Its days like this…days with no international travel plans in hand…when I start to look longingly at my suitcase and my passport. I have an every growing list of where I’d like to go next, but until I can put those plans into affect, I have to be content to indulge in mental travel, which for me often comes in the form of books.

Here are 10 of my favorites reads that take place in international settings and that are the next best thing to a plane ticket. I know I’m forgetting so many great books, though. Please leave me a comment below with your favorite books that transport you to another place so I can add them to my “must read” list.

1. Mexico: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

2. Kenya: Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen

3. Thailand: The Beach by Alex Garland

4. Ethiopia:  Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

5. Spain & North Africa: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

6. Barcelona: The Shadow of the Wind by Carols Ruiz Zafon

7. Cairo: Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz

8. Afghanistan: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

9. Paris: Black Girl in Paris by Shay Youngblood

10. Brazil: Traveler’s Tales Brazil Edited by Scott Doggett & Annette Haddad