Listmania!
Backpacker Essentials
The Age of Kali: Travels and Encounters in IndiaThe Age of Kali: Travels and Encounters in India by William Dalrymple
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £2.95
or anything else by Dalrymple. The historical background combined with the travel stories make his work brilliant.
The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through AsiaThe Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia by Paul Theroux
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £1.11
Love his travelbooks (but not his fiction)
South India (Lonely Planet Country Guide)South India (Lonely Planet Country Guide) by Paul Harding
Buy new: £10.49 / Used from: £4.50
LP guidebooks are lifesavers. This just the last one I used, but they are the best.
Pole to PolePole to Pole by Michael Palin
Buy used from: £2.73
The best of his travel series, Allthough 80 days and full circle are also very good
Extra Virgin: Amongst the Olive Groves of LiguriaExtra Virgin: Amongst the Olive Groves of Liguria by Annie Hawes
Buy new: £4.08 / Used from: £0.01
Great for atmosphere, not a lot of travelling, but a lot of intercultural misunderstanding
With No One as WitnessWith No One as Witness by Elizabeth George
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £0.01
For those long hours on an Indian train (or anything else written by her)
Holy FoolsHoly Fools by Joanne Harris
Buy new: £9.45 / Used from: £0.01
Basically a story about travelling. I would have recommended Chocolat, but you can never het a good bar in Asia (cadbury's is just surrogate)
McCarthy's Bar: A Journey of Discovery in IrelandMcCarthy's Bar: A Journey of Discovery in Ireland by Pete McCarthy
Buy new: £9.99 / Used from: £1.20
look for your own name on a bar, always a good idea
A Question of BloodA Question of Blood by Ian Rankin
Buy used from: £0.01
The gloomy descriptions of scotland are great on a sunny beach in Thailand
The First World WarThe First World War by John Keegan
Buy new: £11.19 / Used from: £3.15
Take this one to Ypres
Driving Over Lemons: An Optimist in AndaluciaDriving Over Lemons: An Optimist in Andalucia by Chris Stewart
Buy new: £4.99 / Used from: £0.01
Out of his depth in the south of Spain
The Quiet AmericanThe Quiet American by Graham Greene
Buy used from: £1.93
To be read on location in Vietnam
The BeachThe Beach by Alex Garland
Buy used from: £0.01
If only for the description of backpacker hangouts either in the city or on the beach
Out of Africa (Penguin Modern Classics)Out of Africa (Penguin Modern Classics) by Karen Blixen
Buy new: £3.78 / Used from: £1.57
'I had a farm in Africa....'
The City of JoyThe City of Joy by Dominique Lapierre
Buy new: £7.13 / Used from: £5.63
Another one on India, but, hey, I love the country and Calcutta is a great city
SAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at SeaSAS Survival Handbook: How to Survive in the Wild, in Any Climate, on Land or at Sea by John 'Lofty' Wiseman
Buy new: £7.99 / Used from: £6.21
you never know when you need it
Tao Te ChingTao Te Ching by Lao Tzu
Buy new: £5.56 / Used from: £2.57
If the SAS handbook doesn't help, Taoism might
Midnight's ChildrenMidnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
Buy new: £6.39 / Used from: £2.94
His best
The ClientThe Client by John Grisham
Buy new: £5.49 / Used from: £0.01
Especially the 15th hand copy you bartered in a shop in Korea (or anything else by Grisham except the Broker)
China: Alive in the Bitter SeaChina: Alive in the Bitter Sea by Fox Butterfield
Buy used from: £1.73
For anyone who still thinks the cultural revolution was fun
Abdul's Taxi to Kalighat: Impressions of CalcuttaAbdul's Taxi to Kalighat: Impressions of Calcutta by Joe Roberts
Buy used from: £7.76
Another one of these highly recognisable accounts
Death on the Nile (Hercule Poirot)Death on the Nile (Hercule Poirot) by Agatha Christie
Buy new: £4.99 / Used from: £0.01
Not a terrible fan of hers, but these books are always available in second hand book stores and travellers hangouts. This one is a must, as all of the described places still can be visited in Egypt..
The Year of Living DangerouslyThe Year of Living Dangerously by C.J. Koch
Buy used from: £9.89
The one to take to Indonesia
War and Peace (Penguin Red Classics)War and Peace (Penguin Red Classics) by L.N. Tolstoy
Buy new: £6.49 / Used from: £5.46
The only non technical english language title available in the International bookstore in Kunming, China in september 1996. Great for reading up on your Russian classics. Sigh....
Travel with Children (Lonely Planet Travel Guides)Travel with Children (Lonely Planet Travel Guides) by Maureen Wheeler
Buy new: £3.52 / Used from: £1.90
Certainly kids alter the way you backpack. We took our 5 and 3 year old kids to India and it was great!