There are countless opportunities to travel and read: on buses, beaches, planes, in airports or just enjoying a spring day sitting by the Seine. Especially if you’re going solo, you’ll likely be flipping pages over and over again.
But you don’t need to carry around a stack of books to do it!

So here are some tips on how to to handle your book habit while on the road without having pack a library in your pack:

Take one and pass it on. Carrying only one book around at a time does your baggage weight-limit a favor. Hostels should and hotels usually have at least one bookcase dedicated to travelers unloading stashes of used literature. Leave your old book there and take another. Protocol allows for this friendly exchange but the selection may be limited. Take what you can get. If your own accommodations don’t have much to choose from, it’s okay to go into a hostel to peruse their library. Just be considerate.

Buy new ones on the road. English book stores can be found in most major international cities, owned and operated by either ex-pats or English-speaking locals. Take a day and go in search of one, you can refresh your stack and possibly even sell your old books to offset the cost.

Hit up your friends. If you’re visiting any friends or meet up with anyone you know, tap ‘em. If they’re literate, they’re sure to have a piece of leftover reading material in their bags they’d love to share or swap.

Ebook readers. Amazon’s Kindle is taking over. They’re light weight, easy to use, and moderately priced. New technology has made reading these things easy on the eyes and their onboard memory can carry enough reading material to keep you busy for ten trips, let alone one. Seriously.If you’d rather shop around, there are brands other than Kindle to choose from—Barnes & Noble’s Nook is a solid product with lots of books available for easy download—select the model that best suits your wallet, aesthetic and luggage.

Ipad/Tablets. iPads still hang at the high-end of the price range for tablets, but even the cheaper tablets out there make good e-readers.  They  also offer complete packages of apps, email and web, and games to play when you’re done reading, along with photo and storage options too.

Take a look at our media page for suggestions of what to read on your trip!