Book Review: World of Wanderlust (+ Interview!) | Explorista Bookclub

Wanderlust: when traveling takes over your whole life, and you can’t seem to think about anything else anymore. You will probably have noticed that I suffer from this very addictive curse (and possibly even passed it on to some of you), but someone else who also suffers from wanderlust, is Brooke Saward. Four years ago she started the website World of Wanderlust, one of the biggest travel blogs worldwide, and recently penned a book with the same title. World of Wanderlust: how to live an adventurous life.

A book full of travel-inspiration, gorgeous pictures and great tips: so of course I wanted to read it. Lucky me, because not only did I get to review the book for you guys, I also had the opportunity to interview Brooke when she was in The Netherlands! In a cute cafe in Utrecht I recorded a snappy four minute video interview where I got to ask her anything that you’ve ever wanted to know. From her favorite city to things that she never wants to experience again, her favorite chapter in her book, which country is highest on her bucket-list, and of course about the best tips for other travel bloggers. Check out the video and the review below! 

So now its time for the review. What did I think of this new travel book? I consider myself – like Brooke – quite a professional traveler. So, with that in mind, could I enjoy this book or was it all too much of the same old, same old?  Keep on reading to find out.

Book

World of Wanderlust (Penguin books Australia) promises 227 colourful pages of travel goodness. The subject is travel in the broadest sense of the word: from destinations and tips, to inspiration and gorgeous travel photos. It is not a travel guide, but rather an inspiration guide, though there are some practical tips in there. After reading this book, you know exactly where to go next, how to travel solo, where they sell the best croissants in Paris and even some fashion tips. This all is written by a young woman who can proudly call herself a “professional traveler”, looking at the amount of countries she has visited, and how often she is abroad for her popular travelblog.

Also, please keep in mind the pictures are of the Dutch version of the book, but it’s basically a clean translation of the English version as far as I can tell.

Structure

World of Wanderlust is divided in six chapters:

1. The basics
2. Places you must visit in your lifetime
3. See it with you own eyes
4. Travel tips
5. How to escape
6. Wanderlust Directory

The basics is the biggest chapter, and is full of tips about different ways of traveling, wanderlust-playlist and life-mantra’s. In places you must visit in your lifetime Brooke writes about five favorite destinations with tips, sort of like a city guide: Paris, London, New York, Venice and St Petersburg. In See it with your own eyes you get an overview of the most beautiful wonders of the world and landscapes. Travel tips is the third-biggest chapter with all kinds of tips that may come in handy when traveling: from budget and souvenirs, to airplane-fashion and overcoming that jet-lag. How to escape teaches you how to experience the travel vibes when you can’t go abroad (by themed parties and exploring your own town). And in the last chapter the Wanderlust Directory will tell you about the best hotels, restaurants theaters, cafes and museums in the world. The book begins with a small prologue and ends with a small epilogue.

Design

One of the biggest things to note is the design of the book. The book is more about inspiring people, than actual in depth content (much like her blog which is also pretty concise and inspirational), and the design is magnificent. It supports the inspiring aspect of the book with amazing typography, great layouts of the pages and inspiring photos. Brooke has an amazing eye for photography and that really shows in this book (though some pictures were a bit grainy due to the low resolution). Altogether, the book is great to flip through and look at. I noticed that every time I had a few minutes of spare time, I grabbed the book to flip through it.

My opinion

All in all: I loved this book. I think it perfectly fulfilled what it set out to do: a light guide full of travel inspiration and simple travel tips for girls and woman with a big passion for traveling. Don’t expect too much in-depth tips or personal anecdotes, because you will not find much of those in this book. Personally I would have really enjoyed some short personal travel stories in there, like some crazy things she experienced during her travels, to make the book a bit more personal. She could also have gone more in-depth with some of her tips. The “chapter” about taking pictures of yourself measures exactly 11 words. Eleven. That could have been a little bit more extensive if you ask me. But I think the end goal of the book is more about inspiring people, and it did its job incredibly well, with the many short and fun subjects, stylish design and cheerful photo’s. If you are looking for more in-depth information, it is better to look for a different book. But this book is great for opening it on a random page, and flip through it for a couple of minutes with a cup of tea and one of Brookes much loved macarons.

I keep finding myself reaching for this book whenever I have a few minutes. It is perfect for flipping through the pages to get inspired and subsequently put it back leaving you cheery. It seems like the perfect birthday present for friends, sisters of nieces (or maybe even for your mom) that are also infected by the travel bug. Or what do think about a graduation gift? A great start to that gap year ;-).

Price: €22,86
Publisher: Penguin books Australia

Buy ‘World of Wanderlust’ with free worldwide shipping at Bookdepository.