Outside-in: what are you reading currently?
The current global health situation has changed a lot of people’s lifestyle, daily routines, and is leading to a lot of soul-searching. Those constantly on the move are needing to hunker down and do their part in helping curb the spread of the virus. I can’t help but think about how Pico Iyer looks at travel as a duality – the impact that travel in the outside world has on you internally.
Travel is like love, it is, in the end, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed – Pico Iyer
I feel travel reading has similar effect on my consciousness. I am currently spending a lot of time catching up on my reading backlog and penning down my thoughts. In that spirit, here are some of my favorite books, which have made me feel exalted, more curious about the world, and in some form or fashion, have influenced why or how I travel.
A bend in the river | V.S. Naipaul
Naipaul captured my mind like no other author. An immigrant’s story of identity, movement, finding a new home and building a new life, this is one of my favorite piece of work. A sublime and complex narrative of life in Central Africa back in the days. Although not a pure travel read, this book, now 15 years ago, propelled me to be curious about cultures foreign to me.
The new life | Orhan Pamuk
Osman reads a mysterious book one day, gets obsessed with it; falls in love with a girl and they travel together all over Turkey to find the new life promised in the book – like pilgrims. This book took me to Turkey more than 12 years ago, and in some ways, I tried to see the country through this book’s lens.
In Patagonia | Bruce Chatwin
This book is really hard to classify, as you would realize. Part fact-based, part fiction; part history, part literature, this book explores Patagonia through the lens of its immigrants from Western Europe. Nonetheless, a fascinating foray into one of the most extreme and isolated parts of the world.
Arabian sands | Wilfred Thesiger
Inspired by Lawrence, and disillusioned by the comfortable and easy living of the developed West, Wilfred Thesiger sets out on an arduous journey through what still remains the largest contiguous desert land, the Empty Quarter. The wild nomadic life of the tribes inhabiting the deserts of Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman and UAE is now long gone, but Thesiger’s memoir remains one of the travel classics.
A short walk in the Hindu Kush | Eric Newby
One of my favorites in the adventure travel category, this is a lighter read and a slight departure from Thesiger’s style of finding pleasure when all the odds are stacked against you. Characterized by Eric’s British humor, this book is a great introduction to the people and culture in Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush mountains, and how not to climb mountains.
I am currently reading Flights – by Olga Takoarczuk – a philosophical take on time, travel and anatomy, which seems very apt in the current travel circumstances. How are you traveling without moving?
- Wading through Oman’s incredible wadis - January 1, 2022
- 21 moments of gratitude from 21 countries I visited in 2021 - December 29, 2021
- Visit El Salvador for its sparkling lakes - July 3, 2021
- Where is Fogo Island, again? - April 11, 2021
- Discovering Zimbabwe’s Eastern Highlands - April 2, 2021