Last updated on June 13th, 2022
Great Reads to Inspire Travel
JourneyWoman Book Club
Our Book This Month
Set in Cambodia, “In the Shadow of the Banyan”, is a Novel of Hope and Resilience
Our June Book of the Month is Vaddey Ratner’s novel “In the Shadow of the Banyan”, a story of hope and resilience set in Cambodia.
Join Our Monthly Book Club Meeting
We’ve recently partnered with TripFiction to present you with compelling reads set in incredible locations. The TripFiction database has thousands of location-based books set all around the world to transport you to a location of your dreams – or, perhaps one you are about to visit. Looking for book ideas? Visit TripFiction’s Great Reads page and use the map to find the book of your dreams. Book Club meetings are held the third Wednesday of each month at 8 pm EDT.
2022 Book of the Month and Meeting Dates:
1. All My Mothers by Joanna Glenn (Spain) – January/February 16
2. An Act of Love by Carol Drinkwater (France) – March 16
3. The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak (Cyprus) – April 20
4. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Mexico) – May 18
5. In The Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner (Cambodia) – June 15
6. The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller (Cape Cod) – July 20
Register for our monthly book club meeting here.
Please support our book club by buying your book or ebook using the links on our site.
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Featured Interviews With Authors
Books to Stimulate Your Curiosity
Set in Cambodia, “In the Shadow of the Banyan”, is a Novel of Hope and Resilience
Our June Book of the Month is Vaddey Ratner’s novel “In the Shadow of the Banyan”, a story of hope and resilience set in Cambodia.
Announcing Three New Selections for the 2022 JourneyWoman Travel Book Club
The votes are in! Our next three books take us to India, New Zealand and Morocco.
Explore the Maya Underworld in “Gods of Jade and Shadow” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Explore the Maya underworld with “Gods of Jade and Shadow” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a fantastical novel set in 1920s Mexico.
A Story of Belonging and Identity: “The Island of Missing Trees” by Elif Shafak
Our Book of the Month: In “The Island of Missing Trees”, a magical book on belonging and identity, nature and renewal, Elif Shafak gives voice to a fig tree from Cyprus.
Books for Adventurous Women: JourneyWoman and TripFiction Share Top Travel Reads for 2022
JourneyWoman and TripFiction are uniting women book lovers to bring a fresh perspective to books to expand your travel bucket list.
Tembi Locke’s “From Scratch”: A Memoir on Healing and Love Set in Sicily
Our December book club pick is Tembi Locke’s memoir, “From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily and Finding Home”, about her transracial romance with her Italian husband and her grief after his untimely death.
Wanda St. Hilaire’s Memoir Explores Solo Travel, Love and Adventure in “The Cuban Chronicles”
The JourneyWoman Book Club heads to Cuba as solo traveller Wanda St. Hilaire explores love and adventure in her 2009 memoir, “The Cuban Chronicles.”
Journey to the Arctic Circle With Sara Wheeler’s “The Magnetic North”
Travel with best-selling author Sara Wheeler to one of the earth’s most pristine places in “The Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Circle.”
Travel to Tanzania With “Our House in Arusha,” a Memoir by Sara Tucker
Set in Tanzania, “Our House in Arusha” by Sara Tucker is part of our “Once-in-a-Lifetime’ book series including Africa, Spain and Antarctica.
JourneyWoman Book Club: 2020-2021 Reads
Please check for upcoming book clubs on Eventbrite. All Book Clubs are recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Subscribe here.
GReeCE
A House in Corfu: A Sojourn in Greece
by Emma Tennant
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 2 boots / 5 – below expectations
THE CARIBBEAN
An Embarrass-ment of Mangoes
by Ann Vanderhoof
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 4 boots / 5 – fun – made us want to live on a sailboat!
Morocco + Mali
Morocco to Timbuktu: An Arabian Adventure
by Alice Morrison
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 3.5 boots / 5 – loved its authenticity
Africa
Nervous Conditions
by Tsitsi Dangarembga
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 3 boots / 5 – Empowering and inspiring!
Egypt
Mistress of Nothing
by Kate Pullinger
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 3.5 boots / 5 – a step back into history
Portugal
300 Days of Sun
by Deborah Lawrenson
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Rating: 3.5 boots / 5 – learned about spies!
Iraq, Ethiopia, Egypt, Pakistan, Morocco
Travels with my Hat
by Christine Osborne
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 4.5 boots / 5 – a must-read for solo travellers
Ireland
By the Lake
by John McGahern
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 3.5 boots / 5 – a classic, beautifully written!
United States
The Kitchen House
by Kathleen Grissom
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 4.5 boots / 5 – illuminating and engaging
SPAIN
Driving Over Lemons
by Chris Stewart
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 3.5 boots / 5 – Fun and authentic
Italy
Lady in the Palazzo
by Marlena de Blasi
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 3 boots / 5 – rambling but interesting
France
The Lost Vintage
by Ann Mah
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 3 boots / 5 – history + wine, a great combination
BALI, MEXICO + MORE
Tales of a Female Nomad
by Rita Golden Gelman
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 4.5 boots / 5 – loved it all!
Silk Route
Lands of Lost Borders: Out of Bounds on the Silk Road
by Kate Harris
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Rating: 4 boots / 5 – an unexpected ride
TANZANIA
Our House in Arusha
by Sara Tucker
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 3.5 boots / 5 – wanted more of her story
ARCTIC CIRCLE
The Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Circle
by Sara Wheeler
ABOUT THE BOOK
Rating: 3 boots: an intellectual read!
CUBA
The Cuban Chronicles: A True Tale of Rascals, Rogues and Romance
by Wanda St. Hillaire
ABOUT THE BOOK
SICILY
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Healing and Finding Home
by Tembi Locke
ABOUT THE BOOK
“For some of us, books are as important as almost anything else on earth.
What a miracle it is that out of these small, flat, rigid squares of paper unfolds world after world after world, worlds that sing to you, comfort and quiet or excite you. Books help us understand who we are and how we are to behave. They show us what community and friendship mean; they show us how to live and die.”
– Anne Lamont, Bird by Bird
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