Posted: 12/17/2019 | December 17th, 2019
Another year is nearly over, which indicates it’s again time for my annual best books of the year list! This year, I sort of fell off the book-reading wagon. writing my own book, moving to Paris and then Austin, and running a conference was exhausting and, by the end of the day, I was typically too worn out to read.
But, while Netflix typically whisked me away to dreamland, I did manage to read a lot of terrific books this year. It may not have been as lots of as I would have liked but one can still not be mad at averaging two books a month.
So, as we come to end of 2019, here are my favorite travel and non-travel books I think you must pick up to consume:
Ten Years a Nomad, by me!
This is my new(ish) book!!! Unlike my previous books, this is not a “how to” guide but a collection of insights and stories from the road. It’s a memoir of my ten years backpacking the world and the lessons I learned along the way. This book gets to the heart of wanderlust and what extended travel can show us about life, ourselves, and our place in the world. It’s available as an audiobook too!
I think it makes for the best Christmas gift and it would indicate a lot if you picked it up! gift it to a friend! Leave it in hostels! Hvad end du ønsker! get on Amazon | get on Bookshop
River Town, by Peter Hessler
This book is about American writer and journalist Peter Hessler’s time living in Fuling, China, in the 1990s as one of the first peace Corp volunteers allowed into the country. I loved his book Oracle Bones, so I was ecstatic to read this one. While I don’t think it’s as good, it’s nevertheless an insightful, fascinating, well-written account of what living as an expat during a time of terrific change was like.
Buy on Amazon | get on Bookshop
Lands of lost Borders, by Kate Harris
I read this ideal after I handed in the final draft of my book and was blown away by Kate Harris’s magical prose. Kate writes the way I would love to be gifted enough to write. The book follows her journey cycling the Silk road from Turkey to Tibet and is filled with brilliant descriptions of the people and places she encountered. It’s one of the best books I read all year. get on Amazon | get on Bookshop
The Joys of Travel, by Thomas Swick
Thomas Swick has been a travel writer and editor for decades and is one of the giants in the industry (it’s been fun to get to know him over the years; I only regret not finding his work sooner). The book is a quick but thoughtful read on the emotions we feel as travelers and is filled with charming stories from his time living abroad in Poland and how mass communication has changed travel. It’s a book that will definitely inspire you to see more. get on Amazon | get on Bookshop
Here Lies America, by Jason Cochran
This book examines death tourism in America and the forgotten history that comes along with it. My pal Jason Cochran spent time roaming the country exploring the secret past of America’s greatest memorials through the lens of his family’s history. It’s an appealing and absorbing look at the history of the us (I learned a lot I didn’t know) and how we remember our history (and what we choose to forget). get on Amazon | get on Bookshop
The Atlas of Happiness, by Helen Russell
Written by best-selling author Helen Russell (who also wrote the fantastic and entertaining book The Year of Living Danishly), this book examines what makes certain cultures delighted and others not. (In lots of ways, it’s like The geography of Bliss by Eric Weiner.) The book’s writing style makes it an easy read that will give you ideas and insight you can carry out in your own life. get on Amazon | get on Bookshop
Stillness Is the Key, by Ryan Holiday
Written by best-selling author and modern-day philosopher Ryan Holiday, this book is a short and easy (but insightful) read about the need for stillness in your life. In this fast-paced world, we forget that slowing down can supply us with calmness, thoughtfulness, and help us lead a happier life. As someone who has gone through a lot of change this year, I found a lot of wisdom in the book. It’s his best writing to date. get on Amazon | get on Bookshop
Why We Sleep, by Matthew Walker
As an insomniac, I was hoping this book would help me learn how to sleep better. It didn’t. but what it did do was show me just how crucial sleep really is and why I need to try to get a lot a lot more of it. “Sleep when you’re dead” is a common phrase, but reading this taught me that if I don’t try to sleep more, I’ll be dead quicker. get on Amazon | get on Bookshop
Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch
Without giving too much away, this sci-fi book by Blake Crouch revolves around the idea of an limitless multiverse where every possible outcome of a decision plays out — and each decision thereafter creates another split, and so forth and so forth. It made me really think about regret and the deciSions, vi laver i vores liv på en måde, jeg aldrig har tænkt på før. Jeg kunne ikke lægge bogen ned og fandt den en dybtgående påvirkelig bog. Det ændrede, hvordan jeg ser beklagelse. Gå på Amazon | Gå på boghandel
Der blev begået fejl (men ikke af mig) af Carol Tavris
Jeg ved, at jeg er begejstret for en masse bøger på denne liste, men dette er den bedste, jeg læser hele året, en der fik mig til at se på mennesker anderledes. Vi har svært ved at sige, ”Jeg tog fejl” (selv når vi blev præsenteret for fakta, der viser 100%, var vi forkerte). Denne bog dækker på, hvorfor folk fordobles med falske oplysninger. I en tid med “falske nyheder” var det et øjenåbnende kig på, hvordan folk minimerer kognitiv dissonans. Alle skal læse denne bog! Gå på Amazon | Gå på boghandel
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Så der har du det! Mine yndlingsbøger fra 2019. Jeg ville ønske, at listen var længere, så jeg kunne sige, at jeg holdt mit løfte om at læse mere, men alt hvad du kan gøre er at hente og fortsætte! Jeg har en bunke med bøger på mit sofabord, jeg kommer hurtigere, nu hvor jeg er hjemme mere.
Uanset hvad, hvis du prøver at finde nogle gode bøger denne feriesæson, skal du vælge en af disse (især mine, fordi hey, lad os være ægte, jeg ville sætte pris på støtten!).
Hvis du har nogen ideer til, hvad du skal læse, skal du lade dem være i kommentarerne.
Hvis du gerne vil se nogle af de andre bøger, jeg har anbefalet (eller i øjeblikket læser), så tjek denne side, jeg oprettede på Amazon, der viser dem alle!
Vil du have nogle ekstraordinære bøger til at læse?
Deltag i min månedlige bogklub og få en liste med 3-5 fantastiske bøger værd at din tid sendt til dig hver måned!
Navn: Send mig fantastiske bøger for at læse
Book din rejse: logistiske ideer og tricks
Book din flyvning
Find en billig flyvning ved hjælp af Skyscanner. Det er min foretrukne søgemaskine, fordi den søger på websteder og flyselskaber over hele kloden, så du ved altid, at der ikke er nogen sten, der ikke er vendt.
Book din indkvartering
Du kan booke dit hostel med HostelWorld. Hvis du vil bo et andet sted end et vandrerhjem, skal du bruge Booking.com, da de konsekvent returnerer de billigste priser for gæstehuse og hoteller.
Glem ikke rejseforsikring
Rejseforsikring vil sikre dig mod sygdom, skade, tyveri og aflysninger. Det er detaljeret beskyttelse, hvis noget går galt. Jeg tager aldrig på en tur uden den, da jeg har været nødt til at bruge det mange gange i fortiden. Mine yndlingsfirmaer, der tilbyder den bedste service og værdi, er:
Safetywing (bedst for alle)
Forsikre min rejse (for dem over 70)
Medjet (for yderligere evakueringsdækning)
Klar til at booke din rejse?
Tjek min ressourceside for de bedste virksomheder, der skal bruges, når du rejser. Jeg viser alle dem, jeg bruger, når jeg rejser. De er de bedste i klassen, og du kan ikke gå galt ved at bruge dem på din rejse.