If you’re anything like me and you can finish reading a book in one day or love escaping into fantasies and other worlds through books, then this is the post for you.
I love reading and I love completely immersing myself in a very detailed world away from my own reality. I’m sure many other people can say the same.
While we’re in isolation or craving adventure, I thought it would be nice to put together a list of books that will take you on amazing adventures and help you take a break from reality. Whether you’re stuck at home or stuck in another country these books are some of the best and will satisfy your need for adventure before you lose your mind.
Below are some of my favorite reading adventures. If you happen to get through this list or have already read some of these, you’ll come to find many of them are romances, which I love. Every story has to have a little romance. You will also find some are set in far off lands or that they’re not far from home at all.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
This is bar far my favorite book as of the present. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is so good, I has amassed over 7,600 reviews (and counting) and was in the running for the Goodreads book of the year. It is a fantastic fantasy novel.
V.E. Schwab writes about a woman who makes a desperate prayer to the Gods who answer at night, despite the elder woman’s warnings. What she prays for will bring her a life of solitude and loneliness until she makes an acquaintance that changes her very non-existence.
A Year of Living Danishly
This wonderful book is a non-fiction adventure story of a woman and her husband moving to Denmark. Written by and about, Helen Russell, her and her husband move to Denmark where her husband took a dream job working for Lego.
From there, the couple will spend the next year living a very Danish life while documenting their experiences interacting with the people and the culture.
A Year of Living Danishly is an incredibly light-hearted and honest story that I enjoyed. I highly recommend it, especially if you plan to go to Denmark in the future.
True Colors
True Colors is written by Kristin Hannah, who is my absolute favorite author of all time. This story is about the motherless Grey sisters living on a ranch with their father.
The sisters do their best to gain the love and approval of their father, but it’s the youngest of the three women, Vivi Anne, who chooses to follow her heart rather than what is expected for her. Her decisions set in motion a turn of events that will test her and her family.
This was the book that made me fall in love with this author.
Well Met
This book is written for those who love “love” and those who love the Renaissance Faire. If you’re hoping to make the Renaissance Faire this year and would like a little romance in your life, this is the book for you.
Well Met is a love story that takes place at the Renaissance Faire in Willow Creek, Maryland. The main character, Emily relocates to Maryland to take care of her sister after an accident and somehow get’s volun-told to help her niece at the Faire.
Her encounter with a schoolteacher and manager of volunteers leaves her irritated and enamored with his personality. From there, they embark on an unexpected journey of leaving or staying.
Eleven Minutes
Possibly my second favorite of all reading adventures of all time, Eleven Minutes is a novel written by Paulo Coehlo. The premise of the story is a beautiful Brazilian woman, Maria, who’s been a victim of heartbreak at a young age.
Convinced she will never find love and that love will only make you suffer, she takes a chance in Rio which will leads her on an unexpected journey to Geneva. But her lack of hope in love puts her to the test when she meets a handsome painter.
From there, Maria must choose between a life of guiltless sexual pleasure with many or a life of sacred and loving sex with one.
Kosher Chinese
Inspired by his Peace Corps journey in China, Michael Levy documents his very true experiences living in Guiyang, China as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Through his adventure, he becomes a “resident expert on Judaism, romantic adviser, and provincial basketball star” among other titles, while overcoming vast cultural differences.
What he discovers along his two-year service are the struggles billions of people in China face in terms of honoring tradition and welcoming modernization. Kosher Chinese is honest, hilarious, and eye-opening to what life in China was like in 2005.
The Great Alone
One of my recent reading adventures takes you on a grand and epic journey from the city of Seattle to the remote Kaneq in Alaska.
After years of bouncing from location to location, Leni and her parents embark on a journey into The Great Alone where they learn values and skills far different from anything a city-life would teach them.
Throughout their journey, the family faces many joyful up and excruciating downs, all of which takes them on an even bigger and more upsetting journey than they would’ve imagined.
Where the Crawdads Sing
Step into the North Carolina marsh for a painfully beautiful story about a young girl discovering the meaning of love and isolation. Kya is the youngest of four, her mother left her, and her dad is a drunk. Her oldest siblings leave the toxic household leaving Kya alone with her drunk father in a raggedy cabin in the marsh.
While life isn’t exactly perfect, Kya finds deep love for the marsh and spends her life understanding everything there is to know about the place Where the Crawdads Sing.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Perhaps one of my most favorite reading adventures of all time, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is an exaggerated, but true story of Sherman Alexie’s life growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation before leaving the rez to attend an all-white school.
The only other Indian in the school is their mascot. This story is hilarious, heartbreaking, and beautiful.
My Favorite Authors
Reading adventures like these are a good way to pass the time, relieve you of stress, and offer you a little bit of the escape we’ve all been looking for these days. Some of my most favorite authors, who I have not trouble giving my undivided attention to are
For more adventures unrelated to the books I’ve read, go here.
