View Full Version : what are you reading?
skinny minnie
03-25-2010, 11:42
Want to share your favorite books and what you are currently reading? I''m in need of suggestions for stuff to read on my upcoming thru.
Non-AT would be good - books written by climbers and adventurers would be awesome though! Anything, really...
I just read the Cactus Eaters by Dan White. Very Bill Bryson meets the PCT. Funny, but the author is kind of unlikable.
Also Skylark Farm by Antonia Arslan. About the Armenian genocide. Intense. Very well written.
Print off Tipi Walters trail journal... Priceless reading, highly entertaining... And you can burn it as you go...
skinny minnie
03-25-2010, 12:04
Print off Tipi Walters trail journal... Priceless reading, highly entertaining... And you can burn it as you go...
Ha!
Tempting. I'm bringing a kindle though (I know... technology on the trail is bad... it's too heavy... etc etc! It's my luxury item. I'm ok with it. :)). Tell Walter to convert his Trail Journal into a pdf and we can make this work, though!
Wind, Sand, and Stars by Antoine De Saint Exupery.
Very philosophical and inspiring.
skinny minnie
03-25-2010, 12:09
Wind, Sand, and Stars by Antoine De Saint Exupery.
Very philosophical and inspiring.
very cool. just added that to the library check out to do list.
white_russian
03-25-2010, 12:09
Mark Twain's Roughing It
Cookerhiker
03-25-2010, 12:17
Last book I finished - in early February - was Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris. It covers only TR's Presidency, not his life and actions before and after.
Right now, I'm getting caught up on a stack of magazines plus a hiking guide & maps for a (hopefully) upcoming long-distance hike.
death in yosemite
its written by SAR and talkes about the mistakes everyone made before they died. Its a good book. There are about 1000 short stories.
skinny minnie
03-25-2010, 14:04
this is awesome!
you guys keep naming stuff I either wanted to read and forgot about, or that just plain sounds good.
more, please! keep em coming!
"The Greatest Show on Earth - The Evidence for Evolution" by Richard Dawkins.
It's 500 pages long or so. I have two copies, one i've cut into 100 page sections so I can bring it backpacking, sans the picture-pages in the middle.
(Not trolling by the way, any theist, diest, panthiest, vegan or nontheist can find the beauties and intricacies of life and the cosmos in this book to be extravagant)
Journey Home, Desert Solitaire, The Fools Progress, by Edward Abbey
sixhusbands
03-25-2010, 14:19
I might suggest A Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Right now I am reading Inside The Revolution by Joel Rosenberg and Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernov.
Either one you choose will likely ad a few pounds to your pack unless you have enough batteries for Kindel.
Six Sentences (http://www.amazon.com/6S-2-Robert-McEvily/dp/1442125152/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269541524&sr=8-2).
Check it out samples on their blog HERE (http://sixsentences.blogspot.com/).
"Born to Run", Christopher McDougall (still just hardbound I think)
"Into Thick Air", Jim Malusa
"The Poisonwood Bible", Barbra Kingsolver
"South: The Endurance Expedition" Ernst Shackleton
"Another Roadside Attraction", Tom Robbins -just for kicks
books are my one luxury i take on the trail... but at the present time, i'm reading two... Crazy '08... a book about the baseball season of 1908. and the the other is Kindness, Clarity and Insight by The Dalai Lama which is a book of various lectures he gave during his first teaching series in north america.
fifo
I would like to recommend
“Still Life With Woodpecker” by Tim Robbins.
Has nothing to do with Hiking/ or Camping, but I found it very entertaining.
jamarshall
03-25-2010, 19:44
Anything by Tony Hillerman. I just finished reading all 17 of his mysteries set in the southwest. Since he's gone now, there won't be anymore.
May I suggest Endruance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage. Possibly the greatest adventure story ever told, with the added benefit of making any hardship you encounter on the trail seem trivial by comparison!
-Avatar
johnnybgood
03-25-2010, 19:55
I just picked up Colin Fletchers' "The Man Who Walked Through Time " to read when I do my section hike next month.
May I suggest A Time of Gifts and Between Woods and Water, Patrick Leigh Fermor's two books about his epic walk across Europe just before WWII? They are just amazing. Much more about history and culture and former worlds than the walking. I know I mention these every time this comes up but they really are terrific.
http://www.nybooks.com/shop/product?usca_p=t&product_id=4819
South - Sir Ernest Shackleton
An Honorable German
Charles McCain
I met the author today and he gave me a signed copy.
I just started reading it and I can't put it down
HiKen2011
03-25-2010, 21:46
New post's on WB. Author, all the members and visitor's. Not a bad read.;)
Detour
I just picked up Colin Fletchers' "The Man Who Walked Through Time " to read when I do my section hike next month.
Careful!!! After reading it you may want to hike the canyon, swim across the Colorado River, and live in a cave.
Just like ringing a bell. :cool:
I just received in the mail today:
"Exploring the Appalachian Trail by RV, Sort of..." by Anita Hartigan.
This was written by a mother/mother-in-law of thru hikers "Mom" and "Windtalker", as she and her husband traveled the AT in their RV for trail support of their daughter/son-in-law. I thought it may be a good guide to possibly help convince my wife and my hiking partners wife to join us when we attempt a thru. Neither of the ladies consider "sleeping under the stars" all that appealing. But, the RV support route may be a solution in getting them to enjoy the trail also.
"A Far Green Country - Hiking tips from Isle Royale National Park" by Greg Romaneck.
I've started reading it; his described hike begins in the same fashion that I thought I would hike this summer, when I visit the Isle to finish the remaining trails I didn't do last summer.
Looking forward to this springs release of Jim DuFresnes' new edition of "Isle Royale National Park - Foot Trails and Water Routes". I could possibly be included in a portion of it; we day-hiked together out of Windigo toward Feldtmann Lake last 9/01/09.
Always reading/re-reading Carl Sagans' collective works.
The man has a way with words; and if one is not careful, you just may learn something! We are stardust!
Isle Royale Rocks!!! :sun
kdidorek
03-26-2010, 02:36
My favorite book ever has to be "The Book Thief" title throws you off a bit, but it is absolutely awesome!
Currently, I am reading "A Walk In The Woods"....very humorous!....but it's bringing up quite a few questions....which is why I'm on WB...to find out some answers...I plan on hiking SOBO in June 2011....wish I could start the other way...but either way, I'm very excited about this!
kdidorek
03-26-2010, 02:37
Another great book is "Water For Elephants"
The lost city of Z, (soon to be a movie Im sure) Nonfiction, Story of 1925 adventurer Percy Fawcett's expedition into the Amazon searching for a mythical lost city of gold. Really good so far
Walden, The classic never read it til now.
The Primal Blueprint, Mark Sisson. Paleo Diet and lifestyle angle on how we are meant to susist according to genetics. (makes sense too me):-?
Here are two,
"Over the Hills" by David Lamb. I LOVED this book. It is about a cross country bike ride taken by Lamb in 1994. He is a fantastic writer and he is a likeable narrator (unlike Dan White...I liked that book but got the impression that he thought of Allison as mostly arm candy, also I couldn't believe the way he treated her after he found out she was ill.) Some of his observations are really relevant to long distance journeys in general, and his book is a perfect mix of road journal, bike history, cultural times, and personal history.
"Bold Spirit" by Linda Lawrence Hunt, which is about a woman who walked across the country during American "Victorian" times. Great book.
Just started "Travels with Charley" by Steinbeck and so far so good.
sasquatch2014
03-26-2010, 11:00
I just completed 300 Zeros By K1YPP Who's real life name is Dennis R Blanchard. Some of you may have met him he was on the trail in 07 and 08. It was a great read and he has a great voice taking the reader along for the trip. My wife who is not a hiker read the book and really liked it as well.
May I suggest A Time of Gifts and Between Woods and Water, Patrick Leigh Fermor's two books about his epic walk across Europe just before WWII? They are just amazing. Much more about history and culture and former worlds than the walking. I know I mention these every time this comes up but they really are terrific.
http://www.nybooks.com/shop/product?usca_p=t&product_id=4819
Thank you for posting this. Before reading your post, I hadn't heard of these books, but have now looked them up, and they look awesome. I just ordered both books.
" From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time"
By: Sean Carroll
ShelterLeopard
03-26-2010, 12:01
Want to share your favorite books and what you are currently reading? I''m in need of suggestions for stuff to read on my upcoming thru.
Non-AT would be good - books written by climbers and adventurers would be awesome though! Anything, really...
I just read the Cactus Eaters by Dan White. Very Bill Bryson meets the PCT. Funny, but the author is kind of unlikable.
Also Skylark Farm by Antonia Arslan. About the Armenian genocide. Intense. Very well written.
Suggestion (I'm taking a zero, and I'm on my thru right now- day 34!!!):
I carry several books- one is the thought provoking, somewhat intense kind, the other is one of the Little House on the Prairie books. I like to carry both, 'cause sometimes I like the intense, revelation causing things, sometimes I really like the comfortable, easy books like Harry Potter and Little House on the Prairie. Besides, sometimes, right before bed (and after much hiking), all you want is light and easy.
I suggest not bringing the super difficult book you think you should want to read, and bring the one you'll really enjoy.
(Sorry, rambling a bit because I'm tired)
skinny minnie
03-26-2010, 12:20
Suggestion (I'm taking a zero, and I'm on my thru right now- day 34!!!):
I carry several books- one is the thought provoking, somewhat intense kind, the other is one of the Little House on the Prairie books. I like to carry both, 'cause sometimes I like the intense, revelation causing things, sometimes I really like the comfortable, easy books like Harry Potter and Little House on the Prairie. Besides, sometimes, right before bed (and after much hiking), all you want is light and easy.
I suggest not bringing the super difficult book you think you should want to read, and bring the one you'll really enjoy.
(Sorry, rambling a bit because I'm tired)
I totally agree. I'm the same way. My brain just shuts down when tired. Hope you are having fun out there!
Thanks for all of these amazing suggestions everyone!
I'm currently reading "The Year of the Flood" by Margaret Atwood. It's pretty good.
I second The Poisonwood Bible, but it's really thick.
My all time favorite book is Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Esquivel.
From Wikipedia:
In her first novel Como agua para chocolate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Como_agua_para_chocolate) (Like Water for Chocolate), released in 1989, Esquivel uses magical realism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_realism) to combine the ordinary and the supernatural, similar to Isabel Allende (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_Allende). The novel, taking place during the revolution in early twentieth century Mexico, shows the importance of the kitchen (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen) in Esquivel's life. Esquivel believes that the kitchen is the most important part of the house and characterizes it as a source of knowledge and understanding that brings pleasure.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Esquivel#cite_note-Cooking-0) The "title refers to a colloquial phrase used by the Spanish that means an extremity of feeling. It refers to a boiling point in terms of anger, passion and sexuality."[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Esquivel#cite_note-Cooking-0) The idea for the book came to Esquivel "while she was cooking the recipes of her mother and grandmother."[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Esquivel#cite_note-Cooking-0) Reportedly, "Esquivel used an episode from her own family to write her book. She had a great-aunt named Tita, who was forbidden to wed. Tita never did anything but care for her own mother. Soon after her mother died, so did Tita."[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Esquivel#cite_note-Cooking-0) "The book has been a tremendous international success: The No. 1 best-selling book in Mexico for three years, it's also been translated into 23 languages."[2 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Esquivel#cite_note-1)~K2~
XCskiNYC
03-26-2010, 12:42
There's this guy Rory Stewart who hiked across Afghanistan not too long after the Taliban fell in 2002: The Places in Between. Not the greatest literature ever written but a pretty well-told tale of a challenging hike through an interesting part of the world.
For entertainment and escape (though you probably read this already if you're into fiction): Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. The story behind the book is also very good, and referenced in Sideways when the guy's trying to cheer up Miles and get him motivated on getting his book published.
I thought the Rory Stewart book about Afghanistan was really good too. Especially interesting how in many villages the Taliban were just the villagers, it all depended more on who was asking than what their politics were.
LIhikers
03-26-2010, 21:27
I've started In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson.
I read A Walk In The Woods years ago and thought it was so so.
I decided to read his other books that my local library has and am enjoying them.
If you appreciate the noble tree:
"Lives of the Trees - An Uncommon History", by Diana Wells examines our relationship with our woody friends. A biography of 100 trees, she looks at their place in history, medicinal properties, special uses, etc. Very informative without being pedantic.
Nearly Normal
03-27-2010, 02:00
Anything by Tom Robbins is zanney brain food. :cool:
Cookerhiker
03-27-2010, 07:48
I've started In A Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson.
I read A Walk In The Woods years ago and thought it was so so.
I decided to read his other books that my local library has and am enjoying them.
Before my trip to Australia in late '07, I read In a Sunburned Country. In addition to Bryson's humorous way of putting things, I learned a fair amount about the country.