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Books to Read While on a Climbing Trip

DesertRat · · Flagstaff, AZ · Joined Jul 2010 · Points: 196

I'm going to throw in another vote for Cactus Ed...

I'm reading Jack London's Sea Wolf right now, and am really enjoying it.

Buried in the Sky by Amanda Padoan is outstanding, and well worth the read.

Fools Rush In and Boom, Bust, Boom both by Bill Carter are also extremely well written and are great books.

flynn · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2002 · Points: 25

Enduring Patagonia by Greg Crouch. A collection of short tales. He does a beautiful job of explaining why he (at least) climbs and keeps torturing himself.

Poetry is great for short attention spans. Lots of entertainment value in some pretty skinny books.

Sea Wolf? Oh, yeah.

Ryan Williams · · London (sort of) · Joined May 2009 · Points: 1,245
mike gibson wrote:Also Malcolm Gladwell and David Sedaris have some great books for a rainy day spent in a tent.
I think if I read Sedaris the night before climbing my core would be worn out the next day because of all the laughing!

PS: If you ever get a chance to see him do a reading, DON'T MISS IT!
Max Forbes · · Colorado · Joined Jan 2014 · Points: 108

Currently reading "No shortcuts to the top" and its quite good.

sanz · · Pisgah Forest, NC · Joined Nov 2011 · Points: 210

I prefer some light Gayatri Spivak, Rosa Luxemburg, and Friedrich Engels for those carefree road trips.

J. Broussard · · CordryCorner · Joined Feb 2011 · Points: 50

The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado

Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave

Top-Bar Beekeeping: Organic Practices for Honeybee Health

Scott Phil · · NC · Joined May 2010 · Points: 258

Lot of good suggestions so far, though I personally would pass on the heavy duty philosophy suggested by Sanz.

When traveling I like to read books about the place or local authors. Its the equivalent of sampling local brews and cuisine.

Some great authors not yet mentioned:

  • Annie Dillard--The Living set in Whatcom County, Washington
  • Ron Rash--Saints by the River, The World Made Straight, Serena set in western NC and close by
  • Mary Doria Russell--The Sparrow set on another planet. I'm not a big fan of science fiction but this is good! Her WWII novel, A Thread of Grace, is set in Italy and is phenomenal.
  • James Welch--Fools Crow, etc. Montana and Wyoming
  • And for poetry, Gary Snyder, Maverick Bar or any of the Coyote poems California and Arizona
Alex McIntyre · · Tucson, AZ · Joined Jan 2011 · Points: 546

I read The Dog Stars by Peter Heller on rest days in Hueco this winter and it was fantastic. The Road by Cormac McCarthy is another one I enjoyed while waiting in line at the gate a couple of years ago...

Mike Belu · · Chicago, IL · Joined Jun 2012 · Points: 135

I liked 7 years in Tibet, never saw the movie.

Palahniuk "invisible monsters" is fun.

Throw in some Orwell 1984 to see how applies to today.

Jay Samuelson · · Colorado · Joined Nov 2006 · Points: 1,896

One Man's Wilderness - by Sam Keith and Richard Proenneke

Scott E. · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2010 · Points: 20

Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace wow. That is a heavy book, literally and figuratively. You're tougher than I am taking that on a backpacking trip. But an EXCELLENT book none-the-less. What is it, something like 200 pages of footnotes? I like Tony Hillerman, or True Grit kinda books for out there myself. Kinda brainless but fun and engaging. After all the reading is mainly meant for times when the plan ain't going as planned...tentbound kinda stuff.Bold TextItalic TextItalic Text

Graham Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Apr 2006 · Points: 0

I really enjoy taking collections of short stories on trips. It's nice to be able to start something completely different every 20 pages or so, and if you don't enjoy a story, then just skip it.
I would highly reccomend the "Best of" Outside magazine collections - some very interesting articles in there by some excellent authors.

Shawn Heath · · Forchheim, DE · Joined May 2008 · Points: 28,380

For my 3 week vacation in Feb. I picked up 1984, Childhood's End, Earth Abides, and A Canticle for Leibowitz. I'm a big fan of Fallout
For keeping my mind active, I'm starting Paradise Lost

pooler · · Albany, NY · Joined Sep 2009 · Points: 20

The Last American Man can't remember the author

mattjohnson · · Greenville SC · Joined Jul 2012 · Points: 40

Read anything by Kurt Vonnegut, especially Galapagos, Slaughterhouse 5, Sirens of Titan, Cat's Cradle. No Timequake though

en.r · · Ojai, Ca · Joined Dec 2012 · Points: 55

Tom Robbins is a great author.

Charles Bukowski. If you like gritty yet funny writing. Post office, Ham on Rye, Women are all good books. But he is an acquired taste.

john strand · · southern colo · Joined May 2008 · Points: 1,640

Tiger..about Amur tigers. i forget the author, its from a couple of years ago..may cause nightmares

evan h · · Longmont, CO · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 360

David Sedaris for some snarky humor.

Donovan Allen · · Soft Lake City · Joined May 2012 · Points: 356

House of leaves is # 1 for me. Unique story... Very original. The Kept is another good read. Quick.

The Blueprint Part Dank · · FEMA Region VIII · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 460

I tend to like more pulpy fiction while I'm on a climbing trip. After a long day of climbing I generally don't have the mental energy for a deep read like Hemingway (my favorite author).

I tend to gravitate towards well written spy novels. They engage my imagination and generally keep a good quick pace that doesn't bog me down no matter how tired I am. Unfortunately, most spy novels these days are Neo-conservative fantasies. And while I'm not looking for a Nobel literature prize winner after 16 pitches at the CreekI don't like rotting my brain out with poorly written drivel.

My last climbing trip, I re-read Greg Rucka's three Queen and Country novels. If you've never heard of them, they follow the trials of Tara Chace, a "Minder" for British Intelligence. Minders are like double-O agents, except real. Tara is unique in that she is a female Minder, and joins the service immediately after college. From the novel: "First of all, Minders are always drawn from the military, understand? Prior experience, prior service, former SAS and Royal Commando blokes. They already know how to kill a man with a set of bicycle clips and a banana. They're halfway there you see? That's one, and two, forgive us for saying it, but you're a woman, and there's never been a woman in the special section you see... So just forget about this Minder nonsense and if you really dedicate yourself to your Russian studies, why, what would you say to being posted to Moscow as the station number two?"

The novels are simultaneously intensely exciting and filled with deep personal characterization. Despite being written by a man, Tara Chace's feminine voice rings true, she is a deeply troubled woman, an alcoholic and (by the second and third books) a terribly detached mother to her infant child. Greg Rucka's fiction is logical and without the deus ex machina that most lazy thriller authors shoe horn in to salvage a badly developed plot.

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

General Climbing
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