The Best Travel Books of 2022

It's that time of year, when we begin searching for ways to travel without ever leaving the house. In this case, travelers like you and I love reading books that satisfy that curiousity and desire for adventure that fuels our own journeys. The best travel books of 2022 epitomize a few things: the enduring memory, the stories that, when amplified, have the power to change our perspective of the world, and that immortal desire we all have to get back to the source of travel in the search of discovery, and of leaving home and of returning. While these are only a few of the best travel books that have been published this year, hopefully they'll give you a new perspective on travel, and perhaps of your own favorite travel methods.

Frances Mayes of "Under the Tuscan Sun" fame has published a new book this year focusing on the one destination we often take for granted the most: home. Drawing inspiration and plentiful stories from the many different places and countries in which she has called home, from the American South to (you guessed it) Tuscany, Mayes' "A Place in the World: Finding the Meaning of Home" is both autobiographical and descriptive, showing how houses can become homes, and how they pay homage to those who've called them home in centuries' past. After a pandemic in which we've spent a large portion of our time in our homes, it's an interesting read for those looking to get into the mind of an author and ask the question: how does a house, or an apartment, or even a room, become a home?

The second book by commercial pilot Mark Vanhoenacker is a topical read on the world's cities, as seen from someone who travels the world extensively. Both an autobiography and a travelogue, "Imagine a City: A Pilot's Journey Across the Urban World" reaches across the decades and across international borders, from his hometown of Pittsfield, Pennsylvania to cities such as Seoul, South Korea or London, England. Each chapter is named for a type of city (such as City of Rivers), and encompasses several cities throughout the world, including ones that you wouldn't initially think had anything in common with each other. The author's passion for history and knowledge of each of his cities brings a keen awareness of that old adage: "It's a small world."

The true account of author Brianna Madia's search for a meaningful life, "Nowhere for Very Long: The Unexpected Road to an Unconventional Life" is a gripping and narrative account of her search for authenticity, simplicity and adventure in the twenty-first century. Her journey, living nomadically in a beat-up van named Bertha with her two dogs and husband, is both adventurous and difficult, not without its fair share of challenges. The prose is unexpectedly gripping, and unlike other memoirs, isn't a completely chronological story. This is a book for the people who wondered about leaving home and familiarity for the nomadic lifestyle during the past two years.

Journalist Rebecca Lowe has specialized in reporting on human rights and the Middle East, but when she decides to bicycle from her home in London to Tehran, she begins a journey that is both unexpected for its route across the globe and for the kindness that she discovers while making her way to Iran. "The Slow Road to Tehran: A Revelatory Bike Ride Through Europe and the Middle East" is Lowe's account of her journey, in which she battles extreme heat and cold, challenging terrain and encounters some of the most unstable governments in the world. Along her way, she also paints a compelling picture of the people she meets, without whom she wouldn't have finished her journey, or in some cases, survived her journey. It's an adventure of a modern sort, and should inspire travelers to meet the world as something other than a tourist.

A selection of essays about travel from travel writer Marcia DeSanctis, "A Hard Place to Leave: Stories from a Restless Life" is a lesson on the transformative power of travel, and how it can make us curious, make us think and make us yearn for home, even when we're having the adventure of a lifetime. The author, who began travel writing in her fifties, reminisces about travels that are both current and decades ago, weaving across time and space. It's an easily digestible collection of essays that often read like short stories, and it's perfect for travelers hoping to understand a bit more about why they travel, or with those who'd like to start reading more travel writing.

Written by award-winning travel writer, Shafik Meghji, "Crossed Off the Map: Travels in Bolivia" is a great in-depth account of the country's history, its impact on the rest of the world throughout a 500-year global history that will definitely surprise you and its current status today, home to the world's highest city, the richest silver mine, the largest salt flat and the world's most biodiverse national park, and how these things are impacted by the largest global issues facing this century. Combining Meghji's own travel experiences in Bolivia with rich research, the author paints a picture of a country that is often overlooked, and makes us wonder just how much of our global history is left untold.

Take a peek into worldwide resort culture and the impact (both good and bad) it's had on cultures and people across the globe with Sarah Stodola's "The Last Resort: A Chronicle of Paradise, Profit, and Peril at the Beach." A singular look into the resort, not from the lens of a travel writer encouraging travelers to visit, but as a journalist examining its very essence, its impact and how it has, in some ways, failed. Each chapter focuses on one or more resort destinations across the world. This is a book for travelers wanting to take a deep dive into resort destinations, how they grow and what they should be doing to preserve their increasingly unstable futures.

Sylvain Tesson's laudable French work from 2016, "On the Wandering Paths," has been translated into English by Drew S. Burk for all of us to enjoy this year. The man's chronicle of walking about the French countryside reminds us of Thoreau, or other writers who loved to experience the glories of simplicity and nature, to discover something of the world without a map, where, as Tesson writes in his Preface: "Far from the main roadways and thoroughfares, another France resided in the shadows protected from the hordes and the urban planning that often polluted any sense of mystery. A countryside replete with silence, rowan trees, and barn owls." At the same time a travelogue and a journey of healing, the account is pensive at times, yet always thoughtful. It's a great book for those who wonder about the possibility of contentment and the role of mystery within the modern life.

For travelers with children wondering if traveling with children is really a good way to go, there's Kate Wickers' travel memoir, "Shape of a Boy: Family Life Lessons in Far-flung Places." From Israel to Cuba to Japan, travel writer Kate Wickers recalls the stories and life lessons she and her family - her husband and three young sons - learn while traveling the world as a family. With chapters focusing on a single destination and the life lesson learned there, the book is a great read for parents and travelers alike, especially those wondering about the transformative power of travel for children.

Award-winning travel writer Mark Chesnut's memoir "Prepare for Departure" is at the same time a memoir on grief and the love between a mother and son, as it is about the enduring "travel bug" that keeps people curious and itching to discover the world. The work of creative nonfiction tackles such topics in life as familial relationships, your place in the world and how people truly can live on through enduring memory. It's great for people beginning to reminisce about their own lives, and the roles loved ones take in their lives.