Have you ever been tempted to explore America with your canine companion? I invite you to live vicariously through John Steinbeck (who better?) and his charming poodle Charley. Steinbeck brings readers along through our country, utilizing his keen awareness of the details of everyday life to illuminate the distinguishing characteristics of each region. –Kate

The mission is simple: find the happiest places on Earth. The execution is anything but. Weiner announces himself to the travel writing scene with this sublime story of a man in search of joy, wherever it may be hiding in the world. The Geography of Bliss is a literary pick-me-up and an inspired journey to find what’s still right with the world. –Zack

As much as I’ve loved Mark Twain’s fiction, for some reason I haven’t read his non-fiction till quite recently. Which is lucky for me, because it leaves me with a lot to look forward to. The Innocents Abroad was his big break. He was hired to join and write up the adventures of a group of “select” travelers on a five month cruise “to Europe and the Holy Land.” I doubt very much whether either place was quite the same ever after. –Seana Graham

I’ve been a fan of Dyer’s ever since I read Out of Sheer Rage, his fan’s account of obsessively following the path of his hero, D. H. Lawrence. In some ways all of Dyer’s nonfiction feels like successive volumes of one long story, but it’s a good story, and you won’t grow tired of it. He casts a droll eye on his—and our—current globe-hopping sensibilities. –Seana Graham

On May 10th, 1996, Jon Krakauer stood on the summit of Mt. Everest.
Heading back to camp, exhausted and oxygen deprived, he could see the
beginnings of a storm that would leave nineteen other climbers stranded
on the mountaintop. Krakauer is an excellent writer, and his firsthand
account of what happened in that storm is a riveting tale of survival,
heroism, and the perils at the top of the world. –Flannery

Eric Newby left the world of London haute couture, to go traipsing around with his friend from the British Embassy Hugh Carless in a remote corner of Afghanistan. Although a very funny account of their adventures, it’s obviously also a very timely read. Lonely Planet has picked up several of Newby’s titles for reissue, which is a great service to us, trapped here in Newby’s future. –Seana Graham

The book that brought de Botton to my attention was How Proust Can Change Your Life, which is supposedly about Proust, but is really about living wisely and well. The Art of Travel is also literary in its connections, drawing on the travels of Flaubert and Wordsworth to talk about our own adventures. But don’t worry, de Botton wears his learning so lightly that you won’t feel any pain at all. –Seana Graham