View Full Version : Good Reads for Cold Nights
Lots of discussion of Bryson, Fletcher, and other A.T. related books....We all like a good read, especially on long, cold nights....so...what other books outdoor/adventure/travel categories would you recommend to the Whiteblaze Community?
kythruhiker
01-17-2003, 15:49
While it's a bit bulky for a long hike, lately I've been bringing my Jack London compilation, "Tales of the North" along for a good night's read in the tent. It includes the complete novels of White Fang, Sea-Wolf, Call of the Wild, and Cruise of the Dazzler, plus a bunch of short stories.
Lone Wolf
01-17-2003, 15:52
"Murder on the Appalachian Trail" tells the story of the double murder at Wapiti shelter just south of Pearisburg which happened in 1984. The killer was released from prison recently.
I've just started reading Eric Newby's "Short Walk in the Hindu Kush" -- a story about two Brits who, without much training or preparation (actually they read a couple of books) decided to go trekking and climbing in Northern Afghanistan (circa 1956). Its a funny story and well worth the read...
Doug Peacock's "Grizzly Years" about living amongst Grizzly bears is a fascinating story as well...
And. . . most anything by Tim Cahill is a pretty good read.....
The five Leatherstocking tales by James Fennimore Cooper are all pretty respectable. These are the Deerslayer, Last of the Mohicans, the Pathfinder, the Pioneers, and the Prarie. The Pioneers is really a very good book. The rest are entertaining but a bit limited artistically. All are outdoor themed and set in the New England - Mid Atlantic area, except for the Prarie, which takes place in, probably, Nebraska.
smokymtnsteve
01-17-2003, 16:07
anything by EDWARD ABBEY...
my favorites
"down the river"
"black sun"
and of course the classic
"dessert solitare"
Originally posted by Don
....We all like a good read, especially on long, cold nights....so...what other books outdoor/adventure/travel categories would you recommend to the Whiteblaze Community?
How do you read on long, cold nights? I haven't figured that one out. Reading means keeping your arms and shoulders out of the bag, or at least having the top of the bag wide open. Could wear fleece and mittens, but it's hard to turn pages with mittens on. I think my reading limit would be about 45 degrees unless there were a book-holding stand with voice-activated page turning.
kythruhiker
01-17-2003, 17:38
How do you read on long, cold nights?
I am usually on my stomach on top of my sleeping pad, nestled as snug as possible in my sleeping bag. If it's "that" cold, I'm usually still in capilene, and wearing glove liners. Reading is typically the last thing I do at night, after I do any journaling, so once I start to feel the cold, I'll call it a night and zip on up.
Ed
smokymtnsteve
01-17-2003, 19:28
I read under the covers with a flashlight, just liek when I wuz a kid!
maybe I should clarify my question....good reads for the long cold nights sitting by the fire AT HOME enjoying a good read...sheez, everyone is so literal on this site...... All I was asking was for non A.T. related books that others on Whiteblaze would enjoy reading......
For the Fenimore Cooper recomendations, do a GOOGLE search for Mark Twain's "Literary Offenses of James Fenimore Cooper"...its a great review of the Leatherstocking Tales...
Redbeard
01-17-2003, 22:29
The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy is a neccisity before any long journey, and be sure you know where your towel is...
For smokeymtnsteve. . . .
Doug Peacock (see above) was the model for Hayduke in Abbey's Monkey Wrench Gang. . . . . .
smokymtnsteve
01-17-2003, 22:32
doesn't matter if i'm at home or out hiking...
I read under the covers with a flashlight, just liek when I wuz a kid!
kythruhiker
01-17-2003, 22:34
Originally posted by smokymtnsteve
doesn't matter if i'm at home or out hiking...
I read under the covers with a flashlight, just liek when I wuz a kid!
same for me, although the gf gets a bit irritated at the sleeping bag in the bed....
Redbeard
01-18-2003, 10:46
Why is it the outfitter in Damascus has every E Abbey book but The Monkeywrench Gang? I believe some of his books run in a series, what's a good first book of his to read?
smokymtnsteve
01-18-2003, 18:02
ALL of Abbey's books are great..
"The Best of Edward Abbey" is a good place to start....
I like "down the river" which is a collection of essays ...
"Desert Solitaire" is THE classic...this book includes his polemic on INDUSTRIAL tourism.. A MUST READ!!!
"Black SUN" a tale of romance between a young girl and an older fire lookout ranger...makes me want to spend yet another season volunteering in the park ... but not the first abbey you should read. (it is suppossed to be fiction but he gives too many details) a TRUE LOVE story...an eviro-romance....
"BEYOND THE WALL" older abbey ....better to get to know ed first.
"one life at a time please" yes, please but once is never enough!...bring on the vultures!
while I enjoy abbey's fictional (MAYBE) works "the monkey wrench gang" and Hayduke lives...I find his non-fiction better...who was this edward abbey and where is he now that we NEED him so badly???!!!???
Bad Ass Turtle
01-18-2003, 22:45
Several times, I picked up books in shelters and carried them with me, dropping them off at the next shelter. Granted, some of the books I found in the shelters were not the best literature . . .
but I did get to read _Contact_ and to re-read several of the Lord of the Rings books. Now, I know, there's a movie out and it's all hot stuff now, but I have to say that those books are great to read while hiking. Throughout all three books, and in the Hobbit as well, people are constantly hiking, trying to find food, carrying heavy loads, etc. Sort of a mirror for a thru-hiker's existence -- except that the characters are fighting evil and the end of the world. Anyway, I enjoyed them . . .
BAT
Redbeard
01-18-2003, 23:26
I read an article somewhere on Edward Abbey, apparently he was a redneck who liked to throw his beer cans out the window of his pickup, because "beer cans are beutifull, it's the highway that's ugly." The article also mentioned he got the idea for the Monkeywrench gang from his own adventures taking a chainsaw to billboards on the highway, he had watched the interstate system being built as a kid and it pissed him off.
smokymtnsteve
01-18-2003, 23:45
sold sold sold..says ed abbey.....down the river..
also includes a discusion of henri thoreau's sex life..
you may like abbeys book DOWN THE RIVER..there was a lot more to ed abbey than meets the eye..also read desert solitaire.
monkey wrench gang is a very popular book of abbeys along with hayduke lives ...i like the character SELDOM SEEN SMITH..but abbeys nonfiction is my favorite..abbey was also one cultured dude...he loved the bars of hoboken new jersey...
look quit playing on this computer and read some abbey..ok!@!
Redbeard
01-19-2003, 00:34
okaaaay...jeepers!;)
Trail Yeti
01-19-2003, 02:03
Don't forget Abbey's Road, A Fool's Progress, One Life at a Time Please....etc, etc, etc
Matter of fact, my little signature quote is by him....its from Desert Solitaire.
If you're interested in Abbey's life or work.... a good place to start exploring is http://www.abbeyweb.net/abbey.html.
"Industrial Tourism" is a good background read for the discussion on Endangered Parks taking place elsewhere on Whiteblaze..I agree that Abbey's fiction is not great, but the impact of "Money Wrecnh Gang" as a manifesto or action plan for groups like Earth First and other radical environmentalists has been enormous...
Jumpstart
01-19-2003, 19:21
For Fantasy fans; I Read, re-read, and then re-read AGAIN the Lord of the Rings on the trail this year. Lots of nature themes in his work, was soothing to have some good reading after a long day. Also, lots of opportunites to trade books with other hikers along the way....
EarlyRiser
01-19-2003, 20:09
Walden, is a very good read by Thoreau.
i also agree with hitchhikers guides, a very fun series.
Deerslayer was an interesting view of life around French and Indian war times.
steve hiker
02-21-2003, 19:58
Two outstanding outdoor books I would recommend to anybody:
Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, by Alfred Lansing.
This is an incredible read. Tells of Shackelton's voyage to Antarctica in 1914 and his long trek back to civilization after his ship was destroyed in the pack ice. He and his crew spent much of six months on ice flows. What really stands out in the book is the incredible leadership of Shackelton under tremendous pressure. He consistently made sound decisions on a daily basis, and didn't lose a single member of his crew (if I remember correctly).
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/078670621X/qid=1045871365/sr=5-1/ref=cm_lm_asin/104-1464668-0123923?v=glance
The Long Walk, by Slavomir Rawicz.
Tells the true story of a Russian political prisoner who escaped a Siberian labor camp and literally walked to India. He walked through Siberia, the Mongolian deserts, Tibet, and through passes in the Himalayas to British India. If you think the A.T. is a tough hike ....
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1558216847/ref%3Dpd%5Fsim%5Fbooks/104-1464668-0123923
DRRouner
02-21-2003, 22:36
Sharyn Mccrumb has written several novels which the settings are in the southern appalachains, some even incorperate the AT. in the plot.
illininagel
02-21-2003, 23:23
I enjoyed the long distance walking books by Peter Jenkins (Walk Across America). Also, I just read "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer. Kind of an interesting book about a man didn't live to tell his story about his wilderness adventure in Alaska.
I also enjoyed an older book about the AT by David Brill called "As Far as the Eye Can See." And, of course, "A Walk in the Woods" was very entertaining.
Streamweaver
02-22-2003, 00:37
Heres two good books ive read this winter for the umteenth time
1. North To Cree lake, By A.L. Karras
This is the true story of two young brothers (The auther and his older brother) and a freind from Southern Canada heading to the north woods to live as Trappers for several seasons.
2.The North Runner,by R.D. Lawrence
Another true story about The author and a Half wolf/half Alaskan Malamute He bought soon after moving to his new homestead in British Columbia. At first the dog is mean as cat crap!! But Lawrence wins him over and the two have some great adventures traviling the north woods. Streamweaver
smokymtnsteve
02-22-2003, 11:51
Edward Abbey RULES!!!!