leonelli) – Travel Memoir. A tour around the UK in an A to Z of England’s subcultures. battle re-enactors, circus performers, Morris dancers, naturists, trainspotters, vampires, goths and more. Yes really!
Around UK: In SatNav We Trust (Jack Barrow) – Travel Memoir. Starting in Oxford the author visits every one of England’s 39 historic counties. Along the way he sees spectacular landscapes, architectural or engineering wonders, historic towns with their cathedrals and castles.
Around UK: Notebook (Tom Cox) – Travel memoir of favourite stories, fragments, moments and ideas taking from his travel notebooks.
Around UK: Notes From A Small Island (Bill Bryson) – Travel Memoir. A trip around Britain observing the Brits eccentricity from an American’s the point of view. Huge bestseller for many years.

Books Set In Europe

Amsterdam and Paris: The City of Tears (Kate Mosse) – Historical Fiction novel set in 1572.
France: A French Affair (Jennifer Bohnet) – Fiction. Set in Brittany. Belinda is sent by her hotel boss to restore a run down campsite across the water. Bur Brittany also challengers her to deal with her childhood history and a family scandal in the area.
Greece: The Old Duck’s Club (Maddie Please) – Set in Rhodes, Sophia, a research assistant has had enough of dreary Oxford and takes a holiday where she meets Anita, Juliette and Kim aka The Old Ducks’ Club. A fun, easy summer read.
Paris: The Dressmaker’s Secret (Lorna Cook) – Historical Fiction novel set in 1940s and 2018 this is a wartime story sharing the captivating tale of Adele the assistant to Coco Chanel.
Around Europe: Not Cool, Europe By Train In A Heatwave (Jules Brown) – Travel Memoir. Rough Guides travel writer embarks on a crazy train journey. 9 Countries, 9 Cities in 9 Days. Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, Ljubljana, Zagreb, Liechtenstein, Zurich and Milan.
Around Europe: Sew On The Go (Mary Jane Baxter) – Travel Memoir. An inspiring road trip and a practical guide to crafting wherever you find yourself. Travelling in her upcycled 1986 Bedford Bambi campervan from Belgium down to Italy then France.
Ukraine: The Diamond Eye (Kate Quinn) – Historical Fiction based on a true story of a female sniper who befriends the USA First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Books Set in The USA

Connecticut: Take Your Breath Away (Linwood Barclay) – Fiction. Fast paced psychological thriller full of secrets, lies and surprising twists.
Mexico: American Dirt (Jeanine Cummins) – Fiction. Lydia Perez owns a bookshop in Acapulco, Mexico, married to a journalist and has an eight-year-old son. It only takes a bullet to rip them apart.
Nashville: Run, Rose, Run (Doll Parton & James Patterson) – Fiction. Every song tells a story. AnnieLee is a star on the rise, singing about the hard life behind her. She’s also on the run.
Around USA: Slow Road To San Francisco (David Reynolds) – Travel Memoir. Maryland to San Francisco, driving slowly from east to west and stopping frequently, he meets a huge variety of Americans.

Books Set In Asia

China: Peach Blossom Spring (Melissa Fu) – Historical Fiction. Story inspired by the real life of the author’s father’s. Riveting story of living through Sino-Japanese and Chinese Civil wars told through the eyes of three generations of family.
Japan: The Women In The White Kimono (Ana Johns) – Historical Fiction. Inspired by true stories. A portrait of one woman torn between her culture and her heart.
Thailand: Breathe (Elena Kravchenko) – Historical Fiction. 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami flooded great swathes of western Thailand. Carl’s best friend and his wife are missing. He travels from London to Thailand to discover what has happened to them.

Books Set Around The World

Baggage, Confessions of a Globe-Trotting Hypochondriac (Jeremy Hance) – Travel Memoir. Award-winning writer chronicles his hilarious and inspiring adventures as he reconciles his traveling career as an environmental journalist with his severe OCD and anxiety.
Caribbean: Black Cake (Charmaine Wilkerson) – Historical Fiction. Murder, love, loss and life long friendships. Full of family secrets and surprising twists.
Solo: A Guide to travelling the world alone (Aaron Hodges) – Travel Memoir. Journeyed the globe alone, visiting everywhere from Istanbul to Argentina. With personal travel tips and humorous stories, Follow his guidelines for exploring the world alone.
Wish You Were Here (Alyson Sheldrake) – A Travel Anthology of 20 award-winning authors sharing stories of their favourite holidays around the world.