Why Books Are My Favorite Travel Companion

Thank you Amazon for sponsoring this post. Where will adventure take you and your Kindle device this summer?

Two of my passions would easily be reading and traveling. They both have been constant and often overlap. They both take me on a journey of unknown. I never know right till the end how my experience will turn out to be. It is a bit of a risk with each book as it is with every trip. A little more financial risk when it comes to traveling than reading. But the risk of losing time in both scenarios, nonetheless! 

What I love the most though is, reading while traveling. There is no real time-restraint, no responsibilities to get to. Your brain has the space to wander. My ideal downtime activity involves planning an adventure, and grabbing a book for the time in-between and come back with stories, memories, and an enriched mind. 

However, as baggage fees increase and airlines become increasingly strict about the height, weight, and width of our carry-ons, packing lightly—and packing efficiently—it has become a struggle to choose between clothes and books. Am I right? While there are some items that are first to get the heave-ho, no questions asked, there are others that are harder to part with for a number of reasons, sentimental or otherwise. Should books, those so-called bastions of a tech-free era, get replaced? If you asked me I would probably say, "Heck, No!" I enjoy the physical object of a book, both the feel of it as well as the smell of paper. They, however, are bulky and can be heavy, so the desire to travel with them requires some compromise. The all-new Kindle is Amazon’s most affordable e-reader and is the first Kindle with an adjustable front light for less than $100. A refreshed design that’s thin and light, makes the all-new Kindle easy to hold when kicking back with a story. 

One of the questions I often asked is if I prefer 'paper books' or 'e-readers' and the honest answer is both. It depends on the type of trip I'm taking—or the sort of travel I'm doing. If I'm traveling for work, I'll load up my Kindle with books and read that way: being able to flip the page with a tap of my finger or lower the screen brightness goes a long way on planes, trains, and automobiles. Plus you get the option of three months of Kindle Unlimited included for free so you can enjoy unlimited access to millions of titles. Plus, the Kindle has a battery life that’s measured in weeks so I don’t have to worry about packing a charger. 

Bottom line is that I love reading and use all the options available to me to enable that. Reading is something to do while you’re in transit, when you are wide-awake from jet lag at 2 a.m., and when you’re worn out from all that seeing and experiencing and meeting and need a break. It’s also a way to learn about the places you’re visiting. And if you are someplace where the internet doesn’t work very well, and you’ve already downloaded a bunch of books on your Kindle, it’s something to do when you can’t get online. Reading is a life-saver. So, what are you reading lately?