I'm in the process of reading the book counterparts to Ewan McGregor & Charley Boorman's 'Long Way Round' and 'Long Way Down'. For anyone that doesn't know, the two actors just decided to ride motorbikes around the world, for fun, and made a couple of tv series' out of it. Firstly, they went from London to New York, the long way round, via Europe, Asia & Russia, to Alaska, Canada & the US. Then they rode from John O'Groats in northern Scotland to Cape Agulhas, the southernmost point of South Africa.
Seeing as i'm in my 'I want to see every bit of the world' phase, this sort of thing's fascinating me. Reading about, and seeing, the different cultures and atmospheres that different countries and continents bring is something I love at the moment, and I could both read the books and watch the DVDs all day.
If you're interested in travel or the world, these books are great. They deal equally with the experiences of different cultures, and the stresses and pressures that doing a trip like that can bring on.