Discover GEEO’s recommended books to read before you travel through Budapest, Romania, Bulgaria, and Istanbul. Our book club is a way for travelers to learn through literature about the places they’ll visit.

These are some of our favorites about Budapest, Romania, Bulgaria, and Istanbul, so if you’re heading there, take a look (the GEEO book club is not a required element of our programs, just a bit of added fun)! We hope you will enjoy the books we have selected and they will enhance your experience.

You should be able to find most of our selections through the links below and in your local library system as well. Do you have any feedback on our selections or suggestions for additions? Contact us and let us know!

Recommended books to read before traveling through Budapest, Romania, Bulgaria, and Istanbul:

Fiction:

• The Paul Street Boys (Hungary) by Ferenc Molnár (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• The Forbidden Forest (Romania) by Mircea Eliade (Amazon)
• Under the Yoke: A Romance of Bulgarian Liberty (Bulgaria) by Ivan Vazov (Bookshop.org | Amazon)

Nonfiction:

• Budapest: A Critical Guide (Hungary) by András Török ( Amazon)
• Romania since the Second World War: A Political, Social and Economic History (Romania) by Florin Abraham (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• The Shortest History of Bulgaria (Bulgaria) by Nikolay Ovcharov (Amazon)

For those looking for more suggestions, here are some other books you may want to consider:

• Snow by Orhan Pamuk (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Journey By Moonlight by Antal Szerb (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• The Door by Magda Szabó (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Fatelessness by Imre Kertész (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• The Last Romantic by Hannah Pakula (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Bai Ganyo: Incredible Tales of a Modern Bulgarian by Aleko Konstantinov (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Princes Amongst Men: Journeys with Gypsy Musicians by Garth Cartwright (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe 1944–1956 by Anne Applebaum (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• The Lost Romans: History and Controversy on the Origin of the Romanians by Mircea Davidescu (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Osman’s Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire by Caroline Finkel (Bookshop.org | Amazon)
• Istanbul for Kids by Burçak Gürün Muraben (Amazon)

GEEO utilizes both Bookshop.org and Amazon Associates links for the above-suggested books. If you purchase a book through one of the links above, you’re supporting us as a nonprofit and helping more teachers travel through GEEO!