Six New Travel Books for the 2023-24 JourneyWoman Book Club

by | Sep 16, 2023

journeywoman book club woman reading

Last updated on May 13th, 2024

Featured image: Travel by Book with these books curated by the 2023 JourneyWoman Book Club | Photo by By Chayantorn on Envato

Books with a strong sense of place 

By Carolyn Ray, Editor, JourneyWoman

In 2023, the JourneyWoman Travel Book Club has explored Ukraine,  South America, Morocco, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Nigeria and Italy. To end of the year and to get us started in 2024, we’ve curated a shortlist of 12 books with a strong sense of place that cover a range of genres, including mystery, thrillers, memoir, suspense and historical fiction.  

For every book selection, we consider the diversity of the author but also the diversity of the story being told. As women, are there themes that connect us, like fear, love and grief? As travellers, are there issues we need to discuss openly, like the impact of war, Alzheimer’s, midlife or servitude? All told, these books help us learn but they also make us laugh out loud at life and our own misadventures. 

A Note About our Book Club

In 2024, our book club will be held quarterly on the third Wednesday of the month at 8 pm ET, hosted by Wendy, Sally and Carolyn. Discussion questions are provided for every book prior to the meeting.  You do not have to read the book to attend as we also talk about the destination and central themes in the book so that all can participate.

To keep the conversations intimate and allow everyone an opportunity to share their thoughts, we are limiting registrations to 50 people. For those who cannot make it, subscribe to our YouTube channel to see recordings, which are generally up within a week of the event. If you would like to support our Book Club, you can make a donation here.

We recommend you sign in a few minutes early to make sure there aren’t any technology issues with Zoom. Learn more on our Book Club page here and sign up for our emails here. 

2023-24 JourneyWoman Travel Books Shortlist 

Based on your votes, here are the top six books chosen for our book club, covering October 2023 to April 2024. (Note there will not be a book club discussion in December 2023).  

October Book of the Month

1. The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

Set in Oxford, England

Set during the height of the women’s suffrage movement and with the Great War looming, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. Inspired by actual events including the women’s suffrage movement, Australian author Pip Williams has delved into the archives of the Oxford English Dictionary to tell this highly original story.

Find it at your local library 

Eva Luna Book Cover

November 2023 Book of the Month

2.  Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

Set in China in the 15th Century

According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,” but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient. Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.

Find it at your local library

Tangerine Book Cover

February 2024 Book of the Month
Book club meeting February 21, 2022, 8 pm ET

3.  The Storied Life of AJ Fikry

Set in the USA

Fikry’s life is not at all what he expected it to be. He lives alone, his bookstore is experiencing the worst sales in its history, and now his prized possession, a rare collection of Poe poems, has been stolen. But when a mysterious package appears at the bookstore, its unexpected arrival gives Fikry the chance to make his life over—and see everything anew.

Find it at your local library

Tangerine Book Cover

May 2024 Book of the Month

4.  Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

Set in Vietnam
Book club date: May 15, 2024, 8 pm ET

In 1969, sisters Trang and Quỳnh, desperate to help their parents pay off debts, leave their rural village and become “bar girls” in Sài Gòn, drinking, flirting (and more) with American GIs in return for money. As the war moves closer to the city, the once-innocent Trang gets swept up in an irresistible romance with a young and charming American helicopter pilot.

Find it at your local library

Tangerine Book Cover

August 2024 Book of the Month

5. The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

Set in India, mainly in Mumbai
Book club date: August 21, 2024, 8 pm ET

1920s India: Perveen Mistry, Bombay’s only female lawyer, is investigating a suspicious will on behalf of three Muslim widows living in full purdah when the case takes a turn toward the murderous. The author of the Agatha and Macavity Award–winning Rei Shimura novels brings us an atmospheric new historical mystery with a captivating heroine.

Find it at your local library

Tangerine Book Cover

November 2024 Book of the Month

6.  The Crimson Thread by Kate Forsyth

Set in Crete, Greece
Book club meeting date: November 20, 2024, 8 pm ET

In Crete during World War II, Alenka, a young woman who fights with the resistance against the brutal Nazi occupation, finds herself caught between her traitor of a brother and the man she loves, an undercover agent working for the Allies. May 1941. German paratroopers launch a blitzkrieg from the air against Crete. They are met with fierce defiance, the Greeks fighting back with daggers, pitchforks, and kitchen knives. During the bloody eleven-day battle, Alenka, a young Greek woman, saves the lives of two Australian soldiers.

Find it at your local library

Tangerine Book Cover

Other shortlisted books 

The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont

Set in England

Why would the world’s most famous mystery writer disappear for eleven days? What makes a woman desperate enough to destroy another woman’s marriage? How deeply can a person crave revenge?

“Sizzles from its first sentence.” – The Wall Street Journal

Find it at your local library 

 

Remember Me book cover

2. Even As We Breathe by Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle

Set in North Carolina, USA

Even as We Breathe invokes the elements of bone, blood, and flesh as Cowney navigates difficult social, cultural, and ethnic divides. After leaving the seclusion of the Cherokee reservation, he is able to explore a future free from the consequences of his family’s choices and to construct a new worldview, for a time.

Find it at your local library

Tangerine Book Cover

3. A House Divided/ A Few Right-Thinking Men by Sulari Gentill

Set in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Can a house divided against itself hope to stand?

Sydney, 1931. Rowland Sinclair doesn’t fit with his family. His conservative older brother, Wilfred, thinks he’s reckless, a black sheep; his aging mother thinks he’s her son who was killed in the war. Only his namesake Uncle Rowly, a kindred spirit, understands him—and now he’s been brutally murdered in his own home.

Find it at your local library

Tangerine Book Cover

4. Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

Set in Edinburgh, Scotland

Dana Schwartz’s Anatomy: A Love Story is a gothic tale full of mystery and romance. Hazel Sinnett is a lady who wants to be a surgeon more than she wants to marry. Jack Currer is a resurrection man who’s just trying to survive in a city where it’s too easy to die.

When the two of them have a chance encounter outside the Edinburgh Anatomist’s Society, Hazel thinks nothing of it at first. But after she gets kicked out of renowned surgeon Dr. Beecham’s lectures for being the wrong gender, she realizes that her new acquaintance might be more helpful than she first thought.

Find it at your local library

What the Psychic Told The Pilgrim by Jane Christmas book cover

7. River Sing Me Home by Eleanor Shearer

Set in Barbados

The master of the Providence plantation in Barbados gathers his slaves and announces the king has decreed an end to slavery. As of the following day, the Emancipation Act of 1834 will come into effect. The cries of joy fall silent when he announces that they are no longer his slaves; they are now his apprentices. No one can leave. They must work for him for another six years. Freedom is just another name for the life they have always lived. So Rachel runs.

Find it at your local library

Tangerine Book Cover

5.  The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng

Set in Singapore

An aching love story and powerful coming-of-age that reckons with the legacy of British colonialism, the World War II Japanese occupation, and the pursuit of modernity, The Great Reclamation confronts the wounds of progress, the sacrifices of love, and the difficulty of defining home when nature and nation collide, literally shifting the land beneath people’s feet.

Find it at your local library

Tangerine Book Cover

More Travel Books for Women

In March 2023, she was named one of the most influential women in travel by TravelPulse, has been featured in the New York Times, Toronto Star and Conde Naste as a solo travel expert, and speaks at women's travel conferences around the world. She leads JourneyWoman's team of writers and chairs the JourneyWoman Women's Advisory Council, JourneyWoman Awards for Women 50+ and the Women's Speaker's Bureau. She is the chair of the Canadian chapter of the Society of American Travel Writers (SATW), board member for the Cultural Heritage Economic Alliance (CHEA) in support of Black and Brown businesses, a member of Women's Travel Leaders and a Herald for the Transformational Travel Council (TTC). Sometimes she sleeps. A bit.

3 Comments

  1. Debra

    Sent to me by a friend and fellow book club member. All the titles listed are intriguing and inspiring. They make me excited to read them and find out more about your organization.

    Reply
    • Carolyn Ray

      Welcome! We’re so glad you found us!

      Reply
    • TripFiction

      It is so lovely you stopped by. These titles make a really varied and ‘different’ reading list. Hope you enjoy

      Reply

We always strive to use real photos from our own adventures, provided by the guest writer or from our personal travels. However, in some cases, due to photo quality, we must use stock photography. If you have any questions about the photography please let us know.

Disclaimer: We are so happy that you are checking out this page right now! We only recommend things that are suggested by our community, or through our own experience, that we believe will be helpful and practical for you. Some of our pages contain links, which means we’re part of an affiliate program for the product being mentioned. Should you decide to purchase a product using a link from on our site, JourneyWoman may earn a small commission from the retailer, which helps us maintain our beautiful website. JourneyWoman is an Amazon Associate and earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you!

We want to hear what you think about this article, and we welcome any updates or changes to improve it. You can comment below, or send an email to us at [email protected].

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *