I enjoy traveling, but the world has had other ideas the last couple of years. Fortunately, while there were travel bans around the world, many of the restrictions on books travel (i.e. work and social obligations) were lifted. While no book can take the place of a real-life experience, there are benefits to book travel that can’t be ignored.
Most travelers will tell you that the worst part of travel is getting there and back. This is not an issue with book travel. The book starts and ends when you want. No weather delays, no getting bumped because there are too many readers going to the same destination. The whole trip revolves around your schedule. You can take an entire afternoon for one long trip or break it up into mini excursions when time permits. If you’re like me, and love to travel, but are also a homebody at heart. You can fulfill both desires. You can stay in your jammies, grab your favorite snack and beverage, while going anywhere you want.
Book travel is much more cost effective than real travel. I have hundreds of books (read as literary vacations) lying around my house. I could sell every single one of them, and still only get a couple of trips out of it. Also, if you decide you don’t want to read the book after all, there are no cancelation fees.
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While book traveling, you can literally go to any destination. I prefer group tours when I travel. Bigger companies will offer destinations all around the world, and often provide excursions the independent traveler might not have the opportunity to experience. But there are still limitations. You have to travel in the current timeline. As of the time of this post, nobody offers trips to the past of future. The trip also must be to place that exists in the real world. Until a travel company discovers the wardrobe leading to Narnia, magical trips are limited to books.
It’s been said that the safest way to travel is by plane, but this isn’t true. Despite what news stories, TV and movies might lead you to believe, plane crashes are very rare. This is reassuring. However, it doesn’t make it the safest form of travel. It is a statistical fact that book travel, is safer than flying. The most common injury reported by book travelers is the paper cut. While this can be excruciatingly painful, no deaths have been documented. Even if there is an equipment malfunction, such as the battery dying in your e-reader, you will not plummet to the ground, and as long as you’re near an electrical source, the repair is quick. If you are a safety-minded individual, book traveling is the way to go.
Finally, when book traveling you can enjoy experiences that might not be so pleasant in person. I loved reading the Hunger Games but have no desire to participate in person. You’ll likely find that your preferences for a book vacation will be very different than real world vacations. It’s entertaining to read about a hotel where the guests keep getting murdered and you try to figure out the culprit. I guarantee that if this happened to you while staying in a real hotel, you would be running out the door demanding a refund.
In conclusion, if you are unable to travel this summer. Don’t be depressed, pick up a book and appreciate all the advantages it has to offer.
YES. When asked why I read fantasy, I have always said it allows me to leave this world and visit another. And, as you said, when people are getting massacred in “Game of Thrones” I am safe in my bed. I fear no Targaryen dragon or Lannister back-stabbing.