Watchoo Readin', You Crazy Literate Hiker, You? [Archive]

Programbo

01-29-2007, 21:56

I am an avid reader and often read for a hour in bed each night before going to sleep...I tend to prefer true crime or history books..Right now I`m re-reading, "The Search for the Green River Killer"....It was written BEFORE they developed the DNA testing that eventually led to the arrest of Gary Ridgeway in 2001 so this book is interesting because it mentions a number of possible suspects (Not by name since they were just "possible" suspects back then) and a lot of the evidence they had back in the 1980`s clearly pointed at Ridgeway as the killer....I`m also reading "Americans on Everest" about the first summit of Everest by US climbers in 1963..It`s as thick as a phone book!...But it`s fun to look back to how hard Everest was to climb before guided tours and bridges and ladders were in place...It literally took an army of 100`s to put a team on top and that took weeks to accomplish

Dances with Mice

01-29-2007, 21:57

Just finished The Measure of All Things (http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?isbn=074321675X&sid=33), about two French surveyor/astronomer geeks who went on a mathematical adventure. Even as the Napoleanic war was going on all around them, they climbed mountains to survey an imaginary line. And other geeks may find the error analysis interesting, I used principles first uncovered as a result of this work just last week in Corinth, Mississippi to determine the if the amount of ultraviolet stabilizer added to a material met product specifications. And I can say that I'm 99.999% sure that it did.

And since I was in Corinth, I'm now reading about Shiloh (http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=3&pid=408001). At the industrial site in Corinth where I was at there is a cannonball on display that was found when they built the mill. To complete my history of Corinth I guess I next need to read about Sheriff Buford (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buford_Pusser). Or maybe just listen to the DBT's Dirty South (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dirty_South_%28album%29), tracks 8, 9, and 10.

The Scribe

01-29-2007, 21:58

"A Walk Across China" by Peter Jenkins. Just finished his book "Looking for Alaska" recently. Makes me wanna go there.

Frolicking Dinosaurs

01-29-2007, 22:09

I just read the Political forum - its got everything... drama, fiction, history, biography, humor and the occasional good murder mystery :D

ImkerVS

01-29-2007, 22:17

Just finished Shadow of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. Sort of a new old style novel, pretty good. Translated from Spanish.

Skidsteer

01-29-2007, 22:18

Ecclesiastes.

I grok the author. He's fond of saying things like "Vanity! All is vanity! So go hiking and screw off while you can, schmuck." (Okay, I'm paraphrasing.)

dixicritter

01-29-2007, 22:19

By the time I finish reading posts on WB my eyes are exhausted. ;)

Trillium

01-29-2007, 22:29

Easy to guess my answer to the poll because I am currently reading
The Bureau and the Mole: The Unmasking of Robert Philip Hanssen, the Most Dangerous Double Agent in FBI History

rafe

01-29-2007, 22:30

Just finished Vonnegut's "A Man Without a Country" (an anthology.) Stuff by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Iain Pears, Bill Bryson and Ryan Jordan. What's Jon Krakauer up to? Anything by Krakauer. Still exhausted from Stephenson's "Baroque Cycle."

Desert Lobster

01-29-2007, 22:42

Anybody would need a bag of peanuts while reading that Jimmy Carter book.

Fannypack

01-29-2007, 22:49

"1947, When All Hell Broke Loose in Baseball: the Year Jackie Robinson Broke the Color Barrier" by Red Barber

Socrates

01-29-2007, 22:51

I've got "Philosophy for Dummies". Interesting different ways to look at life... But there's no category for my book so I can't vote.

Kerosene

01-29-2007, 23:08

I just started Quicksilver (http://www.amazon.com/Quicksilver-Baroque-Cycle-Vol-1/dp/0060593083/sr=8-1/qid=1170126496/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-0601609-0797408?ie=UTF8&s=books), the first volume in the Baroque Cycle trilogy by Neal Stephenson. I've read a bunch of his other stuff and really like the way he writes, although the setting for these books is different from his typical sci-fi topics.

The General

01-29-2007, 23:10

Jan Liteshoe's 2003 AT Thru Hike Journal. Very good reading.

Chaco Taco

01-29-2007, 23:12

Stalengrad The Fateful Siege

Mags

01-29-2007, 23:18

THE SAVAGE WARS OF PEACE: Small Wars and the Rise of American Power by Max Boot

http://www.amazon.com/Savage-Wars-Peace-American-Power/dp/0465007201

The book, as the title states, focuses less on the "big wars" of mass conscript citizen-soliders (e.g. US Civil War, WW1, WW2) and focuses on the smaller conflicts fought that often lead to where we are today. The Boxer-Rebellion, The "Banana Wars", (and the one I am most curious to read about) the Filipino Insurrection, etc. that were fought with professional, usually career, soliders.

For some reason, this book seems appropos. :)

Sly

01-29-2007, 23:26

The Places In Between by Rory Stewart

http://www.amazon.com/Places-Between-Rory-Stewart/dp/0156031566/sr=8-1/qid=1170127414/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6275219-9799004?ie=UTF8&s=books

Jan LiteShoe

01-29-2007, 23:27

"Beekeeping For Dummies."
LOL. I kid you not.
Highly appropriate.
:)

Before that a book of Barbara Kingsolver essays, "Small Wonder."

Jan LiteShoe

01-29-2007, 23:28

Thanks, General!
:)

Skidsteer

01-29-2007, 23:34

Jan LiteShoe

01-29-2007, 23:38

emerald

01-29-2007, 23:52

Recently finshed titles include Shades of Gray by Carolyn Reeder, recommended to me by WhiteBlaze.net's own Paul Bunyan.

Wrapping up The China Study while I begin 1776 by David McCullough. May finish the latter before the former at the rate I'm going.

Next book? Watching this list for suggestions.

map man

01-29-2007, 23:52

I'm reading "Kingdom of Shadows" by Alan Furst. He writes spy novels set in WWII and just before. He's good -- this is the fourth book of his I've read. I really like John LeCarre's cold war novels ("Smiley's Peolple", etc.) but his post-cold war books don't do it for me as much. Furst is the first really good espionage writer I've found since LeCarre. It's sobering for an American to read Furst's novels (he's also American) because it's so obvious what appalling things are going down or about to go down in the late thirties over in Europe and America mostly sat on its hands until December of 1941. The last Furst novel I read had a mention of a real (not fictional) ship with almost a thousand jews aboard that managed to get out of Germany in 1939. No country, including the USA, would take them. The ship sat off the coast of Florida until FDR said "we're not taking you", and they had to go back to Germany. Very sobering.

For the couple people who have mentioned Neal Stephenson, he was in my class all the way from elementary school through high school. Nice guy. His mom was my cub scout den mother! That's my close encounter with someone famous in the book world -- that and the time I dog sat for Jane Smiley for a week;) .

freefall

01-29-2007, 23:53

The Kokopelli Journals by Laura Giannini

-and-

Essentials of Oceanography

-and-

Geosystems- physical geography

-and-

American History from 1865

-and-

Russian For Dummies

TinAbbey

01-30-2007, 00:22

the last of the donkey pilgrims

ANHINGA

01-30-2007, 00:29

I just finished David Quammen's The Reluctant Mr. Darwin (2006) and am now dividing time between E. O. Wilson's The Future of Life (2002) and rereading John McPhee's delightful Oranges (1966).

jambalaya

01-30-2007, 00:56

I liked Quicksilver... though I found it a bit too long (don't usually invest that kind of time in a novel, unless it's really earth-shattering). Haven't put forth the effort to finish the "Cycle". Instead I read Elmore Leonard's "Get Shorty". That was some harmless fun. Oh, and the other day I finished "Fat Land" -- about why Americans are so fat. I didn't pick any of these books, actually -- they just sort of came into my life.

bfitz

01-30-2007, 01:06

I liked Quicksilver... though I found it a bit too long (don't usually invest that kind of time in a novel, unless it's really earth-shattering). Haven't put forth the effort to finish the "Cycle".
Snow Crash was great, haven't read anything else by NS yet.

Currently reading "Guns of the South" by Harry Turtledove

Jimmers

01-30-2007, 01:06

The Rising Tide by Michael Shaara. It's a novel set in WW II, pretty much the same style as his books about the Civil War. It's just ok, but that may be because I've read so many WWII books by now I feel like I should be writing them. Anyone that liked his other books will probably like this too.

Also reread Neal Stephenson's Cryptinomicon for the 3rd time. It's just that good. Comeon, try and work WWII code breakers and modern day computer hackers into the same novel! :D

rafe

01-30-2007, 01:08

Also reread Neal Stephenson's Cryptinomicon for the 3rd time. It's just that good. Comeon, try and work WWII code breakers and modern day computer hackers into the same novel! :D

Cryptonomicon three times? Why then, you're ready (or overdue) for the Baroque Cycle.

bfitz

01-30-2007, 01:17

Next on my list is a "repairman Jack" novel "Host" by F. Paul Wilson, These are good.

http://www.repairmanjack.com/index2.html

RedneckRye

01-30-2007, 04:11

The Jokes Over by Ralph Steadman. He illustrated most everything Hunter S. Thompson wrote and has done many other books. This one is about his lives and times in the USofA wwith Hunter. Wow.

RedneckRye

01-30-2007, 04:18

Also "Best of Hustler: The Young Ones Volume 14", which I just got in the mail from Jester yesterday. Strangely I can only open it up to 3 or 4 different pages. It is an interesting book, but the pictures are kind of big and there isn't a lot of text.:banana
Hooray for the dancing banana.

NolanBarry

01-30-2007, 04:40

America Gods by Neil Gaimen. Awesome read. it's my third time reading it, I suggest everyone here give it a chance.

Marta

01-30-2007, 07:53

I'm still working through the Terry Pratchett Discworld books. My daughter suggested reading them during The Hike. Last night I finished "Witches Abroad."

But...I'm taking a break from Terry Pratchett to reread "A Walk in the Woods." It's an effort to combat Springer Fever...

MOWGLI

01-30-2007, 08:12

I'm reading Jawbreaker: The Attack on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda: A Personal Account by the CIA's Key Field Commander by Gary Berntsen. I've been disappointed thus far. Having read two amazing books about Afghanistan in the past 6 weeks (The Looming Tower & The Places in Between), its not very fair to compare Berntsen's book to those.

On the fiction side, I finished Steinbeck's East of Eden about 2 weeks ago. That was a really great read. Not as good as Grapes of Wrath, but pretty darn good. Tortilla Flat by Steinbeck is on deck.

I highly recommend The Places In Between by Rory Stewart. It's a book about a guy who walks across Afghanistan in the winter only a few months after the fall of the Taliban. The NY Times had listed it as one of the top 5 non-fiction books of 2006. Its out in paperback, and is light enough to carry in your pack - unless your a total gram weenie.

wallace

01-30-2007, 08:51

Just finished "Miles From Nowhere" by Barbara Savage. It's about a round the world bicycle journey. This is the kind of book that hikers are likely to enjoy. I'm now reading "I am Charlotte Simmons" by Tom Wolfe.

Marta

01-30-2007, 09:28

Just finished "Miles From Nowhere" by Barbara Savage. It's about a round the world bicycle journey.

"Miles From Nowhere" is one of my all-time favorites.

clicker

01-30-2007, 09:33

Cash Autobiography, and Liseys Storey by King.

guthook

01-30-2007, 09:36

I started "Walking The Applachian Trail," but couldn't make it halfway through. Now I'm on to "Life of Pi," and I'm not sure what next. Maybe "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," or something by T.C. Boyle. Maybe Stephenson based on the reviews here.
Man, I really love being able to read for entertainment rather than necessity (just got out of college. yay!).

1azarus

01-30-2007, 09:42

Here's a book written by a serious mountain climber turned man with a mission... really inspiring.
Three Cups of Tea
One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time
By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
VIKING Hardcover 2006 / PENGUIN Paperback 2007
New York Times Best Seller 2006
Time Magazine - Asian 'Book of The Year' 2006
Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book Award 2006Banff Mountain Book Award Finalist 2006

so, on a way lower brow note, mostly i've been reading Lee Childs novels about a vagrant former army intelligence officer...

Gadog430

01-30-2007, 09:43

Persuasion by Jane Austen.

Dawg

humunuku

01-30-2007, 09:43

"The Birthplace of Winds" by Jon Bowermaster. He and 3 others explored the Island of 4 Mountains (some Aleutian Islands) a few years back (via sea kayak). It was done for National Geographic and they're making a film from all his sea kayak adventures... the picts are unreal. Go to www.jonbowermaster.com and click on oceans 8 for a video preview - it'll make you want to go somewhere-very far away

Jan LiteShoe

01-30-2007, 09:49

For the couple people who have mentioned Neal Stephenson, he was in my class all the way from elementary school through high school. Nice guy. His mom was my cub scout den mother! That's my close encounter with someone famous in the book world -- that and the time I dog sat for Jane Smiley for a week;) .

Charles Frazier was my neighbor in Raleigh, NC for awhile in the nineties. Then we both moved, for widely divergent financial reasons.
:)
To put this on topic, I enjoyed his "Thirteen Moons" over Christmas, an epic set in the Cherokee area of NC, and near the AT.

Alligator

01-30-2007, 10:42

Principles of Geographic Information Systems.

Missing Data.

Ten Little Dinosaurs.

Curious George.

Hippos Go Beserk.

MOWGLI

01-30-2007, 10:44

Principles of Geographic Information Systems.

Missing Data.

Ten Little Dinosaurs.

Curious George.

Hippos Go Beserk.

What? No Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown? :eek:

Alligator

01-30-2007, 10:53

What? No Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown? :eek:As a matter of fact, that too. We had to borrow it from the library, our copy disintegrated:) .

Micky

01-30-2007, 10:58

Flags of our Father. by James Bradley
An Innocent Man. by John Grisham
Trail Journals.

Littlest Hobo

01-30-2007, 11:11

The Places In Between by Rory Stewart

http://www.amazon.com/Places-Between-Rory-Stewart/dp/0156031566/sr=8-1/qid=1170127414/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6275219-9799004?ie=UTF8&s=books

Great book. His follow up "Prince of the Marshes" was also very good.

Interesting thread. May want to list the types of books one brings while backpacking. Criteria?

Light(ish) - maybe under 300 pages
Books to do with walking or wilderness in general.
Other?

For me, "Into the Wild" was a great one.

MOWGLI

01-30-2007, 11:15

The Places In Between by Rory Stewart

http://www.amazon.com/Places-Between-Rory-Stewart/dp/0156031566/sr=8-1/qid=1170127414/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-6275219-9799004?ie=UTF8&s=books

I think I recommended that to you a few weeks ago Sly. What do you think? How does it square with your memories of Afghanistan?

moondoggy

01-30-2007, 11:24

Lost Trails and Forgotten People: The story of Jones Mountain
By Tom Floyd of tha PATC....
We rented the Jones Mountain Cabin for a weekend in March. I thought I'd grab the book get familiar with the place before we went...
Just started it last night....so far very interesting...colorful history from Indians to Moonshiners

D'Artagnan

01-30-2007, 11:45

"GIMP" by Mark Zupan (The guy from "Murderball") This book is awesome and I highly recommend it and the film.

"Hannibal Rising" by Thomas Harris (A little slow)

"The River of Doubt" by Candice Millard (Biographical account of TR)

"Forever Odd" by Dean Koontz -- I liked "Odd Thomas" and received a copy of "Brother Odd" (the third in the series) for Christmas, so I had to fill in the gap.

"Theodore Rex" by Edmund Morris (Bio of TR)

These are just a few that I'm reading now. I have a short attention span, what can I say?

Desert Lobster

01-30-2007, 12:08

Currently reading 5 books with a military bent:

"The Rebel Yell and the Yankee Hurrah" by Private John Haley

"The Real War: 1914-1918" by Liddell Hart

"With Lawrence in Arabia" by Lowell Thomas

"The German Generals Talk" by Liddell Hart

"Stalingrad" by Antony Beevor

The Solemates

01-30-2007, 12:24

Furlough

01-30-2007, 12:30

The Prince of the Marshes by Rory Stewart. His story of his time in Iraq working for the CPA. Just finished his book The Places in Between about his walk across Afghanistan shortly after we defeated the Taliban.

Furlough

L Tee

01-30-2007, 13:06

Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies: Issue by Issue Responses to the Most Common Claims of the Left from A to Z (http://www.amazon.com/Conservative-Comebacks-Liberal-Lies-Responses/dp/0977227901/sr=1-1/qid=1170176741/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-3426331-7290354?ie=UTF8&s=books)

Gregg Jackson

bfitz

01-30-2007, 13:27

ImkerVS

01-30-2007, 13:33

[quote=Jan LiteShoe;312660]"Beekeeping For Dummies."
LOL. I kid you not.
Highly appropriate.
:)

Alright. I'm in Unicoi and a beekeeper (Imker= beekeeper in German & Dutch)

Dancer

01-30-2007, 14:04

"Between a Rock and a Hard Place" by Aaron somebody. Kind of the life story and adventures of the guy out west that got trapped in a canyon for like a week and had to cut his arm off. It's really interesting. I can't remember his name and the book is at home. Oh well.

Buckles

01-30-2007, 14:59

"Ethics for the New Millennium" by His Holiness The Dalai Lama

"Banker to the Poor - Micro-lending and the Battle Against World Poverty" by Muhammad Yunnus (founder of the Grameen Bank)

"The Elementary Particles" by Michel Houellebecq

"The Last Season" by Eric Blehm

Mags

01-30-2007, 15:23

America Gods by Neil Gaimen. Awesome read. it's my third time reading it, I suggest everyone here give it a chance.

It is indeed an excellent read!

The plotline of the book is basically the "old gods" that the immigrants throughout the years brought over with them, be it by stories or beliefs (e.g Norse gods, the Indian pantheon, etc.,) have seen much better days as the belief wanes.

The new gods that Americans' believe in (the geek god Internet, the perfectly coifed goddess of Media, etc.) want to wipe out the old gods once and for all. They are powerful and want no competition.

But the book is not about the war per se', but is about a "road trip" exploring America's ever changing beliefs.

THe obvious inspiration for this book is Harlan Ellison's "Deathbird Stories". These stories that had a similar theme. America Gods though is in novel format...and makes a VERY engrossing read.

FWIW: A movie is being made about Gaiman's book Stardust. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486655/

Gaiman is also authoring the screenplay version of Beowulf. Yeah, I am just a little bit a fan of Gaiman. :)

woodsy

01-30-2007, 15:24

THE MEASURE OF A MOUNTAIN
Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier
Bruce Barcott 1997

History and tales , just getting into it.

Cuffs

01-30-2007, 15:26

Do audio books (books on cd) count? If so, Im "reading" Deception Point by Dan Brown.

Dances with Mice

01-30-2007, 15:29

Product specifications. But I've run into an ethical problem.

This lamp (http://ylighting.com/globallbasic.html?gtse=goog&keyword=glo-ball&gclid=CJG4vtHuiIoCFQ30JAodXkSSQQ) comes with either a 1 X 100W T10 double envelope halogen bulb for model Basic 1, 1 X 150W T10 halogen double envelope bulb for model Basic 2. Both have a die-cast aluminum threaded ring nut with alodine plating finish.

See the problem? If I go for the 150W T10 halogen double envelope bulb in model Basic 2, won't it generate more heat? Perhaps not, since the two units are different sizes, Basic 1 is 12.9" dia., while Basic 2 is 17.7" (... and people ask why we need the metric system ...). But how do I calculate which lamp will get hotter?

I'd really hate to contribute to Glo-ball warming.

Mags

01-30-2007, 15:37

Just finished Evidence for Chrisitianity (http://www.amazon.com/Evidence-Christianity-Josh-McDowell/dp/1418506281/sr=1-10/qid=1170173877/ref=sr_1_10/102-7586334-6957705?ie=UTF8&s=books) last night. It was a good review of the different historical and current biblical criticisms and the corresponding rebuttals. I give it 3.5/5 stars.

Funny you should mention this book. My next book "on deck" could be considered the mirror image of the above.

The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins.

Dawkins is best known for the seminal classic on evolution The Blind Watchmaker.

Dawkins can be very strident, and I do not accept his hypothesis (as stated in articles) that religion will die out.

I think it may evolve (wrong choice of word? :) ) into a different form they we now know, but the desire to believe is strong. But, he is an excellent author and I am sure his book will give food for thought. A very good friend of mine just gave it to me as "thank you" gift. He and I have similar view points on many subjects. He also loved the book. So, I think there is a good chance I will enjoy it, too.

But, I haven't even cracked open the book yet, so I can not give a review one way or another.

(Please note: I am not trying to argue one way or another about the existene of a supreme being. Just funny how my next book mirrors the one SM is reading. So please no religious debates! :) I'm not directing this comment to SM, just to EVERYONE. I know this topic can be controversial to say the least. So lets avoid an arguement if we can. :) Thanks!)

StarLyte

01-30-2007, 15:47

I am reading and memorizing the Appalachian Trail data book.

It is important for Trail Angels to know the distance(s) between trailheads for shuttling purposes and slackpacking.

There's got to be a better way. I suppose a thru hike would help. Sectioning doesn't do it.

I have a library. Of books I've read. I haven't read a book in 2 years. I've been too busy. Can't sit still.

The Solemates

01-30-2007, 15:51

Mags: I am aware of Dawkins. I am also a scientist who is a Christian.

1 Cor 2:14

Jack Tarlin

01-30-2007, 15:55

rafe

01-30-2007, 16:10

Dawkins can be very strident, and I do not accept his hypothesis (as stated in articles) that religion will die out.

Dawkins is strident. For sure! That's what I like about him. ;) Ditto for Sam Harris.

Mags

01-30-2007, 16:10

quote=The Solemates;313050]Mags: I am aware of Dawkins. I am also a scientist who is a Christian.

1 Cor 2:14[/quote]

Hi SM!

As mentioned, I was not aiming the post at you. Also, I really don't want to get into a religious debate.

Thanks!

woodsy

01-30-2007, 16:14

[quote=Jack Tarlin

Just started Thomas Desjardin's "Through a Howling Wilderness: Benedict Arnold's March on Quebec, 1775. I don't think 'll EVER complain about hiking in Maine ever again.[/quote]

What's the matter Jack, don't like the idea of eating your own boots?

Mags

01-30-2007, 16:25

Dawkins is strident. For sure! That's what I like about him. ;) Ditto for Sam Harris.

I am an opionated bastard myself..which is probably why I like him. :) Still, he is not everyone's taste. Which is why I mentioned it in my preview.

(Kinda like the Northeast humor I know and love. Some people call it "sarcastic SOBs"....I say "why yes! That's why it is so good! :D)

DawnTreader

01-30-2007, 16:38

Lost Mountain: A year in the vanishing willderness by Erik Reece. Its about the devestation of strip mining in Appalachia..

WalkinHome

01-30-2007, 16:47

Am reading Notes From A Small Island by guess who, Bill Bryson. Not a bad tome but also nothing to write home about. This is actually research as Janice and I are going to spend the summer across the big pond in the British Isles. Will now run to my bunker to protect me from the incoming nukes LOL.

P.S. hey bfitz, I dig Repairman Jack too (no relation to our BJ.)

maxNcathy

01-30-2007, 16:47

Disappearance of the Universe by Gary Renard.
If you ever get to thinking, "there must be a better way..." this book is for you.

D'Artagnan

01-30-2007, 16:48

Do audio books (books on cd) count? If so, Im "reading" Deception Point by Dan Brown.

Good book -- after "Da Vinci", I had to go back and read all his work. This one was one of my favorites.

Skidsteer

01-30-2007, 19:55

Just finished Stanley Weintraub's "Silent Night", which is about the Christmas Truce of 1914.

Just started Thomas Desjardin's "Through a Howling Wilderness: Benedict Arnold's March on Quebec, 1775. I don't think 'll EVER complain about hiking in Maine ever again.

Have you seen the movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424205/) Jack? We watched it over Christmas and I really enjoyed it.

Jester2000

01-30-2007, 20:23

Hippos Go Beserk.

Have just finished rereading "But Not the Hippopatamus." Excellent.

"Between a Rock and a Hard Place" by Aaron somebody.

That would be Aron Ralston for those keeping score. A book that proves that you too could make some money off of a horrible situation, if only you were dumb enough to put yourself in a horrible situation.

[COLOR=black]Product specifications.

Well that's just sad.

I am reading and memorizing the Appalachian Trail data book.

StarLyte is nuts.

Am reading Notes From A Small Island . . .This is actually research as Janice and I are going to spend the summer across the big pond in the British Isles.

Ray, how could you?

Also "Best of Hustler: The Young Ones Volume 14". . .

I would recommend reading page 32, but I just remembered that I still have it.

Interesting thread. May want to list the types of books one brings while backpacking. . .For me, "Into the Wild" was a great one.

Um, that would be a great idea. On another thread. But I agree with you about "Into the Wild."

Man, I'm getting a great list together of books I want to read. You guys rock.

Oh, I guess I should give my own, since I started this thing. Just finished "The Real Animal House" by Chris Miller. Not bad, I suppose. Takes place in Hanover.

Also just completed the Bourne series by Ludlum (good), and am now reading "The Cloudspotter's Guide" by Gavin Pretor-Pinney (excellent)(so far).

OrionTheRanger

01-30-2007, 20:36

The War of The Worlds by H.G. Wells. Kind of hard to follow. THe book is very...whats the word...wordy.

Booley

01-30-2007, 20:51

"Fire" by Sebastian Junger. Didn't know so much happened in Kosovo. Great read!

Mother Nature

01-30-2007, 21:06

Reading "All that glitters:The Life and Times of Joe Ladue". (Founder of Dawson City in the Yukon Territory) This biography traces the life and times of my Grandfather's Uncle Joe in the Black Hills of Dakota and into the Yukon Territory in the 1870s chronicling the lives of gold miners and their families.

Just finished read the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Novel begins in Afghanistan with the son of a weathy man and the friendship with a servant's son. I didn't think I would like the book and found in the end that I couldn't put it down. It's not a story of the Taliban or the war. Violence and war factor in the story but it is more about the relationships of two families.

Planning on rereading Last of the Mohegans next.

Mother Nature

trlhiker

01-30-2007, 21:15

In the Shadow of Denali by Jonathan Waterman. Before this I read: On The Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgramage by Robert Alden Ruben

dragonfly

01-30-2007, 21:22

Eldest by Christopher Paolini (by request of my daughter) and Following the Equator by Mark Twain.

map man

01-30-2007, 23:37

Jack Tarlin, that book on Arnold's expedition to Quebec you are reading reminds me that I read a fictional account of that campaign by Kenneth Roberts, called "Arundel," a few years back. I remember it as being an entertaining way to learn a little history.

In the same vein, I am just now listening to a book on tape for the first time -- I thought it would make the half hour on the exercise bike go a little quicker, and I wanted something light. I'm listening to C. S. Forester's "Mr. Midshipman Hornblower," one of many in the Horatio Hornblower series. Set in England's naval campaign against Napoleon, it really is entertaining, but it's also surprisingly poignant at times and has more realistic touches than I expected.

On my lunch hour at work (I work in a library) I've been reading a book called "The Altruism Equation" by Lee Alan Dugatkin. It's about the history of people in the world of science trying to reconcile altruism with Natural Selection. I've just started it, and it seems like an interesting topic, but so far it's a little repetitive.

A non-fiction book I recently finished that I can recommend enthusiastically, though, is Charles C. Mann's "1491." It's his attempt to synthesize recent scholarship in anthropology, sociology and history on what the cultures in the Americas were like just before Columbus. There is a lot of disagreement in this field, which the writer acknowledges, but he makes a pretty good case that the cultures here were quite a bit more sophisticated than had previously been thought. He also makes a convincing argument that the degree to which small pox and other diseases depopulated and weakened these cultures (it spread like wildfire from Columbus'es first contact so that it had already had quite an effect before Cortez, for instance, even landed) has been underestimated in the past. Lots of interesting stuff in this book.

Lone Wolf

01-31-2007, 06:58

Speaking of books, author Sidney Sheldon passed away yesterday.

Jimmers

01-31-2007, 07:20

Don't worry. Death doesn't seem to stop the publishers from cranking out books long after the author's gone.:rolleyes: Louis Lamour, Robert Ludlum, V.C. Andrews, all of them "wrote" books long after their death. I'm sure Jester could think of many more. Since I quit working at a bookstore I've forgotten so much. (not a bad thing):D

the_iceman

01-31-2007, 07:25

Ernest Shackleton - South (http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/History/south/south_shackleton_preface.htm)

A great read

MOWGLI

01-31-2007, 07:45

Looking at the many books everyone is reading, I can only come to the conclusion that we're an interesting bunch.

K0OPG

01-31-2007, 09:00

The original Appalachian Trail hiking books (two volumes) and

Let my people go surfing by Yvon Chouinard

Outlaw

01-31-2007, 09:06

Just completed The Innocent Man by John Grisham. This is Grisham's first non-fictional work. It is very well written, albeit heavy, upsetting and very disturbing.

It is about what I call "the Injustice System." As a practicing attorney, I can only say that this book has caused me great distress. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but I hope The Weasel has an opportunity to read it.

Kudos to Grisham for beautifully writing an informative and thought provoking work.

Spirit Walker

01-31-2007, 13:13

I usually have more than one book going at a time. I read according to my moods and the intensity of what I'm reading. At the moment I am in the middle of "My Wilderness - East to Katahdin" by William O. Douglas; I've almost finished "The Essential Grizzly" by Doug Peacock, and I just started a mystery by Margaret Maron. All are good, though I've read better books on grizzlies. This one touches a lot of issues but fairly superficially. Still, I learned a little.

MOWGLI

01-31-2007, 13:30

Cuffs

01-31-2007, 14:01

Good book -- after "Da Vinci", I had to go back and read all his work. This one was one of my favorites.

Thats exactly what Im doing! Next is Angels and Demons (which, BTW, is in movie production!)

D'Artagnan

01-31-2007, 14:05

Thats exactly what Im doing! Next is Angels and Demons (which, BTW, is in movie production!)

For my money, A&D was WAAAY better than DaVinci. Wish I'd read it first.

Gadog430

01-31-2007, 14:24

Is Angels & Demons the one set at the Vatican? If so, the part about flying into the river at the end made the rest of the book COMPLETELY unbelievable. Yuck.

I don't know my opinion of Dan Brown yet. I liked and disliked both books of his that I have read. I read Davinci first. But the flying part made me suspicious of further efforts, so I haven't read anything else of his.

But I would just like to say that in the movie, Ian McKellan was perfect. And my name is Rosalyn...so the Davinci code was really somewhat about me...jus' sayin'.

Hmmmmmmmmm.

Dawg

For my money, A&D was WAAAY better than DaVinci. Wish I'd read it first.

Mags

01-31-2007, 14:27

Regarding Peacock's book? WOuld you recommend it?

Friend of mine saw Peacock fairly recently. Wish I'd known. Would have love to see the original Hayduke in person! :)

Hey..still coming to Boulder in 2 weeks or so? We gotta have that cup of joe!

Mags

01-31-2007, 14:31

Don't worry. Death doesn't seem to stop the publishers from cranking out books long after the author's gone.:rolleyes:

And there is mine (and Tom Cruise's) favorite exampe: L. Ron Hubbard! :D

***True story. My first "professional" job was at a small software company. Turned out the owner, the CTO (his brother), the director of development and a few others were all Scientologists. :eek: For some reason, the CEO always praised the "Battlefield Earth" series and had copy of Dianetics available. :-?

Mags

01-31-2007, 14:33

Looking at the many books everyone is reading, I can only come to the conclusion that we're an interesting bunch.

Just like the people you meet on the trail!

This thread reminds me of the "campfire" discussions we have at the shelters. Diverse tastes, opinions and beliefs...but (knock on wood!) we are all getting along.

(I promise I will not initiate a group hug. ;) )

bfitz

01-31-2007, 14:37

Battlefield Earth was a single novel and kicked butt. The movie sucked, and so did the "Mission Earth" series as it was actually called. In the introduction to the novel "Godbody" by Theodore Sturgeon, there's a brief bit about how Hubbard and some other noteworthy sci-fi authors were working for the military during WW2 and what he said in those days and what they all thought of him...

The Doctor

01-31-2007, 14:45

"The Long Emergency" by James Howard Kunstler and "After Death" by Darryl Reanney

Mother's Finest

01-31-2007, 15:27

"Report on The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains"
John C. Fremont

I second the vote for anything by Shackleton.

peace
mf

WalkinHome

02-01-2007, 20:11

Thats exactly what Im doing! Next is Angels and Demons (which, BTW, is in movie production!)

Excellent book HikerGal, read it over Christmas. Enjoy.

wildernessman

02-01-2007, 20:57

Just finished both parts of A Walk Across America. Great book. Makes me want to walk across the country!

The Solemates

02-02-2007, 11:01

Just finished both parts of A Walk Across America. Great book. Makes me want to walk across the country!

Excellent book. A classic.

I started Model T's last night. Good enough to cause me to read nearly 70 pages in one sitting....i think its a keeper.

Spirit Walker

02-02-2007, 12:18

Regarding Peacock's book? WOuld you recommend it?

It is good - but not great. He brings up some issues I haven't read elsewhere, but somehow it didn't grip me the way some of the wolf and bear books that I've read previously have done.

superman

02-02-2007, 13:32

Unheralded Victory by Mark Woodruff
It's interesting to me to read about events that I was involved in. I think Woodruff did a good job with this book.

shuffle

02-12-2007, 14:38

I am reading a variety of trail journals, The Best of James Herriot, Teacher Man, and a Hemmingway book. I like variety and read obsessively. Or at least have been occused of that. Winter is the persfect time for a good book in front of a fireplace with a glass of wine.

mweinstone

02-12-2007, 21:56

last week i read the instuctions for a pocorn maker cover to cover. im pritty informed about that model. no organic popcorn the instructions warned. like whats gonna hapen? the balance of world power could shift? best read in years.

smokymtnsteve

02-12-2007, 22:18

smokymtnsteve

02-12-2007, 22:25

http://www.amazon.com/Not-Going-Today-Beginner-Books/dp/0394892178

I'm NOT going to get up today!

smokymtnsteve

02-12-2007, 22:30

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0394892178/ref=sib_dp_pop_ex/105-1952511-9003660?ie=UTF8&p=S009#reader-link

Felix

02-12-2007, 23:59

Just finished the Picture of Dorian Gray, which had been sitting on my bookshelf forever. Now, in a sudden swell of AT-induced nature-mania, I'm whizzing through Call of the Wild and White Fang. After that, maybe something meatier.

When I ain't reading that stuff, I'm steeped in the law of evidence (see http://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Evidence-Practice-Paul-Rice/dp/1590313461 ). Oh spoliation, how I love you so!

Cuppa Joe

02-13-2007, 08:40

I seem to have 3 or 4 books going at once. I've always seem to do that!

The Last Season -- Eric Blehm

The Historian -- Elizabeth Kostova

Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell -- Susannah Clarke

Walking On the Happy Side of Misery -- JR "Model T" Tate (reading this one for the umpteenth time!)

GlazeDog

02-13-2007, 09:29

Just finished last night a collection of Edward Abbey's letters called Postcards. Now I'm starting John McPhee's - Encounters with the Archdruid.

GlazeDog

maxNcathy

02-13-2007, 11:12

Now finishing up Life After Death by DeapPack Chopra. It seems true to me.
Sandalwood

wallace

02-13-2007, 13:26

Just finished AWOL on the AT. I noticed the author posts on WB sometimes. Great book.

Speer Carrier

02-13-2007, 15:33

Wall Street Journal, and Investor's Business Daily. I live off my investments like Lone Wolf.

The Solemates

02-13-2007, 16:12

on 1/30:
I plan to start Model-T's book within the next week, which I am looking forward to. Everyone says its hilarious.

Finished it. Excellent book; kept me laughing. I give it 4/5 stars.

Disney

02-13-2007, 22:10

I loved reading The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (about a little girl lost on the AT) by Stephen King while I was hiking. I'm in the middle of London by Edward Rutherford now.

Cookerhiker

02-13-2007, 22:33

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

Also reading the Rough Guide to Ireland in preparation for an 18 day sojourn in April of pubs, Irish music, and hiking the Dingle Peninsula.

And then there's all those magazines & newsletters from the likes of ATC, PATC, AMC, Sierra Club, Rails-to-Trails, Defenders of Wildlife, Nat. Geographic, AARP, et al.

Pretty much cut back on reading the Washington Post since my move to Western MD but still reading the Progressive Populist

SalParadise

02-14-2007, 00:51

awesome. you guys have really added to my "need to read" list, which now is almost longer then the last book I read. If I can throw in some of my favourites that I've actually reread:

my favourite escape books:
Jungle, by Ghinsberg
The Long Walk
As Far As My Feet Will Carry Me, by Bauer
In The Land of White Death, by Alhanov

Theology:
Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis
No Bars to Manhood, by Daniel Berrigan

and they're out of print now, but if you like baseball stories and humor:
Catch .222 by Bob Uecker
Catcher in the Wry by Bob Uecker

Disney

02-17-2007, 17:09

my favourite escape books:
Jungle, by Ghinsberg
The Long Walk
As Far As My Feet Will Carry Me, by Bauer
In The Land of White Death, by Alhanov

Are you referring to the Long Walk by Stephen King, or the tale of adversity and adventure, crossing some barren wasteland (I forget which).

mweinstone

02-17-2007, 17:33

this week i read the teeny tiny instructions on a tube of lock deicer. i found the reading dry and lacking. funny. it got good reviws in the nyt book section. currently im heavy into laundry instruction lables. i really like the ones on sleeping bags. i find them spellbinding and informative with just a touch of shocking. like the one i read last week that spoke of front loading washers in a world of both top and front loaders. and the author layed out the problems with wringing and drip drying and covered bleach and ironing and just a wonderful miriad of interesting subjects all written with sensitivity and humor too!

jettjames

02-17-2007, 19:06

I'm reading "the Long Tail" by Chris Anderson about the new way economy of selling fewer number of many more products.

jambalaya

02-17-2007, 19:24

"Encounters with the Archdruid" is a freakin' awesome book. I wrote a term paper on the damming of the Colorado once and was lucky enough to come across it. Thanks for reminding me to read more John McPhee.

Smile

02-17-2007, 20:48

Drops of Nectar: Timeless Wisdom for Everyday Living by Swami Chidanand Saraswati

Jester2000

02-17-2007, 21:51

How come no one's voted for "Reading is bad for you?"

Jimmers

02-17-2007, 22:13

They're afraid something bad will happen to them if they read that far?

maxNcathy

02-18-2007, 10:35

Just finished, Life After Death,The Burden of Proof by Deepak Chopra.

I recommend this book to get a broad picture of life.

Sandalwood

hiker5

02-18-2007, 19:14

Just finished "Walking with Spring" and "On the Beaten Path". I lent them out to a friend in exchange for my copy of "The Thru Hiker's Guide to America". I'm now browsing a trail or two each night before going to bed.

Mr. Clean

02-19-2007, 05:12

My last book was Model T's "Walkin the Happy Side of Misery" for the second time. My current book is "Marty on the Mountain, 38 years on Mt. Washington". He tells stories about his 38 years on top of the rock pile. Kinda interesting.

southpaw95

02-19-2007, 07:18

When will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? by George Carlin. Damn Funny!!!

The Solemates

02-19-2007, 11:30

Finished the photography book (http://www.amazon.com/Betterphoto-Guide-Digital-Photography-Amphoto/dp/0817435522/sr=8-1/qid=1171898966/ref=sr_1_1/002-6655929-3716860?ie=UTF8&s=books) I was reading. Just started The Secret Worlds of Colin Fletcher (http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Worlds-Colin-Fletcher/dp/0679725547/sr=1-1/qid=1171899006/ref=sr_1_1/002-6655929-3716860?ie=UTF8&s=books), by Colin Fletcher.

dperry

02-21-2007, 11:27

My textbooks for grad school. :(

Pleasure reading? What is this thing you call pleasure reading? Your words are strange to me. Your ways are not my ways. :rolleyes:

insure ants

02-21-2007, 21:43

War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy. Very good read.

Jimmers

02-21-2007, 22:28

War & Peace is very good. It's also incredibly confusing; I had to make a cheat sheet of who was who. Too many characters!

Now I'm reading Thunderstruck by Erik Larson. Very interesting non-fiction that covers the invention of radio and how it figured in capturing a murderer fleeing England. Hard to appreciate now just how utterly alone a ship was in the North Atlantic before the invention of wireless. Makes the AT seem like a walk through your backyard in terms of solitude. Also gives a little window into the mind of one of those "he was such a nice guy, never bothered anyone" murderers.

Awol2003

02-24-2007, 02:15

"The Law" Frederic Bastiat - Says so much in only 80 pages.
"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" Robert Pirsig - Loaded with gems, but you have to work to get them.
"The Wild Muir" - The title is perfect; Muir was wild. This is a compilation of his adventures, each more outlandish than the one before. I waivered between judging him reckless and admiring him for his composure and competence - and settled on admiration.

rafe

02-24-2007, 09:56

"Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" Robert Pirsig - Loaded with gems, but you have to work to get them.

A classic. Good trail reading, too.

Spork

02-24-2007, 13:01

"The Law" Frederic Bastiat - Says so much in only 80 pages....

I'm reading Awol's book "Awol on the AT". Just finished the part where he let his wife walk 21 miles her first day out on the trail. Ouch! Bet he's still paying for that faux pas:D. A very well written and thoroughly enjoyable read for anyone who has hiked or has plans to hike the trail!!

TwoForty

02-24-2007, 13:21

Kerouak, On The Road

insure ants

02-25-2007, 03:58

War & Peace is very good. It's also incredibly confusing; I had to make a cheat sheet of who was who. Too many characters!

The part where Pierre tied a policeman to a bear's back, and the bear took off with him and swam across a river is a classic.

sloopjonboswell

02-25-2007, 04:40

non-topical to wb but interesting, the valley of horses by j. auel.

Moon Man

07-26-2007, 14:34

Reading "Dereliction of Duty" by H.R. McMaster. It is about the Kennedy, Johnson administrations handling of the Vietnam war. Moon Man

Mags

07-26-2007, 14:39

Littlest Hobo

07-26-2007, 15:58

re: The Places In Between

Since this thread was started, I was given that book as a birthday gift.

SPOILER ALERT!!!

The ending was so sad. You could just feel the anguish he felt over the loss of the dog. I am under the impression the author was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted by the end of the trek.

Great book - his follow-up "Prince of the Marshes" is just as good - albeit it isn't a travelogue.

Just started "A World Without Us" - an interesting hypothesis: if humanity was suddenly wiped out by some disease, what would happen to the world we created? How long would it take for the earth to "heal"? Could it?

rickb

07-26-2007, 18:16

"Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America"

Nothing quite like reading about killing a large mammal for profit to help you sleep at night.

JAK

07-26-2007, 20:21

Just came across this. Lots of stories.
Good source for story telling in shelters.

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html

Chaco Taco

07-26-2007, 22:19

In the Shadow of Denali by Jonathan Waterman. Before this I read: On The Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgramage by Robert Alden Ruben

I liked Rubens's book.

Chaco Taco

07-26-2007, 22:20

Kerouak, On The Road
Awesome, am waiting to read Dharma Bumbs on my next hike

map man

07-26-2007, 22:50

One of the best books I've read since I last posted on this thread is a biography of supreme court justice David Souter (I'm sorry I can't remember the author or title). Justice Souter is a New Hampshire native and it turns out he has been an avid hiker for a long time and still enjoys hiking in the White Mountains when he's back in New Hampshire in the summer during the court's recess. Maybe some WB members who hike often in that neck of the woods have met him without even knowing it!

jrwiesz

07-27-2007, 01:20

Carl Sagan - A Life in the Cosmos by William Poundstone.

A great biography of a great man.:sun

Uncle Silly

07-27-2007, 01:50

"Can't You Hear Me Callin'", a biography of Bill Monroe. Next on deck: rereading Tom Robbins' "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues".

Three cheers for all the Neal Stephenson and Neil Gaiman fans who've come out of the woodwork in this thread. Can anyone who's read the Baroque Cycle tell me if Neal finally learned to write endings? His earlier stuff is great (and short!), but the endings were always a little lacking. Dude, if you see this, move on from "Snow Crash" -- get thee a copy of "The Diamond Age"!!

Pennsylvania Rose

07-27-2007, 09:15

Lots of trashy romance - which I never admit to reading, but I like turning my brain to mush occasionally.

Also, Rumspringa about the Amish; The Making of the Fittest, new info about DNA analysis and evolution; just finished a new Dragonlance book and a compilation of journals from travellers of the Wilderness Road and Ohio river route to KY

The Solemates

07-27-2007, 09:28

Just finished One Man's Wilderness. One of the best ten books I've read in my lifetime. A must read for any wilderness lover.

Mags

07-27-2007, 10:35

Just finished One Man's Wilderness. One of the best ten books I've read in my lifetime. A must read for any wilderness lover.

PBS also shows a documentary (http://www.dickproenneke.com/) about this person every so often. Well worth the watch.

Last book I read? CHILDREN OF MEN. (http://www.amazon.com/Children-Men-P-D-James/dp/0307279901/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-3169278-3944160?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185546650&sr=8-1) A dystopia if there ever was one. Quite a bit different from the movie. Well written, with lots of lush detail.

Now reading an alternative history about the invasion of Japan in ww2, MACARTHUR'S WAR (http://www.amazon.com/MacArthurs-War-Novel-Invasion-Japan/dp/0765312875/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3169278-3944160?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185546698&sr=8-1). It is OK. I think the dialogue is a bit turgid, the alt-history a little far fetched. Still ,good summer time reading.

A far superior treatment of this topic is LIGHTER THAN A FEATHER (http://www.amazon.com/Death-Lighter-Feather-David-Westheimer/dp/0929398904/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-3169278-3944160?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1185546780&sr=8-1). (My favorite alt-history book of all time). Much more realsitic alt-history, better writing and characterization. If you are into ww2 history and/or alt-history, I suggest finding this book.

Ender

07-27-2007, 11:55

Just finished One Man's Wilderness. One of the best ten books I've read in my lifetime. A must read for any wilderness lover.

I love that book... read it three times now and seen the PBS thing twice. Great stuff.

I'm reading Lonesome Dove right now. People over the years had kept telling me how good it was, and I never quite believed them. Turns out they were right... Lonesome Dove is an amazing book (at least 600 pages in it still is... I'm not finished yet!).

Another book to read, if you like One Man's Wilderness is "Green Mountain Farm" by Eliot Merrick. If you can find a copy (it isn't easy) it's a fantastic read. One of my all time favorite books. Told in the same manner as One Man's Wilderness, it's the true story of a guy and his family who decide to move from New York City to far north Vermont in the middle of the Depression. The husband and wife (Mr. and Mrs. Merrick) had spent some time in the far north before, so they weren't complete neophytes. It's a great read, really really great.

Mags

07-27-2007, 12:16

[quote=Ender;384986]
I'm reading Lonesome Dove right now. People over the years had kept telling me how good it was, and I never quite believed them. Turns out they were right... Lonesome Dove is an amazing book (at least 600 pages in it still is... I'm not finished yet!).

/quote]

That's next in my queue! Nice to hear the review is as good as I've heard.

FFTorched

07-27-2007, 12:58

I am reading In the Spirit of Crazy Horse. A great book about Environmentalism and the cruelty of our government to the Natives of this land. It focus' on the Lokota tribe in South Dakota and their struggle in the 60's and 70's. Leonard Peltier is a large portion of the book who many people believe to be wrongfully inprisoned.

The Solemates

07-27-2007, 18:28

I love that book... read it three times now and seen the PBS thing twice. Great stuff.

I'm reading Lonesome Dove right now. People over the years had kept telling me how good it was, and I never quite believed them. Turns out they were right... Lonesome Dove is an amazing book (at least 600 pages in it still is... I'm not finished yet!).

Another book to read, if you like One Man's Wilderness is "Green Mountain Farm" by Eliot Merrick. If you can find a copy (it isn't easy) it's a fantastic read. One of my all time favorite books. Told in the same manner as One Man's Wilderness, it's the true story of a guy and his family who decide to move from New York City to far north Vermont in the middle of the Depression. The husband and wife (Mr. and Mrs. Merrick) had spent some time in the far north before, so they weren't complete neophytes. It's a great read, really really great.

Just might have to order Green Mtn Farm. Along those same lines, Arctic Homestead, also in my top then, is just as good as One Man's Wilderness.

sloopjonboswell

07-28-2007, 15:21

a band of modern gypsies were seen performing a few acts from romeo and juliet at the pavillion a few weeks ago

Lion King

07-28-2007, 15:35

Re-read Balttys THE EXORCIST last week, and this week as of last night finished THE GLASS CASTLE by Jeannette Walls...great read by the way.

Jan LiteShoe

07-28-2007, 15:40

Just might have to order Green Mtn Farm. Along those same lines, Arctic Homestead, also in my top then, is just as good as One Man's Wilderness.

Up to my elbows in fresh, organic produce from my backyard garden, I picked up a copy of Barbara Kingsolver's new book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle." The family spent a year eating only local food, for a variety of reasons both personal, health-related and global.
I've been eating alot of her recipes, since they're pretty simple and garden-oriented, and both her daughter and husband take turns relating their roles in growing and "putting by." Practical as well as philosophical. Makes you want to grow your own.

Brrrb Oregon

07-28-2007, 23:35

Answer to poll: None of the above.
I hike with kids, so I play Hearts or Go Fish, when I'm allowed to sit down.:D

The Solemates

07-30-2007, 13:51

headchange4u

07-30-2007, 14:18

I have been addicted to Christopher Moore every since I first read "A Dirty Job". I have never laughed so hard while reading a book.

I am currently reading "The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove" . After that book I will only have "Island of the Sequined Love Nun" left to read.

If anybody can recommend an author like Christopher Moore, it would be great.

Mr. Clean

07-30-2007, 14:22

You might really like "Black Elk Speaks", about the Sioux in the Black Hills during Custers time. Very good.

Ender

07-30-2007, 14:31

I ordered Green Mtn Farm, and I am look forward to reading it. I'm Now reading Bertrand Russell's Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Short Essays. I've only read 30 pages so far this past weekend and there are all kinds of gaping holes in his arguments. For someone who strived to be so philosophically driven, you would think he would make sense.

I hope you like GMF as much as I do!

I also read that Russell, and found some of the same problems. Same with any Thomas Aquinas... they presume quite a lot of opinion as "fact".

headchange4u

07-30-2007, 14:33

Just finished One Man's Wilderness. One of the best ten books I've read in my lifetime. A must read for any wilderness lover.

Who's the author?

Ender

07-30-2007, 14:58

Who's the author?

Richard "Dick" Proenneke. I think there may have been a co-author too, but I can't remember that persons name.

Mags

07-30-2007, 15:01

I hope you like GMF as much as I do!

I also read that Russell, and found some of the same problems. Same with any Thomas Aquinas... they presume quite a lot of opinion as "fact".

There's the old saw about what assume spells... :)

Ewker

07-30-2007, 15:57

Just finished One Man's Wilderness. One of the best ten books I've read in my lifetime. A must read for any wilderness lover.

I have read that book and have watched the DVD quite a few times. The DVD follows the book almost word for word. He also filmed the whole thing.. talk about your early Survivorman???

Wonder

07-31-2007, 09:03

One Mans Wilderness makes me want to take off for alaska!
Right now I'm reading Dead Men Hike No Trails and Leaves of Grass.......just finished Even Cowgirls Get the Blues. Tom Robbins is a great trail read.....any of them!

Ewker

07-31-2007, 10:00

Last week I finished Journey on the Crest by Cindy Ross. I am now reading The Man Who Walked Through Time by Colin Fletcher

The Solemates

07-31-2007, 10:47

I am now reading The Man Who Walked Through Time by Colin Fletcher

pretty good one.

Skidsteer

07-31-2007, 17:35

That's next in my queue! Nice to hear the review is as good as I've heard.

I think you'll enjoy it. If you've seen the mini-series then the book will you give you, I believe, a new appreciation for the acting skills of Robert Duval and Tommy Lee Jones.

Gus and Call are extraordinary characters(in the book)and to even come close to capturing their essence in a TV show was astonishing, IMO.

Grinder

07-31-2007, 18:34

No one ever told me "A Walk in theWoods" was hilarious.

I haven't had belly laughs like these since I can't rememve when.

Miles of Smiles
Tom

hiker5

07-31-2007, 23:18

Tom Clancy's Red Rabbit... again. I need to make a trip to the library so I can read something new.

superman

08-01-2007, 06:15

No one ever told me "A Walk in theWoods" was hilarious.

I haven't had belly laughs like these since I can't rememve when.

Miles of Smiles
Tom

Yes, it is funny but some of the other thru hikers had an attitude about it that I didn't understand until I finished the last page. That is where Bill asserts that he doesn't care what anyone says... he considers himself a thru hiker. Since he probably didn't hike much more than about 500 miles some folks were offended by it. If Bill hadn't made that one statement it would be an amusing fiction instead of an irritation to some.

camojack

08-01-2007, 06:43

I'm reading the Bible...that somebody left in a shelter. :p

The Solemates

08-01-2007, 08:53

I hated A Walk in the Woods. One of the few books in which I couldnt force myself to read it. And I didnt even read the last few pages.

Grinder

08-01-2007, 13:24

I have no problem with stupid opinionated people who change definitions to suit the situation. The world is full of them. I won't give them rent free space in my mind.

The author is a good writer. His style amuses me.

I leave the finer points of through hiking to the true throughs. I'll never make it.

On the other hand, I will be in Maine at the end of the month. I could hike up to Kahatin and than declare myself one of the chosen. (I have hiked from Springer)

Anyway, that's what i'm reading.

Tom

BigwaveDave

08-03-2007, 15:01

I'm re-reading for the 10th time " A conferderacy of dunces" by John Kennedy Toole, I reread it once a year, just a funny , enjoyable book that I can't put down.

Manach

09-30-2007, 20:17

I don't have anything to read at the moment, but I most recently finished "Long Distance Hiking: Lessons from the Appalachian Trail" by Roland Mueser.

And I'll be reading the newest Dean Koontz when it's published in, I believe, November.

Marta

09-30-2007, 20:19

I just finished, "Into the Void." That is a very disturbing book. I had to quit trying to read it before I went to sleep at night.

Now I'm reading Cindy Ross', "A Woman's Journey." Excellent.

frieden

09-30-2007, 21:23

I'm reading "The Patriot Test", by Asmus, Krueger, and Linney.

Jan LiteShoe

09-30-2007, 21:51

I'm rereading "Jayber Crow" by Wendell Berry.

Man, that guy can write about the land.

Spirit Walker

09-30-2007, 23:25

I'm currently reading, "Sharpe's Havoc" by Bernard Cornwell. I got hooked on the Sharpe books this summer, when Jim and I exchanged books mid-stretch. Nice escapism, following the adventures of a rogue in the British army during the Napoleanic wars.

mweinstone

10-01-2007, 07:09

this week i read the mashed potatoe box and learned the 3 to 5 min thickening rule. and i read a kite package and learned not to fly a kite near airports. next week ill dive into more reading.

camojack

10-01-2007, 07:27

this week i read the mashed potatoe box and learned the 3 to 5 min thickening rule. and i read a kite package and learned not to fly a kite near airports. next week ill dive into more reading.
Were there any high altitude instructions on said mashed potato box? :confused:

The Solemates

10-01-2007, 10:48

http://www.amazon.com/Fair-Tax-Book-Saying-Goodbye/dp/0060875496/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9422260-0589531?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191249921&sr=8-1

excellent book. recommended to all.

D'Artagnan

10-01-2007, 10:59

Picked up the book before the series started. Amazing photographs. Very well done and a book to be passed down through the generations lest we forget the sacrifices of those before us.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?z=y&cds2Pid=18074&isbn=0307262839

Footslogger

10-01-2007, 11:00

Grizzly Bear ...by Thomas McNamee

'Slogger

Newb

10-01-2007, 11:34

"Making Money" by Terry Pratchett just hit the streets. The latest of the Disk-World books. Very funny stuff.

Lion King

10-01-2007, 11:41

Just finished MYSTIC RIVER and am about 70 pages into BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE.

White people suck.

Lone Wolf

10-01-2007, 11:41

The Happy Hooker by Xavier Hollander

-SEEKER-

10-01-2007, 13:42

THE HOMING by John Saul

Shane! Come Back!

10-01-2007, 14:13

How to Stay Alive in the Woods, Bradford Angier, copyright 1956:
"Penicillin can now be taken orally...If an individual happened to be stranded without medicine and with an infection that was not responding to treatment, he might in a pinch elect to eat any bread, cheese, or similar rations covered with green mold – this with the hope of introducing penicillin into the system...As a desperate resort try eating small amounts of dirt..."

Outlaw

10-01-2007, 22:20

I just completed On The Beaten Path by Robert Alden Rubin a/k/aThe Rhymin' Worm about his AT thruhike in '97.

I actually enjoyed the book; very engaging and well written. I'd like my wife to read it, as it may give her some insight about relationships during a spouse' thruhike.

Bluehaus71

10-02-2007, 03:28

"Stong Fathers, Strong Daughters" by Meg Meeker, PHd.

Great book for fathers raising daughters. I definitely recommend.

hacksaw

10-03-2007, 19:21

About halfway through Vol. 2 of the Barefoot Sisters' two volume set of their ME-GA GA-ME yo yo hikes. Actually a pretty good read for anyone looking to get a day to day account of a thru hike.

slingblade

10-03-2007, 19:57

"Mind of the Raven" by some German dude from Vermont

Froggy

10-04-2007, 19:50

"The World Crisis," volume 5, by Winston Churchill. It's his WW I history. Got to finish this and volume 6 and then I'll be looking to reread the WW II series he wrote.

Incidentally, in this volume, his discussions of Ireland and Turkey are topical to today's world issues.

Survivor Dave

10-04-2007, 20:18

Just finished As Far As the Eye Can See by David Brill. Thru-hiker from 1979. I recommend On The Beaten Path by Robert Alden Rubin as well. A thru-hiker from 1997. He used to work for the ATC. I found both books at the public library.

Survivor Dave

ANHINGA

10-04-2007, 21:32

Peter Matthiessen's Far Tortuga for the sixth time. Also reread Don DeLillo's Mao II, a prescient novel written in 1991.

Manach

10-05-2007, 20:35

New books! =o)

So I'm now reading "Classic Scottish Short Stories" at work and "How to **** in the Woods" at home. How nice.

Manach

10-05-2007, 20:37

Didn't realize the forum software was so smart that it would turn the "s" word into ****. So, for those not familiar with the title, it's "How to S**t in the Woods."

johnny quest

10-05-2007, 21:03

"blue highways" by william least heat-moon. he takes off in a van crisscrossing the country. the title comes from his desire to avoid the red lines on the maps....the interstates, and take the lesser traveled blue lines. its a very good book.
also "the sling and the stone" on 4th generation warfare. very interesting.
rereading "the golden rendevous"....in my opinion the best action adventure novel by alistair maclean

Mini-Mosey

10-12-2007, 00:25

Jan LiteShoe

10-12-2007, 09:07

I am reading "An Ordinary Adventurer" by the famous Jan Leitshuch!!!! Great read, Liteshoe!!!!!!!!!!!! I also enjoy spiritual, true crime (although I have to back away from this a bit because it gets too unnerving), and life- experience
topics.

Hey Mini-Mosey, thanks.
What "true crime" are you talking about?
Guess I'll have to go back and the read the book now.
:)

Jan LiteShoe

10-12-2007, 09:08

Hey Mini-Mosey, thanks.
What "true crime" are you talking about?
Guess I'll have to go back and the read the book now.
:)

Oh okay, ha.
I misread your post.
Phew. Now I WON"T have to go back and reread the book.
:):)

2009ThruHiker

10-12-2007, 09:35

A Walk with Sunshine, Great AT Thru hike story, especially the part about the encounter with the "Vegetarians". Love It.

twosticks

10-12-2007, 13:07

Annapurna - Maurice Herzog
Collapse - Jared Diamond

Can't seem to keep either one down. I guess it keeps me balanced, while I'm worried about the end of the world, I still find time to dream.

Brrrb Oregon

10-12-2007, 13:34

Addictive Thinking: Understanding Self-Deception 2nd. Ed., Abraham Twerski.

Very interesting, especially since it differentiates the deception brought on by chemical use from the self-deceptive and self-defeating thinking inherent in those who are most prone to falling into chemical addiction, even after they sober up.

Especially if you are currently frustrated by someone who cannot see what their addiction or their co-dependence is doing, who can't seem to choose better, read this book. It's only 127 pages, but it is full of insight.

The Solemates

10-12-2007, 14:17

Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath

Mags

10-12-2007, 14:26

I'm about two-three weeks behind on my subscription of the Economist.

Then, off to hit the library for a cache of books.

BTW, I finished reading LONESOME DOVE ~1 month ago. It is indeed a modern classic. Good stuff!

TJ aka Teej

10-12-2007, 14:39

'Joseph Banks, A Life' by Patrick O'Brian

The English language has had no better craftsman than O'Brian.

Quoddy

10-12-2007, 14:42

I'm actually re-reading The Ordinary Adventurer (http://www.middletonpress.com/html/lontr1.html) by Jan (LiteShoe) Leitschuh. A wonderfully written account of her Long Trail end-to-end which preceeded her AT thru hike.

hiker5

10-12-2007, 16:11

Crime and Punishment

Uncle Silly

10-12-2007, 17:02

on my reading queue: "Anansi Boys" by Neil Gaiman, and "Dharma Bums" by Jack Kerouac. i was supposed to read the Kerouac on the trail this season but it never made it into a maildrop. not that i had time for much reading ... too busy pickin' banjo. :)

FatMan

10-12-2007, 17:28

I just finished "How to talk to a Liberal (if you must)" by Ann Coulter.

With my newly gained knowledge, I will be posting much more on WhiteBlaze.;)

The Solemates

10-12-2007, 17:51

With my newly gained knowledge, I will be posting much more on WhiteBlaze.;)

nice.... :)

Phreak

10-12-2007, 17:53

Tuesdays with Morrie, John Muir Trail - the essential guide to hiking America's most famous trail, and Killer Dreams by Iris Johansen

BigwaveDave

10-13-2007, 14:12

Confederacy of dunces by John Kennedy Toole, one of the funniest books ever, also a biography of Bob Marley, very good too.

JojoSmiley

10-14-2007, 11:13

Roberts rules of order and PCT guidebook in S. California. Gotta have balance don't you know!:)

Summit

11-18-2007, 23:05

Grudam's Systematic Theology!

How's that for light entertainment reading? :D

EWS

11-18-2007, 23:08

Worldwalk; surprisingly well written for a travel/adventure book.

Spirit Walker

11-18-2007, 23:35

That's the Stephen Newman book? I loved Worldwalk. I'm currently reading another one in the same vein: Karl Bushby's first book, "Giant Steps", telling his adventures walking from the tip of South America to Alaska. I imagine the second book, still to come, will account for his trip across the Bering Sea on an ice floe and across Siberia. I've followed him on his website for several years now. I am enjoying this book, but I liked the Newman books better. Steve was a nicer man, with a deeper love for people. He made me laugh and made me cry. Bushby is funny in his own way and has some amazing adventures, but I just don't like him as a person as much as I liked Newman. I've met both of them and would love to do what they did, but know I probably never will. (Getting robbed and arrested is bad enough when you're a young male - as a middle aged female, I don't think I would handle either very well.)

EWS

11-18-2007, 23:45

Yeah, Worldwalk by Stephan Newman. He does seem like quite a nice guy now that I think about it.

I read a similar book about two brothers who started to walk around the world with a donkey and dog in the 70's, one made it, but like the one by Stephan Newman much more.

The one person who I'd love to see write write a book would be Heinz Stucke; as long as he has been on the road he has some tales to tell.

Spirit Walker

11-18-2007, 23:49

I found a website once upon a time from someone similar to Stucke, only he walked in every country, rather than bicycled. I wish I could do something like that. Our American long distance trails are so tame compared to the world wanderers.

EWS

11-18-2007, 23:55

Go for it. Even if it only last a year or two, it'll be amazing.

A-Train

11-19-2007, 00:03

A Drinking Life by Pete Hamill. Pretty decent memoir, so far.

Next is either What is What by Dave Eggers or that Mayflower book.

AT-HITMAN2005

11-19-2007, 08:23

march to the sea- david weber and john ringo.

future sci-fi, a large group of marines(bodyguards for a bratty prince) being stranded on a planet with intelligent life forms but with a much lower technology level than our own at that time. and having to adjust to the circumstances, to make it off.

Lion King

11-19-2007, 10:44

Just finished THE PERFECT STORM

in the middle of TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD...for like the 3rd read through...Atticus is my hero

and just yesterday bought THE LIFE OF PI, heard so much about it, thought I would give it a read through.

Thats one great thing about hiking, you can read so much!

johnny quest

11-19-2007, 10:51

if you ever get a chance to go to monroeville, the town puts on "to kill a mockingbird" in the actual courthouse once a year.
im now reading "devil in the white city" and "when character was king"

Froggy

11-19-2007, 12:04

If you want an interesting comparison, read "State of Denial" by Bob Woodward and then the first several chapters of "Dereliction of Duty" by H. R. McMaster.

The first book is about the Bush administration and the Iraq war. The second is about the Johnson administration and the Vietnam war.

Johnny Thunder

11-19-2007, 12:32

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

southpaw95

11-19-2007, 12:49

ROADFOOD...

I think I am going to the BEACON.

Summit

11-19-2007, 17:28

BTW, didn't vote, none of the choices fit/apply. :(

Tinker

11-19-2007, 17:31

What are you reading now? Not your favorite book to read on the trail, or your favorite hiking book, but the book you're reading now. Feel free to give a review.

The Bible - many different versions - comparing ancient texts, you know, the usual. ;) I recently read a book on humility. I need more of that.

mudhead

11-19-2007, 18:00

Way too much heavy eyework here for me...

Does no one read good trash?

A-Train

11-19-2007, 18:30

Way to go Jester-this is the type of thread that literally has the potential to go on forever!

Jack Tarlin

11-19-2007, 18:32

This past week, I've been carrying around Paul Fussell's "The Great War and Modern Memory", a study of the British experience during the first World War. I re-read it every few years.

And just today, I picked up a used copy of Ann Coulter's "Godless", a study of how liberals view religion.

At the Dirt Cowboy coffee shop an hour ago, this rather attractive girl at the next table saw that I was reading Coulter, and from the look on her face, it was clear that she was positively horrified.

Made my day! :D

MOWGLI

11-19-2007, 18:37

At the Dirt Cowboy coffee shop an hour ago, this rather attractive girl at the next table saw that I was reading Coulter, and from the look on her face, it was clear that she was positively horrified.

Has the thought crossed your mind that her "horrified" look might have had nothing to do with what you were reading? :rolleyes:

I'm currently reading Deep Economy (http://www.billmckibben.com/deep-economy.html) by Bill McKibben.