Read any good books to take camping?

[CliffinGA]

I'm out of town working so much my wife and i bought each other Nooks and both got each other gift cards to buy the books. So far have gotten all Clive Cussler's books and L.E. Modesett's. One is mystery/action having to do with the sea and the other is sci-fi/fantasy. I go thru his either of their books in a couple of days but I've been reading them now for 10yrs or more and I find I will always go back and reread my favorites again. We both take are nooks on camping trips and will set in the shade and read for hours.

Cliff

[chorizon]

I'll +1 Clive Cussler.
Fun stuff...

As far as short-stories go I really dug Stephen King's Skeleton Crew as well as Four Past Midnight.

Speaking of King my favorite books of his are his "magnum opus"; the Gunslinger (Dark Tower) series...

...very good!

[JuneBug]

I'd have to say that one of my all time favorite books is Quite a Year for Plums by Bailey White.

There are several murder mystery series that I've enjoyed over the years:

Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries with Kinsey Milhone. I know she is up to at least T.

Nevada Barr's eco murder mysteries solved by (fictional) ranger Anna Pigeon. Each book is set in a national park. Early in Nevada Barr's career, she was a seasonal law enforcement ranger (for real). At the end of the season, she would write a book set in the park where she'd worked. That went on for four or five years until her series became successful and (likely) nobody wanted to hire her in their park!

I also have a real enjoyment of Tony Hillerman's murder mysteries set on the Navajo reservation, with policeman Jim Chee and detective Joe Leaphorn. Best read with a copy of the Triple A Indian Country map close at hand.

I've also begun to read some James Lee Burke. One of his more recent books, Rain Gods, is excellent. After you read that, you can meet the protagonist, Hackberry Holland, as a young man in Lay Down My Sword and Shield.

SlowCowboy, your comments really struck home. When I lived in the Dolores/Cortez area in southwestern Colorado, the library was a very important place. I used a computer for the first time in the Dolores library! There was also a traveling winter film series with movies screened at public libraries and there was always a great turnout at the Cortez, CO library when one was showing. They also had a program where you could donate a small amount towards getting a new book at the library and then you would be first in line to read it when it arrived. Libraries are so important in small towns. When we are on the road, I know I can always pop into a local library to check email, relax and feel right at home. I think the public library in Moab, Utah is my favorite.

[dmckruit]

^ Sue Graftons Books are up to U (U is for Undertow). I read it while at Disney in December. It was really good by the way.

Read "A Salty Piece of Land" by Jimmy Buffett (yes the singer) last summer. I was surprised what a good read it was. It included Caribbean Living, Lighthouses, and sailboats. Loved it.

"The Book Thief" by Marcus Zuzack was really good too. This was written for teens but is a fascinating read. It is about a girl during Nazi Germany.

[JuneBug]

I'm continually amazed by Sue Grafton -- she has kept the same protagonist and supporting characters, but somehow each book is entertaining and fresh -- like sitting down with a long time best friend. There also isn't a lot of raw, pathological violence.

In terms of books for younger readers, I listened to "Holes" as a book on tape while driving across the Llano Estacado stretch from Abilene, Sweetwater, Lubbock, Clovis, Ft. Sumner and Santa Rita on the way to Santa Fe and really enjoyed it.

Empire of the Summer Moon is also on my to-read list, chronicling the era of Quanah Parker and the Commanches.

[newrollo]

I second, or third Garrison Keillor radio and books. He is the foremost roots music promoter in America today. But this book is astounding and unforgettable http://www.amazon.com/Long-Walk-True-St ... 1558216847 . Makes teardropping seem like traveling with a mansion with servants. Your local book store can get it for you too!

[robertaw]

I camp with my Kindle now so I can bring along a few thousand books. It's also nice that with the 3G version you can surf the internet for free just about anywhere there is cell phone service.

I read a LOT so just going to list my most recent outdoorsy book here.

http://www.amazon.com/Walk-Woods-Redisc ... 549&sr=1-1.

[JuneBug]

Bones of the Master by George Crane

Catfish and Mandala: A Two-Wheeled Voyage Through the Landscape and Memory of Vietnam by Andrew X. Pham

If you like mountaineering stories:
Into Thin Air: The Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
This 1996 disaster on Mt Everest (8 climbers died in a horrific storm) spawned numerous books in addition to Into Thin Air
The Climb: Tragic Ambitions on Everest by Anatoli Boukreev
Doctor on Everest: Emergency Medicine at the Top of the World - A Personal Account of the 1996 Disaster
Climbing High: A Woman's Account of Surviving the Everest Tragedy by Lene Gammelgaard
Left for Dead: My Journey Home from Everest by Beck Weathers

Beck Weathers spoke in Austin during his book promotion tour in 2001. Incredible story of survival that was very touching. Half the audience was in tears by the end of the talk.

others by Jon Krakauer:
Into the Wild
Under the Banner of Heaven
There are two more titles that I haven't read yet. Need to get them on the list:
Eiger Dreams
Where Men Win Glory (Pat Tillman)

My current favorite:
Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston. This is the guy who amputated his own arm to escape 6 days of entrapment in a Utah canyon. the movie "127 Hours" is based on his experience.

He is speaking Monday at the UT Austin campus and I hope to hear him.

The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity by Christine Sparks

Not recommended: My Life With Patty Hearst by Stephen Weed

[GPW]

I've been brushing up on future politics ... The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism. - Emmanuel Goldstein

[Wolffarmer]

To add to the "Road" books I would like Dayton Duncan's " Out West " A good read as he somewhat follows the Lewis and Clark expedition in a VW Camper Van.

I would also consider Mark Tawin's " Roughing It" as a road book of sorts. I also consider it as one of the most important reads in understanding Mark Twain and the American West expansion.

I also like Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire, also The Monkey Wrench Gang, and if you are not totally disgusted with him Hayduke Lives.

Another book in the understanding of the US West is Wallace Stegner's "Beyond the Hundredth Meridian "

Some day I might read a new book

Randy

[pete42]

I have gone back and read for the first time AGAIN, the classics we had to read in high school,
you know the ones we skimmed through just to make the book report sound like you had read the entire book.

I also down load e-books from my library onto an apple nano I bought off e-bay for $40
I either listen thru the ear-buds in the car or one of those tape hook-ups in the truck.

I also buy books from the library when they have a sale most for a quarter,
I too have taken advanage of the exchange a book at campgrounds.

Pete

[legojenn]

I've been trying to read The Life of Pi by Yann Martel for a few years now. The problem is that by the time I am relaxed enough to read it, it's night and too dark.

I'm just gonna wait for the movie now....


http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2011/ ... sting.html