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My Big Adventure Book Recommendations


Passing time while travelled usually contains a few books that will never see time spent on my bookshelf as I pass them on to the next eligible backpacker with a book to exchange. Here are a list of my favourites…..from book shops and café shelves, shared, returned and recycled.

  • The Secret Letters of the Monk who sold his Ferrari, Robin Sharma – a great read when you are looking for something more in life. I will be giving this as a gift to many of my old colleagues!
  • Q&A, Vikas Swarup- known by millions across the world as the “Slum Dog Millionare” – this has to be the loosest basing of a book to movie I have read. The premise of the Who Wants to be a Millionaire and the fact they thought he cheated match but I don’t think a single question matches….oh hold on maybe the one of the Taj Mahal. Definitely read the book. It’s a fantastic piece of modern Indian literature. And I met a few of characters in Agra that reminded me of him!
  • One Day, David Nicholls, Funnily enough I had this recommended to me months after I read it. Another movie made from a much loved novel….but the book trumps of course. The relationships are better and the girl more plain than Anne Hathaway (at least in the book I read, maybe you have prettier visions than me!). A delicious look at a relationship between best friends, through the course of a day per year.  A definite beach holiday read. (It saw me through my worst jetlag!)
  • People of the Book, Geraldine Brooks- the author an Australian and former journalist in Sarajevo during the war years this book stole my heart not just for ticking off many cities I love but telling the story of a Book. A story about how a book comes to us today, it’s wonderful life from author to restoration. The copy I read clearly had a story which I will never know and that is of course part of the romance. Perfect for the concept of book gifting – more poignant in a time when the ebook is growing in popularity! I still have that copy...
  • Mama Tina, Christina Noble – the true story of an Irish street kid now helping the children of Hoi Chi Min City, Vietnam. Mama Tina taught me to appreciate that everyone has a right to be acknowledged, and just because you are a white woman travelling the world you really don’t have to have money, just desire.
  • The Girl in the Picture, Denise Chong - a stunning autobiography of the victim of a napalm attack during the Vietnam war which is seered in our minds as one of the most powerful photographic images ever taken. A beautiful story of struggle and triumph, for a victim of war, made famous by a photo known the world over, living under a communist regime.
  • Finding George Orwell in Burma, Emma Larkin – a wonderful insight into the country and events which inspired the author of some of the 20th centuries most timeless novels. A highly recommended read for any George Orwell fans or anyone travelling in Myanmar. And a helpful piece of literature to make you understand why Orwells 1984 is banned in Myanmar!
  • The Alternative Guide to Burma, Elena Jotow and Nicholas Ganz - a perfect coffee table book or a book for Burmese lovers. Unlike the LP it doesn't have hotels and places to eat but a real picture of a country breaking through the glass of a military junta and seeing freedom in its history.
  • View from the Summit, Sir Edmund Hillary – if you’re a Kiwi, a person who loves adventure, adventurers or need inspiration for sheer determination look no further. This is a brutely honest account of his entire life, by the man who summited the top of the world FIRST. He is my hero. I always knew that, but now I know just why. I am privileged to have seen some of his work and enjoy the Kumbu Valley that call him their Father.
  • Binge Trading, Seth Freedman, - a book in the same vein as City columnist Geraint Anderson's City Boy. Worthy of a read if you want to be reminded why life on the road away from The City is good for the soul, if not for your body and relationships!
  • Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth GIlbert - It took me 11 months and 3 weeks to pick this book up which might seem surprising since notion seems inline with my Big Adventure. It really is a great book and deserves all the quodos that makes it so desperately sought after in Hollywood…but be assured the book has so much more depth than the movie. I think my Mum will enjoy it as much as my 20-something friends. A story of personal growth over a year of travel in Italy, India and Indonesia. I went to all 3…and my experiences were vastly different…I got drunk in Italy every night but the food was definitely the centre, I did yoga in India twice but didn’t find God per-say. I found more peace in Myanmar (ironic really) than the crowded streets of India (I think the ashram assisted her experience) and by no means did I find love in Indonesia – perhaps loathing could be more appropriate for me. Alas my heart has been opened and I am satisfied. You should read it – if nothing else for a decent view of all Italian food, versions of god and a sweet love story to remind you there is always someone somewhere who was sent to this earth to love you entirely. (Sounds promising!)
  • White Tiger, Aravind Adiga- An easy read seen as an insight into Modern India
  • 2 States, Chetan Bhagat – a hilarious modern novel by a former UBS Punjabi geek’s love marriage to his South Indian MBA class mate. So sweet and real and insightful. I look forward to reading more of his books.


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