Fav Reads- limit to nature/Adventure

[JohnL]

I have not read them yet but as I was browsing through an antique store yesterday I was fortunate to find three books from Nat'l Geo's list of 100 Best Adventure Books;
West With The Night by Beryl Markham
South by Ernest Shackleton
The Fearful Void by Geoffrey Moorhouse
I scooped them up and added them to my "To Be Read" pile.

Several weeks ago I finished Walden by HD THoreau. This was my second attempt at reading it and this time I was able to persevere through the awful tedium of his never ending chapter on Economy and into the lovely and detailed descriptions of his observations of the natural world about his time in the cabin on the shores of Walden Pond. A very good read though there are sections of obsessive compulsive dreadful monotony.

JohnL

 

[funkyfreddy]

Cool thread, glad to share favorites with many of you.

But.

Did I miss it, or has no one mentioned David Quammen? He is probably my most favorite author ever. He writes this incredible short-story-sized pieces on all kinds of nature-y topics. Beautifully, perfectly written. Impeccable balance of zany information, field data, and personal reaction. Please, everyone, go read a few pages of Quammen's "Wild Thoughts From Wild Places", "Song of The Dodo", "Natural Acts", or any of 'em. And fall in love.

I really like David Quammen as well!

 

[The Unstrung Harp]

Goodgoodgood. I totally wub him. I think I get panicky when amazing authors are underloved.

 

[LittleBear]

North to the Night: A Spiritual Odyssey in the Arctic by Alvah Simon

and

Where the Mountain Casts Its Shadow: The Dark Side of Extreme Adventure by Maria Coffey