In the category of “Books I Can’t Believe I Haven’t Read Yet,” I’m nearly done with Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, which I’ve been savoring for a few weeks at the pace of just a dozen or so pages per day. As I’m sure he’d be proud of, Thoreau has inspired me to join our local library’s Nature Lovers Book Group. In that vein, I’d love to hear your favorite outdoorsy reads. It’s a genre I’ve long enjoyed and am always eager to return to.
Not sure if this is technically a nature book, but Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver) was very good. Another book which takes place in nature - and is a crazy true story - is The Stranger in the Woods (Michael Finley). It’s a very quick and fascinating read!
Desert Solitaire by Ed Abbey. Like Thoreau with the crankiness turned up to eleven. And his novel, The Monkey Wrench Gang, is one hell of an environmental adventure tale.
Great recommendations. I'm furiously adding to my WTR.
The first that came to mind for me was Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods followed by a childhood favorite, My Side of the Mountain (Jean Craighead George).
I saw someone mention Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle -- great book. I'd add her Prodigal Summer.
All the mentions of The Stranger in the Woods (which I appreciated but which didn't really leave me feeling like I'd visited nature) put me in mind of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon...a different kind of outdoorsy read!
I don't think it actually fits the category, but it fits the vibe! And it's a classic. The one that immediately came to mind was "All Creatures Great and Small"
The Overstory by Richard Powers is unforgettable. It's hard to sum this one up without being reductive: an epic tale of disparate individuals whose lives, whose family trees if you will, have been influenced and impacted by a tree or trees. They come together to save a stand of old-growth trees from being cut down, and nothing goes as planned. Disturbing, beautiful, haunting. There are passages and scenes that will never leave me. Powers is a marvel.
Dillard’s On Tinker Creek and Lopez’s Arctic Dreams. The most gorgeous nature writing, a sense of awe, and curiosity about the scope of nature in history and the cosmos.
-Dirt Work by Christine Byl: an honest account by a trail crew member that opened my eyes about the trails I walk and the people and hard work that created them.
-The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel: the ultimate hikertrash is the man lived 27 years in Maine without speaking to any other person.
-Where You'll Find Me by Ty Gagne: an eye opening look at the thin line between survival and death in the White Mountains, and an evaluation of the decision making process that can determine which side of the line a hiker winds up on.
-On Trails by Robert Moor: probably the most lyrical treatise on why trails exist and why some choose to follow them.
-Grandma Gatewood's Walk by Ben Montgomery: account of Grandma Gatewood's groundbreaking AT thru-hike that highlights her determination and character.
-Smoky Jack by Paul J. Adams: lovely historical capsule of the dog who assisted the caretaker of the LeConte Lodge by fetching supplies on his own from a Gatlinburg store.
-The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane: the author's search for historical pathways and what they mean through the years (or really any Macfarlane... highly recommended).
-The Last Season by Eric Blehm: story of the life of backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson, his commitment to the land he loved, and his mysterious disappearance.
A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold, is beautiful, companionable, and quietly funny. Here's how it begins:
January Thaw
Each year, after the midwinter blizzards, there comes a night of thaw when the tinkle of dripping water is heard in the land. It brings strange stirrings, not only to creatures abed for the night, but to some who have been asleep for the winter. The hibernating skunk, curled up in his deep den, uncurls himself and ventures forth to prowl the wet world, dragging his belly across the snow. His track marks one of the earliest datable events in that cycle of beginnings and ceasings which we call a year.
The track is likely to display an indifference to mundane affairs uncommon at other seasons; it leads straight across-country, as if its maker had hitched his wagon to a star and dropped the reins. I follow, curious to deduce his state of mind and appetite, and destination if any.
I have a tag on Goodreads labeled "Women in Nature." Last year I loved A Line in the World: A Year on the North Sea Coast by Dorthe Nors and currently I am reading Windswept: Life, Nature and Deep Time in the Scottish Highlands by Annie Worsley. Windswept is more nature oriented, but I love the quietness of memoirs focuses on the author's relationship to nature, particularly a coast, apparently. Next up is The Draw of the Sea by Wyl Menmuir, which features another another coast.
Anything by David George Haskell. A Forest Unseen is eye-opening and The Song of Trees is just a beautiful book. I have just bought 13 Ways to Smell a Tree and Sounds Wild and Broken in the past week. Looking forward to reading them in the coming weeks.
Not sure if this is technically a nature book, but Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver) was very good. Another book which takes place in nature - and is a crazy true story - is The Stranger in the Woods (Michael Finley). It’s a very quick and fascinating read!
Two that I am very fond of:
The Outermost House by Henry Beston.
Blue Highways by William Least Heat Moon
And then anything by Wendell Berry - fiction, non-fiction, or poetry.
Desert Solitaire by Ed Abbey. Like Thoreau with the crankiness turned up to eleven. And his novel, The Monkey Wrench Gang, is one hell of an environmental adventure tale.
I loved The Salt Path by Raynor Winn, but also something else entirely, Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods.
Great recommendations. I'm furiously adding to my WTR.
The first that came to mind for me was Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods followed by a childhood favorite, My Side of the Mountain (Jean Craighead George).
I saw someone mention Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle -- great book. I'd add her Prodigal Summer.
All the mentions of The Stranger in the Woods (which I appreciated but which didn't really leave me feeling like I'd visited nature) put me in mind of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon...a different kind of outdoorsy read!
I don't think it actually fits the category, but it fits the vibe! And it's a classic. The one that immediately came to mind was "All Creatures Great and Small"
The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko
Walden I feel is best absorbed little bits at a time. Loved Braiding Sweetgrass.
The Overstory by Richard Powers is unforgettable. It's hard to sum this one up without being reductive: an epic tale of disparate individuals whose lives, whose family trees if you will, have been influenced and impacted by a tree or trees. They come together to save a stand of old-growth trees from being cut down, and nothing goes as planned. Disturbing, beautiful, haunting. There are passages and scenes that will never leave me. Powers is a marvel.
Dillard’s On Tinker Creek and Lopez’s Arctic Dreams. The most gorgeous nature writing, a sense of awe, and curiosity about the scope of nature in history and the cosmos.
Here are some of my favorites!
-Dirt Work by Christine Byl: an honest account by a trail crew member that opened my eyes about the trails I walk and the people and hard work that created them.
-The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel: the ultimate hikertrash is the man lived 27 years in Maine without speaking to any other person.
-Where You'll Find Me by Ty Gagne: an eye opening look at the thin line between survival and death in the White Mountains, and an evaluation of the decision making process that can determine which side of the line a hiker winds up on.
-On Trails by Robert Moor: probably the most lyrical treatise on why trails exist and why some choose to follow them.
-Grandma Gatewood's Walk by Ben Montgomery: account of Grandma Gatewood's groundbreaking AT thru-hike that highlights her determination and character.
-Smoky Jack by Paul J. Adams: lovely historical capsule of the dog who assisted the caretaker of the LeConte Lodge by fetching supplies on his own from a Gatlinburg store.
-The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane: the author's search for historical pathways and what they mean through the years (or really any Macfarlane... highly recommended).
-The Last Season by Eric Blehm: story of the life of backcountry ranger Randy Morgenson, his commitment to the land he loved, and his mysterious disappearance.
A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold, is beautiful, companionable, and quietly funny. Here's how it begins:
January Thaw
Each year, after the midwinter blizzards, there comes a night of thaw when the tinkle of dripping water is heard in the land. It brings strange stirrings, not only to creatures abed for the night, but to some who have been asleep for the winter. The hibernating skunk, curled up in his deep den, uncurls himself and ventures forth to prowl the wet world, dragging his belly across the snow. His track marks one of the earliest datable events in that cycle of beginnings and ceasings which we call a year.
The track is likely to display an indifference to mundane affairs uncommon at other seasons; it leads straight across-country, as if its maker had hitched his wagon to a star and dropped the reins. I follow, curious to deduce his state of mind and appetite, and destination if any.
I have a tag on Goodreads labeled "Women in Nature." Last year I loved A Line in the World: A Year on the North Sea Coast by Dorthe Nors and currently I am reading Windswept: Life, Nature and Deep Time in the Scottish Highlands by Annie Worsley. Windswept is more nature oriented, but I love the quietness of memoirs focuses on the author's relationship to nature, particularly a coast, apparently. Next up is The Draw of the Sea by Wyl Menmuir, which features another another coast.
Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - I'm surprised not to see it mentioned yet.
This one’s a bit more violent than most, but I’ve always loved Larry Kaniut‘s collection of grizzly stories, Alaska Bear Tales. It’s relentless.
Anything by David George Haskell. A Forest Unseen is eye-opening and The Song of Trees is just a beautiful book. I have just bought 13 Ways to Smell a Tree and Sounds Wild and Broken in the past week. Looking forward to reading them in the coming weeks.