View Full Version : Great fiction set in the outdoors.
I see a lot of great threads dedicated to nonfiction, but some people prefer fiction. Here are some greats.
1)Deliverance is a great book despite the narrow cultural references it has Been relegated to. Dickey also wrote another book about a man stranded in Japan after the Tokyo carpet bombing. Also, good. It was called(i think) Into the North.
2) Fool's Progress isn't set completely outdoors, but you'll like it. It's by Edward Abbey
3) Lonliness of the Long Distance by Alan Sillitoe is a great story that talks about the zen on the solitary march among other things. Its short and a great read.
4) LOR is always worth a reread.
5) If you like a different type of survival story, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denysovich by Solzeinitsyn is good. Spelling on author may be way off. It's about a day in the Siberian gulags.
I open the floor to you,
Uncle Silly
10-19-2007, 16:06
4) LOR is always worth a reread.
You mean "Lord of the Rings"? It's usually abbreviated LotR, FYI. (Or did you mean something else? Just clarifyin'.)
"The Hobbit" is even better ... it's even subtitled "There and Back Again".
also, I recently read Brad "Sourball" Viles' novel(la) "Dreaming the Appalachian Trail". interesting, and short. truly a backpacking novel.
johnny quest
10-19-2007, 16:16
its "to the white sea" i think...the book by dickey. as i recall it was good.
That's right. LotR. I will check out "Dreaming", but I intend this thread to be for books that embrace hiking's philosophy and mindset and not just it's subject content. All three works too, though.
Just a Hiker
10-19-2007, 16:21
removed post
Uncle Silly
10-19-2007, 16:22
You should. It's a quick read and, IMHO, definitely embraces the philosophy and mindset of long-distance hiking. Don't know how widely available it is, though. My copy is loaned out, but when I get it back I'll post an ISBN if available.
did I forget Tim o' Brian? The Thing they Carried
Mystery series set in the White Mountains:
http://www.plymouth.edu/news/fullstory.php?number=5861
http://www.tomeslick.com/
teachergal
10-19-2007, 21:08
3 mystery authors that write about the outdoors....
Nevada Barr - her main character is Anna Pigeon who is a NPS park ranger and she fights crime and solves in mysteries in a number of parks.
Dana Stabenow - has a large number of mysteries set in Alaska.
Sue Henry - also has mysteries set in Alaska and she has a new series about a retired woman who travels in her RV with her dog.
Happy Reading! :)
SGT Rock
10-19-2007, 21:10
Sharon McCrumb "She Walks These Hills"
Spirit Walker
10-19-2007, 23:27
I agree about Dana Stabenow, Sue Henry and Nevada Barr. I've read all of their mysteries.
Another good mystery writer who writes about places I've been is C.J. Box (about a game warden in Wyoming). I've enjoyed all of his books.
I also have enjoyed a couple of New Mexico mystery writers - Tony Hillerman and Michael McGarrity, then there's Margaret Coel with a series set on the Wind River Reservation.
5) If you like a different type of survival story, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denysovich by Solzeinitsyn is good. Spelling on author may be way off. It's about a day in the Siberian gulags.
That is a great book.
We Die Alone by David Howarth is excellent.
The Long Walk by Rawicz is very entertaining, but the validity of the story has always been in question.
Doh, this is the fiction thread.
I see a lot of great threads dedicated to nonfiction, but some people prefer fiction. Here are some greats.
1)Deliverance is a great book despite the narrow cultural references it has Been relegated to. Dickey also wrote another book about a man stranded in Japan after the Tokyo carpet bombing. Also, good. It was called(i think) Into the North.
2) Fool's Progress isn't set completely outdoors, but you'll like it. It's by Edward Abbey
3) Lonliness of the Long Distance by Alan Sillitoe is a great story that talks about the zen on the solitary march among other things. Its short and a great read.
4) LOR is always worth a reread.
5) If you like a different type of survival story, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denysovich by Solzeinitsyn is good. Spelling on author may be way off. It's about a day in the Siberian gulags.
I open the floor to you,
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a great travel novel -- and much more.
Weary
how about "A Walk in The Woods" by Bill Bryson:D
It is a great NOVEL -- one of the best ever written about the trail, though the ending was a bit obvious. I had it figured out almost from the first page.
"Murder on the Appalachian Trail" by Jess Carr is a fictionalized story of a real life event. The writing isn't the best. But the book captures trail chatter more realistically than anything I've read, so well that I found myself hoping against hope that the deaths would not occur. A very powerful book, despite some obvious flaws.
Weary
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a great travel novel -- and much more.
Weary
It's what I read during my attempted thru in '90. Excellent reading.
Tolstoy's novels have a great feeling for the outdoors, especially "Anna Karenina."
johnny quest
10-20-2007, 10:35
i remember a book from junior high years. "my side of the mountain" about a boy that runs away from home and lives in a hollow tree. also from that time of my life "deathwatch" by robb white i think. survival in the desert. made an impression on a 13 year old boy.
i remember a book from junior high years. "my side of the mountain" about a boy that runs away from home and lives in a hollow tree. also from that time of my life "deathwatch" by robb white i think. survival in the desert. made an impression on a 13 year old boy.
novel by Jean Craighead George. I loved that book. Saw it as a movie also as I remember.
Lone Wolf
10-20-2007, 10:45
novel by Jean Craighead George. I loved that book. Saw it as a movie also as I remember.
my favorite book of all time
NICKTHEGREEK
10-20-2007, 11:19
how about "A Walk in The Woods" by Bill Bryson:D
Future Nobel Prize for literature
warraghiyagey
10-21-2007, 02:47
JF Coopers 'Last of the Mohicans' was the last book I read before I got on the trail last year. I don't remember any of the scenes being indoors.
It may not be fiction but 'Pilgrim at Tinker Creek' - Annie Dillard - is the best outdoor book I've ever read.
skinny minnie
10-21-2007, 20:51
Water Music by T.C. Boyle - humor, tragedy, sex, history, adventure... the works!
It's about an explorer attempting to trek through previously unexplored Africa and figure out the direction/destination of the ***** River. Adventures and misadventures in the gutters of London and the wilds of West Africa at the turn of the nineteenth century. Real historical figures mixed with the author's inventions/fiction. A fantastic book - READ IT.
skinny minnie
10-21-2007, 20:52
uh, for some reason it edited out/won't let me post the name of the river. hmmm. overly zealous censors in place? not especially important, nor is it at all offensive. you'll learn it when you read it!
earthbound
10-21-2007, 21:52
as a big Edward Abbey fan, I recommend The Monkey Wrench Gang for fiction and Desert Solitaire for nonfiction.
Uncle Silly
10-21-2007, 22:07
uh, for some reason it edited out/won't let me post the name of the river. hmmm. overly zealous censors in place? not especially important, nor is it at all offensive. you'll learn it when you read it!
Just S P A C E the name out or something. Now you've got my curiosity up!
"Sometimes a Great Notion" by Ken Kesey. Set in Oregon. They made a movie of it long ago, I think Robert Redford was in it.
warraghiyagey
10-21-2007, 22:35
uh, for some reason it edited out/won't let me post the name of the river. hmmm. overly zealous censors in place? not especially important, nor is it at all offensive. you'll learn it when you read it!
It's the ***** River (Ni-jeer). It is known as that world over without complaint. IT's 2,500 mile length drapes the Ivory Coast of Africa and is so named as it runs through among other countries ***** and Nigeria and terminates at the ***** Delta.
warraghiyagey
10-21-2007, 22:37
It's the ***** River (Ni-jeer). It is known as that world over without complaint. IT's 2,500 mile length drapes the Ivory Coast of Africa and is so named as it runs through among other countries ***** and Nigeria and terminates at the ***** Delta.
Wow Skinnie, I see what you mean, it appears to be an outmatic edit. Someone might want to check on the spelling of the word to note that the offending word I'm guessing is the target has two 'G's. 'N i g e r' the river, country and delta does not.
skinny minnie
10-21-2007, 22:55
Wow Skinnie, I see what you mean, it appears to be an outmatic edit.
Haha, yeah...interesting result, eh?
Anywho, regardless of censorship - read the book! It's awesome. Picture setting off to find a river... that the civilized world can't even figure out which direction it flows in. Trekking across deserts, getting flashflooded off of a mountain, held captive by hostile nomads, starving in jungles... hiking used to be a little bit more intense back in the Victorian era!
warraghiyagey
10-21-2007, 23:11
Haha, yeah...interesting result, eh?
Anywho, regardless of censorship - read the book! It's awesome. Picture setting off to find a river... that the civilized world can't even figure out which direction it flows in. Trekking across deserts, getting flashflooded off of a mountain, held captive by hostile nomads, starving in jungles... hiking used to be a little bit more intense back in the Victorian era!
Not to mention they probably didn't know a lick about lightweight backpacking or the 'cotton kills' theorum.:rolleyes:
Uncle Silly
10-21-2007, 23:24
Wow Skinnie, I see what you mean, it appears to be an outmatic edit. Someone might want to check on the spelling of the word to note that the offending word I'm guessing is the target has two 'G's. 'N i g e r' the river, country and delta does not.
It's because 'N i g e r' is a potential misspelling of the word 'N i g g e r'. The admins have an overactive word censorship program. I'm all for polite discourse but the censor program is too easy to get around -- it's value is completely compromised. If I were site admin I'd be rethinking it by this point -- it's too easy to write '****' instead of 'f u c k' and get around the censor program.
Ok, thread drift. Maybe this topic needs it's own thread...
warraghiyagey
10-21-2007, 23:29
It's because 'N i g e r' is a potential misspelling of the word 'N i g g e r'. The admins have an overactive word censorship program. I'm all for polite discourse but the censor program is too easy to get around -- it's value is completely compromised. If I were site admin I'd be rethinking it by this point -- it's too easy to write '****' instead of 'f u c k' and get around the censor program.
Ok, thread drift. Maybe this topic needs it's own thread...
I don't think anyone would disagree that there is a certain amount of ADD among WBers. The good folks that keep this site running probably don't need more on their plate than they already do though, so looking into a better editor probably isn't at the top of the list, even when it excludes the name of a rather inoccuous river.
Jack Tarlin
10-22-2007, 18:44
Speaking of Africa, some folks might want to check out William Harrison's novel "Burton and Speke" (which is also known as "Mountains of the Moon"), which is about the 19th century explorers Richard Francis Burton and John Speke and the search for the source of the Nile. The 1990 film of the novel, also called "Mountains of the Moon", is excellent.
Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee... set in very rural South Africa, challenges a lot of moral standards and is excellent.
Cosmo Rules
10-23-2007, 23:48
M.S.of T.M.
My favorite book.
KirkMcquest
10-23-2007, 23:57
I enjoy the classics;1) dracula-bram stoker2) Last of the mohicans-JF cooper3) Call of the wild/white fang-J. London4) Little big man-??
Uncle Silly
10-24-2007, 12:44
Not to mention they probably didn't know a lick about lightweight backpacking or the 'cotton kills' theorum (in the Victorian era). :rolleyes:
Yeah but they had this wonderful, incredibly available, high-tech fabric called 'wool'. :D
Did you know William Golding wrote other books than Lord of the Flies. They're all good. Check one out.
i remember a book from junior high years. "my side of the mountain" about a boy that runs away from home and lives in a hollow tree. I found that the other day and it was an excellent quick read.
I tried taking "Swiss Family Robinson" one time, (the readers digest condensed version) but they talk about food an awful lot so I sent it home :D SFR has always been my favorite book as it was my first "Grown up" book (age 6), but the constant, at least in the first few chapters, search for food & etc, kept making me hungrier.
Now I prefer light stuff, usually something from Piers Anthony's series on Xanth. Most involve some kind of quest & foot travel.
The Integral Trees -Larry Niven.
What!? It totally qualifies....
Richard (Dick) Proenneke, Alone in the Wilderness
When the hippie generation was getting stoned at Woodstock, Proenneke (WW2 veteran) was building his own cabin in Alaska and lived there by himself for 25 years (year round). The book covers only the first year, but PBS often shows the movie of him building his cabin by hand. Excellent read and an amazing man.
Mother Nature
04-09-2008, 20:47
Richard (Dick) Proenneke, Alone in the Wilderness
When the hippie generation was getting stoned at Woodstock, Proenneke (WW2 veteran) was building his own cabin in Alaska and lived there by himself for 25 years (year round). The book covers only the first year, but PBS often shows the movie of him building his cabin by hand. Excellent read and an amazing man.
Beat this retired librarian to it! I saw the thread and read through the selections looking for this title in the list. This is a wonderful read!!!!! I had to get it via interlibrary loan from my local library but it was really worth it.