3 Travel Books to 'Explore' from Home

Since travel plans are currently put on hold, we must think of creative ways to satisfy our desire to explore the world. Join the characters, both real and fictional, of these five books on their exciting adventures. Use your imagination and let their stories transport you from your couch to these interesting destinations.

In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

"Every time Bill Bryson walks out the door, memorable travel literature threatens to break out. This time in Australia.

Despite the fact that Australia harbors more things that can kill you in extremely nasty ways than anywhere else, including sharks, crocodiles, snakes, even riptides and deserts, Bill Bryson adores the place, and he takes his readers on a rollicking ride far beyond that beaten tourist path. Wherever he goes he finds Australians who are cheerful, extroverted, and unfailingly obliging, and these beaming products of land with clean, safe cities, cold beer, and constant sunshine fill the pages of this wonderful book." –Amazon

Blue Highways: A Journey into America by William Least Heat-Moon

"Hailed as a masterpiece of American travel writing, Blue Highways is an unforgettable journey along our nation's backroads.

William Least Heat-Moon set out with little more than the need to put home behind him and a sense of curiosity about "those little towns that get on the map -- if they get on at all -- only because some cartographer has a blank space to fill: Remote, Oregon; Simplicity, Virginia; New Freedom, Pennsylvania; New Hope, Tennessee; Why, Arizona; Whynot, Mississippi."

His adventures, his discoveries, and his recollections of the extraordinary people he encountered along the way amount to a revelation of the true American experience." –Amazon

Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown by Paul Theroux

"In Dark Star Safari, the wittily observant and endearingly irascible Paul Theroux takes readers the length of Africa by rattletrap bus, dugout canoe, cattle truck, armed convoy, ferry, and train. In the course of his epic and enlightening journey, he endures danger, delay, and dismaying circumstances.

Gauging the state of affairs, he talks to Africans, aid workers, missionaries, and tourists. What results is an insightful meditation on the history, politics, and beauty of Africa and its people, and 'a vivid portrayal of the secret sweetness, the hidden vitality, and the long-patient hope that lies just beneath the surface' (Rocky Mountain News). In a new postscript, Theroux recounts the dramatic events of a return to Africa to visit Zimbabwe." –Amazon