Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, a fun way to get yourself thinking and sharing about books and bookish things.

October 14: Top ten places I want to visit thanks to books

The cheapest way to travel is through books! My choices just happen to be all actual places on our planet, but I’m looking forward to reading other lists that may include fictional places, too! Disclaimer: several of the books listed are pretty dark… but hear me out on them. In no particular order:

1. The Pacific Crest Trail
Book: Wild by Cheryl Strayed. I think it would be an amazing, breathtaking, challenging experience to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

2. Hawaii
Book: Moloka’i by Alan Brennert. And lucky me, I did visit Hawaii in August! I didn’t make it to any islands other than Oahu, but I had an awesome time and I’m glad I read a book with some history of the state before my trip. (Bonus: I’m going back for Thanksgiving!)

3. Italy
Book: Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter. My husband has been to Italy twice… I’m super jealous! It is high on my list of vacation destinations.

4. India
Book: A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. A very bleak story. While I’m not in a hurry to travel to India at this moment, reading A Fine Balance did inspire me to learn more about the country and its history.

5. Boston, Massachusetts
Book: The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro. Another place my husband has been several times; it’s one of his favorite cities. I may have a chance to go this coming spring when he has a concert there in April!

6. Ireland
Book: Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. Another bleak book, but it speaks to my ancestral history, being part Irish. Ireland is another dream vacation of mine!

7. Barcelona, Spain
Book: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Who wouldn’t want to visit Barcelona after reading this book? There’s even a walking tour based on the book you can do!

8. Mount Everest, Nepal
Book: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. While I don’t really have any desire to actually climb to the top Mount Everest (reading about it was plenty, thanks) it would be incredible to see it (from a close distance at the base) in person.

9. Chicago, Illinois
Book: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson. Cheating, I’ve been to Chicago many times! But after reading this book I’m inspired to visit and see again the last few remaining structural artifacts (Art Institute, Museum of Science and Industry, Jackson Park) with a new historical perspective.

10. Wisconsin
Books: Uprising by John Nichols, Unintimidated by various, When Pride Still Mattered by David Maraniss. Cheating again—I’m from Wisconsin! But reading Uprising and Unintimidated just make me want to race back home to Madison and join the fight (Madison is a wonderful place to visit anyway, no matter what), and When Pride Still Mattered made me misty for Green Bay (fun fact: Coach Lombardi lived just a mile from my grandparents!) Wouldn’t you know it, you can do a walking tour of Green Bay’s Packers history, too 😉

Where to you want to travel, inspired by books you’ve read?