Reading on the Trail

[Jess Blank]

I've always been a 'read myself to sleep' person and usually have some reading material on backpacking trips. I was thinking about taking my kindle with me on the AT. Does anyone have recommended reading while on the trail? I've read almost all of the 'hiking' and a lot of the 'outdoor adventure' books as well as a lot of material from naturalists. I was just wondering if there was a books out there that became part of your journey while you were hiking?

[Sierra2015]

Hi there. What sort of books do you like?

Have you read Call of the American Wild? I read that last week and while it's harsh... it's also amazingly interesting and informative.

I also like Lonesome Dove, Prince of Tides, The Son by Philip Meyer, C. S. Forester's nautical Hornblower series, The Caine Mutiny, True Grit, Kevin Hearne's The Iron Druid series, anything by Orson Scott Card, Brent Weeks' the Night Trilogy (I think that's what it's called), and Stieg Larson's trilogy.

Of that list I would suggest either the Caine Mutiny or Prince of Tides. Or Lonesome Dove. Or True Grit. Crap. I want to go over that list again! Lol.

What are you looking for specifically? I read a lot and I can shamelessly say I go through a book or two a week.

[moldy]

I read all the time. I like something other than outdoor adventure while on a outdoor adventure. For me the perfect book for backpacking, 1 cheap, 2 fiction, 3 small, 4 flammable. I usually find them in hostels, shelters and junk stores. I usually have a backup.

[Lone Wolf]

i always carried a Readers Digest and crossword puzzles

[Hikes in Rain]

I'll read the back of a toothpaste tube if nothing else is available! Moldy's suggestion is spot on, except for No. 4, which always chokes me! :) While I haven't yet tried hiking with a Kindle (and don't even own one), they look to be about the size and weight of a "real" book, and can store a whole library. That's intreging! I do have the Kindle apps on my phone and laptop, with 352 books as of this morning......

[Kerosene]

I'll second the C.S. Forester Hornblower series. I've vacillated between using my iPhone to read or bring my Kindle on my 7-9 day section hikes. This last go-round I just used the iPhone (in Airplane mode with few apps running and low display intensity to prolong battery life). The Kindle app doesn't use much power.

However, I also find that, by the time I get to camp, set everything up, refill the water, eat, get read for bed, etc. that I'm pretty tired and ready to go to sleep. It's great for zero days though!

[Hikes in Rain]

Forrester also wrote The African Queen, back in 1935. It's every bit as good as the Hornblower series, but doesn't track the movie exactly, particularly the ending sequences. I was a little stunned when I read it.

[Bronk]

I found several books in shelters, carried them for a day or two while I was reading them and then left them in the next shelter for others to read. I found A Walk Across America by Peter Jenkins, Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy that I can remember off the top of my head.

[Old Hiker]

Terry Pratchett - Disc World - fantasy and MANY of them - very funny
Elmer Kelton - westerns
Louis L'Amour - westerns
Heinlein - SF
Carl Hiaasen - FL humor - almost local in flavor, but VERY funny

Looking at Kindle type next time maybe. I like to read while eating and during breaks. Found The 3 Musketeers on my phone + a couple of other classics. Read through them. Downloaded one to finish. It worked and didn't use my battery up too much. I may do this again instead of ANOTHER electronic to carry.

Picked up paperbacks at hostels and carried them forward a couple of times - found The Hobbit at one shelter and carried it until I had re-read it, then dropped it at a motel in Hot Springs for their library.

[Rain Man]

I do like a book on the trail, though rarely a paper one. I have begun downloading them to my smartphone. However, what I really prefer is audio books. I don't listen constantly, but with a good audio book going in my ear, I can climb some pretty good size mountains and hardly realize it. I either borrow "Playaways" from the public library or mp3 files to my phone. Advantages of audio books include (*) can hike while "reading," (*) can listen in car on way to/from the trail, and (*) arms don't get cold and tired holding the book up while in the sack, (*) etc.

I prefer historical books, either real events or "novel" versiions.

Rain:sunMan

.

[Pedaling Fool]

http://www.amazon.com/UFOs-Conspiracies-Realities-John-Alexander/dp/B007K4H8VS

[Slo-go'en]

I have a hard time putting down a physical book until it's done. Which can make for some long nights :) For some reason I don't have that compulsion with ebooks. With the Kindle, I can just read a chapter or two and put it away.

When starting a book you find in a shelter, make sure the last chapters are still there. I once got 1/2 way through a book before I noticed the ending was missing and it was the kind of book which really needed an ending. If you really need paper to start a fire, use the first chapters, not the last!

[Jess Blank]

I also like Lonesome Dove, Prince of Tides, The Son by Philip Meyer, C. S. Forester's nautical Hornblower series, The Caine Mutiny, True Grit, Kevin Hearne's The Iron Druid series, anything by Orson Scott Card, Brent Weeks' the Night Trilogy (I think that's what it's called), and Stieg Larson's trilogy.



Whoa! Thanks for the list! I've read most of Orson Scott Card, and Larson's trilogy, and Lonesome Dove, but the rest will be new to my list. I loved True Grit the movie. I tried to read Master and Commander and just couldn't get into it so I'm wary of nautical books, but since it comes so recommended I might try it again.

I like all kinds of books, some of my favorite books for reading about the natural world or being in it are The Man Who Walked Through Time, anything by Ed Abbey or Ellen Meloy, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. I like science reading if it can tell a story like Sagan, E.O. Wilson and Oliver Sacks. And I love fiction. Anything that can invent a world that I couldn't imagine on my own, or anything that lets me have a new perspective. I wasn't sure if on a hike this long if people had favorite stories that really resonated with their experiences on the trail. So I was searching for that, and of course just great new book suggestions!

[Jess Blank]

I think the Kindle is going to be a good carry for me, I'm worried about draining the battery on my phone which I will want to use for photographs and it really is very light (5.98 ounces) and will have any book I want available to download anytime I find wifi. I've thought about starting the Game of Thrones series, you can get all of the available ones at one time on the Kindle, I just worried about joining the large population of people waiting forever for the next book to come out, but large bulky books like that definitely have a e-book advantage.

Audiobooks are a great idea too! I've subscribed to Audible before.

[Terry7]

i always have atleast 10 audio books on my mp 3 player when you got to set in your tent all day waiting out a rain storm you will be glad you got some thing to listen to

[rocketsocks]

along time ago I started collecting magazines, after a short time I had a whole bunch. My asked why I was saving them, I said because I wanted to read the articles...she said well why don't you just tear out the articles and save those...Brilliant! so that's what I do now. If I come across something that looks interesting...Rrrrip, staple, read at leisure. I also like to read maps, I can get lost in a map and the birds 'll be singin.

Audio books on tape are another big favorite of mine...couple a few titles on my ipod

The Exorsist~written and read by William Peter Blatty, he really knocks it outta the park.

Longitude~ Dava Sobel about John Harrison (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harrison), an 18th-century clockmaker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clockmaker) who created the first clock (chronometer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_chronometer)) sufficiently accurate to be used to determine longitude (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude) at sea—an important development in navigation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navigation).

Basin and Range~The first of John McPhee’s works in his series on geology and geologists, Basin and Range is a book of journeys through ancient terrains, always in juxtaposition with travels in the modern world—a history of vanished landscapes, enhanced by the histories of people who bring them to light.

A short history of nearly everything~Written and read by Bill Bryson, and as the title suggests...it's a history of nearly everything, at least many of the big break throughs in history anyway, and encompassing many different disciplines, mainly the hard sciences.

just to name a few

[Feral Bill]

Oddly, I find Shakespeare goes well in the backcountry. Also Tolkien.

[Deadeye]

Cujo.....
.

[colorado_rob]

I read the entire 5-book Game of Thrones series last year on the AT, probably at least one full hour a day (using my Kindle app on phone; I carried extra batteries). Tolkien is a fantastic idea, Bill.

[Jess Blank]

A short history of nearly everything~Written and read by Bill Bryson, and as the title suggests...it's a history of nearly everything, at least many of the big break throughs in history anyway, and encompassing many different disciplines, mainly the hard sciences.

just to name a few

I love this book!! I also love the tearing things out bit. Sometimes it's the simplest hacks that are the best!

[rocketsocks]

I love this book!! I also love the tearing things out bit. Sometimes it's the simplest hacks that are the best!
Did you just call me a hack...:DI believe you did:)

it's OK, it's true...but only when I'm hackin off.

[Sierra2015]

I'm one of the few people who seems to hate The Game of Thrones books. Ick.

For all you guys who like audiobooks! Listen to the Bloody Jack series!! Very light hearted series read by a opera singer. Historical songs interspersed throughout. It's just an amazing example of what an audiobook can be.

For science fiction... I don't read a ton of those but I enjoyed The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, David Weber books, J. A. Konrath books (raunchy and terribly good), ummmmm can't think of anything else right now for science fiction.

Fantasy... A Warded Man, The Awakened Mage by Karen Mills, The Gentleman Bastard series by Scott Lynch, the sword books by Michael Sullivan (can't remember the series name), and of course Robert Jordan's series and the countless more who are good classics if you want them. (Classics for me!)

Out of this list I would pick the Gentleman Bastard series.

I'm also a huge fan of Michael Connelly's books. He has like twenty or twenty-five wonderful mysteries. And Lee Child. Super kick ass characters. I'm in love with Jack Reacher!

[Rocket Jones]

Guilty pleasures for me, when I feel like some light reading are the Star Trek novels or the Stephanie Plum stories by Janet Evanovich.

[max patch]

I don't read anything different on the trail than when I'm at home. I also carry at least 2 and sometimes 3 books with me and so am considering going the kindle route.

[perdidochas]

I'll read the back of a toothpaste tube if nothing else is available! Moldy's suggestion is spot on, except for No. 4, which always chokes me! :) While I haven't yet tried hiking with a Kindle (and don't even own one), they look to be about the size and weight of a "real" book, and can store a whole library. That's intreging! I do have the Kindle apps on my phone and laptop, with 352 books as of this morning......

In terms of #4, growing up on outdoor adventures (canoeing or hiking), my Mom would always read really cheap paperbacks. Generally, we would use the parts she had already read for tinder.

I think a kindle reader (not a Kindle Fire) is a good option.

[CarlZ993]

My wife likes to take her Kindle on hikes. It weighs about the same as a paperback book (or even less). Fully charged, it will last any hike we go on together (I tend to do the longer ones solo). We use our local library's website to download electronic books. Just like checking out a regular book. You have it for 14 days & then it disappears. It saves you some money. Check out your local library & see if they have that option. Works like a champ!

[4eyedbuzzard]

My wife likes to take her Kindle on hikes. It weighs about the same as a paperback book (or even less). Fully charged, it will last any hike we go on together (I tend to do the longer ones solo). We use our local library's website to download electronic books. Just like checking out a regular book. You have it for 14 days & then it disappears. It saves you some money. Check out your local library & see if they have that option. Works like a champ!If you haven't finished reading the book by day 14, turn off the wifi and the book will remain until you connect.

[Spirit Walker]

I'm another one that prefers something other than outdoor literature while I'm actually hiking. It can be nice to escape for an hour or two in the evening to something completely different. Probably my favorite reading on the trail was Tolkein's Hobbit/LOR or Dune by Frank Herbert. On my first hike, I put a lot of books in my maildrops that I never read because they were too serious. Instead, I'd pick up something in a hostel or grocery store that was light and escapist. As I went north on the AT, it got harder to find books.

[fredmugs]

First off check out the Books forum on here. There's a guy who posts Free books for Kindle all the time.

I highly recommend this which is currently free for Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Southern-Highlanders-Horace-Kephart-ebook/dp/B004TPFI5O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392139130&sr=8-1&keywords=our+southern+highlanders

[chall]

+1 on A Walk Across America.

Definitely DO NOT read Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo on the trail!!! I'd suggest reading it when you're around someone you could hug directly after finishing the book.

[johnnyjohnson2043]

I didn't realize there were so many sci-fi/fantasy fans on this page! Makes me feel more at home! Anyway, I read Martian Chronicles while I was out there. Also, I highly recommend Walden by Thoreau and Last Child in the Woods. Great messages about the healing qualities of nature.

[4eyedbuzzard]

FWIW, I always considered that a long hike might be an ideal time to listen to recordings (I likely couldn't bear to actually read them) of the so-called "100 greatest books" or some other collection of classics. Most are all free / public domain, though the audio version of the books probably would have a price attached.

[Sierra2015]

FWIW, I always considered that a long hike might be an ideal time to listen to recordings (I likely couldn't bear to actually read them) of the so-called "100 greatest books" or some other collection of classics. Most are all free / public domain, though the audio version of the books probably would have a price attached.
That's how I read a lot of my history books. I've gone through a few biographies about presidents that way. When I was in high school I read Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. Took fooooooreeeeveeeer. The book is like the size of the bible! And to be honest... I didn't retain as much as I could have. I listened to it a couple years back and it was so much easier to follow!

The Count of Monte Cristo is Dumas' best book. His worst is The Man in the Iron Mask. Don't even bother with that one. The movie is way different and way better.

I had the same experience with Ivanhoe. Read it and then listened to it years later with a much improved understanding.

[BobTheBuilder]

The Hobbit. Bilbo was the original thru-hiker. Per LWOP.

[OCDave]

I don't own a Kindle but, a well annotated, paperback copy of Moby Dick is worth the weight in my pack.

We all have a little Capt. Ahab in us, you thru hikers a bit more than most.

[4eyedbuzzard]

. . . We all have a little Capt. Ahab in us, you thru hikers a bit more than most.The Trail seeks thee not. It is thou, thou, that madly seekest it!

[Happy44]

who has time to read, when im bored i hike, when im sleepy i sleep and when im hungry I EAT! #dat trail life

[forrest!]

Got a Kindle last year. Wasn't too thrilled about it, since I love real paper books. But I have gradually been converted. I have a reading addiction - I just checked and was astonished to see 127 books on my kindle already, including 23 backpacking books. And the great thing is - it still weighs the same as it did empty.

One thing I did several years ago is read every Pulitzer fiction prize winning book all the way back to 1949. It was a real eye-opening experience. So I'm a big fan of reading projects. Maybe I will come up with something for my SOBO hike this year.

Forrest

[Lone Wolf]

who has time to read

me. i never hike past 4 in the afternoon unless going to a town.

[finish9]

Patrick O'Brian has a great 20 volume series about sailing adventures, for easy listening on mp3/wma. Any of Bernard Cornwell books, Sharp series is good as well Azincourt (about the battle of Agincourt).

[colorado_rob]

who has time to read, when im bored i hike, when im sleepy i sleep and when im hungry I EAT! #dat trail life My thru-hiking day, really simple: hike 10-11 hours, sleep 8, eat 1-2, read 1-2, enjoy scenery/take pictures, the rest. bottom line, plenty of time to read at least an hour if not two.

[Old Hiker]

Patrick O'Brian has a great 20 volume series about sailing adventures, for easy listening on mp3/wma. Any of Bernard Cornwell books, Sharp series is good as well Azincourt (about the battle of Agincourt).

+1 on Bernard Cornwell - JUST looked up what series he has done to make sure: Richard Sharpe books, Archer's Tale series, Warrior Chronicles, and more. He actually researches the history behind the stories.

I enjoyed going to the Tower of London and seeing the weapons he describes in the Sharpe books.

[CarlZ993]

If you haven't finished reading the book by day 14, turn off the wifi and the book will remain until you connect.
I didn't know that. I normally keep the wifi off. Cool. I can check out 5 books electronically and take my time reading them on my trips.

[Night Train]

Carried the 6oz Kindle with me on a Nov. section hike (Amicolola-Winding Stair Gap) Battery life was fantastic, read it under my headlamp at night with no glare. I read every night, regardless, I'm home,the engine house, or the trail. The Last Of The Mohicans; A narrative of 1757 by James Fenimore Cooper was my choice of read.

[Foresight]

Hi there. What sort of books do you like?

Have you read Call of the American Wild? I read that last week and while it's harsh... it's also amazingly interesting and informative.

I also like Lonesome Dove, Prince of Tides, The Son by Philip Meyer, C. S. Forester's nautical Hornblower series, The Caine Mutiny, True Grit, Kevin Hearne's The Iron Druid series, anything by Orson Scott Card, Brent Weeks' the Night Trilogy (I think that's what it's called), and Stieg Larson's trilogy.

Of that list I would suggest either the Caine Mutiny or Prince of Tides. Or Lonesome Dove. Or True Grit. Crap. I want to go over that list again! Lol.

What are you looking for specifically? I read a lot and I can shamelessly say I go through a book or two a week.

I think I'll buy you a beer. Great list :picturemythumbliftedhere:

[Dogwood]

"Does anyone have recommended reading while on the trail? I've read almost all of the 'hiking' and a lot of the 'outdoor adventure' books as well as a lot of material from naturalists. I was just wondering if there was a books out there that became part of your journey while you were hiking?"

I like Edward Abbey and Jon Kerouac. I've read Desert Solitaire on south western thru-hikes three times now. I don't usually have one book I take with me anymore though. Instead I keep a journal, not so much for the 'I hiked 23 miles today. The weather was sunny. I hiked in 2 ft of snow today' type stuff. I take notes about SSS(Special Scenic Spots, I got that from Tim Ernst), water sources, bushwach shortcuts, ph numbers/contacts, notable overlooks, possible LNT campsites, caves, nicely constructed trail, etc. Most of all, my journals have become about the people I meet and the huge number of sagacious and memorable sayings I come across: engraved on plaques on benches, poems, musings, a memorial, a saying at a library, something someone tells me, something that I feel the Universe(GOD) awakens me to, nature's revelations(what a deer or bear or blade of grass reveals to me), Naturalist quotes at NP/SP/Nat Monument etcVistor Offices, native American wisdom, etc Then at night when I'm in my sleeping bag I reread and ponder all that I was awakened to that day/wk/month, etc.

[Odd Man Out]

I'll bring some Sudoku puzzles.

[whisper walking]

Swashbucklers! Kidnapped, The Three Musketeers, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Robin Hood, The Black Arrow, Ivanhoe...

[Sierra2015]

I think I'll buy you a beer. Great list :picturemythumbliftedhere:
How about a mixed drink? ;)

[Foresight]

As you wish.

[finish9]

Also on mp3/wma Ayn Rand novels Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged are good for the mind on restless nights.

[Matthew82]

Oddly, I find Shakespeare goes well in the backcountry. Also Tolkien.

I had actually thought about bringing my pocket copy of Henry IV or even Merry Wives. Falstaff seems like he'd be entertaining in a tent at night under the glow of a headlamp.

At this moment though I'm thinking Jude the Obscure or perhaps rereading Great Expectations as you can never go wrong with Pip.

[Gonecampn]

http://www.amazon.com/UFOs-Conspiracies-Realities-John-Alexander/dp/B007K4H8VS

LOL ... I've been reading Conspiracies and Secret Societies - The Complete Dossier - Second Edition. Not sure it is one that I would read while on the trail but it is VERY interesting! I carry my Galaxy Note 11 on the trail but only because I have the Kindle app downloaded. I have to read to relax at night :) I read a book on Black Bear attacks while hiking on the Benton MacKaye and I read the book Deaths in Yellowstone while camping in Yellowstone.

[RockDoc]

On my first long AT hike I came across a bearded fellow sitting by the trail reading the Bible.
He made an impression on me. That was in 1969.
The trail is an excellent place to stop and read, almost anything.

[Capt Skivvies]

I carry the black and white Nook. Battery lasts for weeks and it has "glow light " for reading after dark. Works great on the trail and carries both books and magazines.

[Kingbee]

The Spell of the Yukon and Other Verses by Robert Service. Some great poems for the outdoors.

[gpburdelljr]

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen Ambrose
Roughing It, by Mark Twain

[Dogwood]

My mp3 player has a downloadable audi books feature which I've use to brush up my language skills.

Here's what I notice happens more often than not. Someone who hasn't done much hiking often thinks they will be be reading more often than they actually wind up reading. After a while the books wind up left behind in shelters or used to start campfires. I usually have maps and trail logistics to read at night for the following day or two. It's my trail sack homework. Plus, the writing and re-reading of my trail journal a few times a wk keeps me busy. Once I get into town I read even more but lots of local stuff. I have to find out where the music festivals, hip spots, historical sites, natural wonders(arches, caves, gorges, etc), botanical gardens, unusual architectural and art sites are, etc.

[rickb]

C. S. Forester's nautical Hornblower series.
I know you were not asking, but if you are not already familiar with Patrick O'Brian I think you might want to check out his "Master and Commander" series. I think it's great-- but my passion does't hold a candle to that you will find on a dedicated website called www.hmssurprise.org and among hisfans.

[SunnyWalker]

I have a Kindle Fire and have enjoyed it for years. Too heavy for the trail though. Isn't there a lighter new edition? I need to check it out. Like many here I like to read however at night it never works out! Ha, ha! I go to sleep real quick.

[CarlZ993]

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West by Stephen Ambrose
Roughing It, by Mark Twain
Undaunted Courage is a great book. It's amazing what those men went through on their journey.

[Sierra2015]

Whiteblaze has beaten me. I've given into the temptation of editing. :p

[Sierra2015]

All this fire tower talk reminds me of a book I read a couple years ago by Norman Maclean called A River Runs Through It and Other Stories.

When the author was a young man he worked for a forestry service and the last story is an accounting of his experience.

It's so profoundly beautiful.... Words can't describe its perfection.

[perdidochas]

I have a Kindle Fire and have enjoyed it for years. Too heavy for the trail though. Isn't there a lighter new edition? I need to check it out. Like many here I like to read however at night it never works out! Ha, ha! I go to sleep real quick.

The conventional Kindles are lighter than the Kindle Fire. The regular Kindle weighs less than 6 oz. The Kindle Paperwhite (which has a built-in light) is 7.3 oz.

[4eyedbuzzard]

Whiteblaze has beaten me. I've given into the temptation of editing. :p


Last edited by Sierra2015; Today at 14:32.
You edited your post about editing? :-? ;)

[Meriadoc]

Any libraries or used book stores near the trail are my dearest friends. I don't think my pack likes them (the book sources) though since they (the books) tend to pile up.

Anything that catches my eye. Some of my best trail reads:
Mark Twain's Roughing It. His dry sense of humor and wry amusement with society is perfect for the wonderfully minimal trail existence.
The Song of the Bird by Anthony de Mello picked up on a whim but thoroughly changed my life.

[finish9]

Lee Child's series about Jack Reacher are entertaining, easy reading or listening.

[Sierra2015]

Lee Child's series about Jack Reacher are entertaining, easy reading or listening.
Looooooooove Jack Reacher books!

Ever read Micheal Connelly?

[Misery]

I typically like something that is off the wall zany, to counter balance my nice relaxing hike. A really bad sci-fi or a classic like Catch 22, or Hitchhikers Guide usually does well for me. I also like to see what I find in shelters. Its always interesting. I've found some of the worst books ever and also books like Forrest Gump, Jurasic Park, and Mission Impossible

[BuckeyeBill]

Lee Child's series about Jack Reacher are entertaining, easy reading or listening.

+1 on Jack Reacher

[Trainguy]

Looooooooove Jack Reacher books!

Ever read Micheal Connelly?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I3MPDP4?utm_source=Email&utm_medium=Influencer&utm_campaign=Bosch
Enjoy those Harry Bosch stories. Did you know about this??

[Sierra2015]

Oh no.... They're gonna ruin it! First Hollywood took my Jack Reacher, now my Harry Bosch???

[icemanat95]

Jim Butcher's Dresden Chronicles are damned entertaining. How can you go wrong with a story about a real-life wizard running a detective agency in modern Chicago dealing with all the supernatural crap that regular people work so hard to avoid admitting is real? Vampires, werewolves, evil spirits and monsters, insane Sidhe queens, Old Gods, etc. Good stuff.

Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson books (two series based on Greek and then combined Greek and Roman Mythology)
Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles (based on Egyptian Mythology)
Obviously J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books.

The above young adult/juvenile fiction is well written and entertaining for all ages. Lots of good humor balancing the suspense. Thje author wrote the books initially to help his son deal with his difficulties dealing with dyslexia and ADHD explaining that his characters suffered these things because they were demi-god children of Greek gods and goddesses and the ADHD and dyslexia were actually the result of brains hardwired to ancient Greek and reflexes designed to deal with combat and the sudden onslaught of monsters.

Tony Hillerman's Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn books are also excellent.

Bernard Cornwell knows how to write exceptional, historically based adventure stories.

[finish9]

Les Miserables on mp3 is just excellent, the movie not so much.

[Gonecampn]

I absolutely loved the movie "Jack Reacher" just watched in on NetFlix the other week :)

[Gonecampn]

On my first long AT hike I came across a bearded fellow sitting by the trail reading the Bible.
He made an impression on me. That was in 1969.
The trail is an excellent place to stop and read, almost anything.

Agree!! My two FAVORITE hobbies .... hiking & reading :)

[jdc5294]

It's absolutely nothing new here or on the AT, but my favorite book is The Hobbit. I had my iPhone with me and while I wasn't in town it was just a music player. I have fantastic unabridged audiobooks of both The Hobbit and LotR. The story of The Hobbit really resonated with me as I was walking (even though I'd read it/listened to it many times already). Definitely became a source of contemplation about my motivations and other things as I was walking.

[Jebo]

All this fire tower talk reminds me of a book I read a couple years ago by Norman Maclean called A River Runs Through It and Other Stories.

When the author was a young man he worked for a forestry service and the last story is an accounting of his experience.

It's so profoundly beautiful.... Words can't describe its perfection.

A River Runs Through It is also a movie - with a young Brad Pitt. Beautiful scenery.

[futureatwalker]

I've always been a 'read myself to sleep' person ...

How about this: http://www.amazon.com/Bear-Attacks-Causes-Avoidance-revised/dp/158574557X

It might not help you get to sleep though....

[Shakespeare 1990]

I showed up at Springer Mountain with only one small, lightweight paperback edition of Shakespeare's Sonnets. Duffel Bag Tim quickly pronounced my trail name to be Shakespeare. So be careful what you read. It may be what people remember most.


Shakes

[QiWiz]

I've always been a 'read myself to sleep' person and usually have some reading material on backpacking trips. I was thinking about taking my kindle with me on the AT. Does anyone have recommended reading while on the trail? I've read almost all of the 'hiking' and a lot of the 'outdoor adventure' books as well as a lot of material from naturalists. I was just wondering if there was a books out there that became part of your journey while you were hiking?

Winton Porter's "Just Passin' Thru" is a favorite of mine.

[Ricky&Jack]

"Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer is my "Catcher in the rye"

[Hogie]

City of Thieves, Our Final Invention, The Ascent of Money, Creamy and Crunchy, The Evolution of God, Exorbitant Privilege, Immoderate Greatness, The Last Days of the Incas, Nothing Like it in the World, Roadside Picnic. Sorry, I love non fiction! The last one, Roadside Picnic, is an old sci-fi story and a great read!

[Two Tree]

I think Endurance, an amazing true story, is pretty awesome for backpacking. Also in the same vein, Kon-Tiki is pretty interesting too. Also any Jack London is good.

The trail is also a great place to power through some heavier lit. You should have a lot of time to mull it over