Top Ten Tuesday: Armchair Travels

  Top Ten Tuesday is a feature hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is "books for armchair travelers".  These are the seven that I would recommend wholeheartedly to any reader.

1.  Sky Burial by Xinran 

I absolutely loved this book!  It's a love letter to Tibet and was simply fantastic.  My full review can be found here.

2. Married to Bhutan: How One Woman Got Lost, Said "I Do," and Found Bliss by Linda Leaming  

This is another romance that is also a love story of a woman with a country.  I loved this one, too!  My full review is here.

3. Chasing the Rose: An Adventure in the Venetian Countryside by Andrea Di Robilant 

This is more history than travel, as the author is attempting to trace the identity of a certain rose, but the reader still travels with on his lovely adventure.

4. King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard

Haggard wrote great adventure stories and this is one of his best -- and one of my favorite novels.  Yes, it's dated here and there, but for the most part it is a sterling yarn.  My full review is here. 

5.  The Mapmaker's Wife by Robert Whitaker

This is a nonfiction account of a map-making expedition, plus the story of a woman's adventure.  My full review is here.

6. The Altogether Unexpected Disappearance of Atticus Craftsman by Mamen Sánchez 

This novel is the delightful tale of a Brit, Atticus Craftsman, and his visit to Madrid.  My full review is here.

7. Passionate Nomad: The Life of Freya Stark by Jane Fletcher Geniesse 

Freya Stark (31 January 1893 – 9 May 1993) was a self-taught explorer and adventurer, who became a respected Arabist and a renowned author and letter writer. Geniesse tells Freya's story in entertaining, interesting, and accessible prose, showing the many facets of her life, including her formative years, her motives, and her dreams. Freya Stark was a fascinating, if flawed, woman, and I learned a good deal both about her, and about the world around her during her long life.   Her travels make fascinating reading for the armchair traveler.