6 Women Share The Favourite Books They Carry On Their Travels

“When I travel, I like to read books that keep me involved and don’t let me put them down. Basically like thrillers, mysteries, a very well-written drama or romance or just something that’s engaging and entertaining. My last big trip was to New York where I bought books from there only as the bookstores in New York are very good. So, I went to the bookstore on the first day itself and bought a couple of books. One of them was ‘Valley Of The Dolls’ by Jacqueline Susann. It’s a book written in the 60’s about a couple of women trying to make it in New York. And since its set in New York, it really was a nice and fun experience to read it there.”

“I love reading on long flights; the silence and quietude is perfect for me. And if I am travelling to a city, I rarely get time to read. It’s only on a summer beach break or if I’m by the pool, I pick up a book. Also, I always have to finish the book I have started so, whatever I am reading at that time, just goes along with me. Currently, I’m reading ‘All The Light We Can Not See’ by Anthony Doerr and ‘The Unprofessionals: New American Writing From The Paris Review’.”

“I generally lean towards fashion non-fiction books. It doesn’t matter where I’m going; I always find a good fashion book to take on my travels. The last two books I recently travelled with were ‘The Beautiful Fall’ by Alicia Drake and ‘The Battle of Versailles’ by Robin Ghivan (fashion editor of Washington Post and is a renowned fashion critic). “

“Whenever I travel, I love to read books written by the local authors on topics pertaining to either the current scenario or from a specific time in the past. Recently I went to London and re-read ‘Jeeves’ series by PG Wodehouse while staying at Mayfair, ‘Mary Poppins’ in a charming cafe next to PL Travers’ Sloane Street house and re-read ‘Three Men in a Boat’ in Chelsea garden across the street from Jerome K Jerome’s home. And of course, there is always a mandatory fashion read in my list and was delighted to read Alexandra Shulman’s ‘Inside Vogue’ sitting in the Hanover Square garden with Itsu’s green smoothie. Also I was thrilled to meet the legendary author/ journalist Tina Brown in the charming Hatchards bookstore. She kindly signed her book ‘Vanity Fair Diaries’ for me that I eagerly read at the tea room in Fortnum and Mason. “

“Some of my favourite books have been bought at airports. Like, I bought ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ by Gail Honeyman while in transit at Bangkok airport and it happens to be the last book I read. And ‘On Love and Barley – Haiku of Basho’ is a book that I keep going back to, ever since I picked it up at Delhi airport years ago. Then I also love natural healing and/or self-help books like GUT by Guilia Enders and GLOW by Vasudha Rai. Besides these, there’s also Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari that I keep going back to as I haven’t managed to get past the first 5 chapters. So, it’s a very varied selection. And what I carry with me on a vacation depends on the destination and how heavy my carry-on is.”

“I’m seriously into philosophy and personal development these days, so I’ve been devouring books on mindset, mindfulness, habit loops, business, leadership, and the works. Destinations don’t affect my choice of books as I think one’s mind is less cluttered and more open when one is travelling. Some of the books that I read on my most recent travels in the past few months (L.A. & Egypt) and that I recommend to everyone are Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About The World — And Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh, Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action by Simon Sinek, and Flow: The Psychology of Happiness by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.”