Traveling by Book

Yesterday's Books on the Nightstand episode put out a call for a database that tags books with travel destinations. As you can see, they got several comments suggesting they do tag searches at LibraryThing, GoodReads, and their local library.

But it got me thinking: reading's a great way to travel when you don't have money for a fare.

I use cookbooks. We collect photo-rich books that cover a range of cuisines. The books put out by Hermes House (like the one at left) have great photos and an introductory section on the country covered.

Just leafing through them often calms my travel cravings. (They cause other cravings in the process, but that's another story.)

So I'm curious:

• Do you use books to travel in lean or busy times?
• What kinds of books do you prefer to "travel" with?
• Do you go for real or imaginary destinations?