As most of you know, I enjoy spending almost every waking second outside, whether it's hiking, camping, kayaking or working in my patio garden. Recently, I have started reading for fun again outside of assignments and research papers, and they all seem to have a theme...adventure! Here are six of my favorite reads so far, and I would heavily suggest you take them with you on your next outing!
1. "The Echoing Green: Poems of Fields, Meadows, and Grasses"
“The great field wavers and flakes,
The rumble of bumblebees keeps deepening,
A phoebe flutters up,
A lark bursts up all dew.”
- Galway Kinnell: In Fields Of Summer
"The Echoing Green" sits atop a stack of books beside my nightstand, reminding me of every moment I wandered barefoot into fresh, dew-covered grasses. Poems are divided into sections such as Voice Of The Field, Mind’s Meadows and All Flesh Is Grass, where like-minded poets rub elbows within the pages of a pocket-sized book. A wonderful company on any hike, this collection of poetry is sure to send your mind adrift among the early spring flowers and lazy afternoon breeze.
2. "Into The Wild"
“In my wanderings this year I have taken more chances and had more wild adventures than ever before. And what magnificent country I have seen—wild, tremendous wasteland stretches, lost mesas…and hundreds of houses of the cliff dwellers, abandoned a thousand years ago.” – Chris McCandless.
The story begins by describing the discovery of Chris McCandless’s remains in April 1992, a 24-year-old vagabond who abandoned his old life after graduating college to wander the great American countryside. There is great debate among readers whether his actions were inspiring or naïve, particularly directed towards his untimely demise. Personally, I adore this book. Not only is the story riveting, but the writing style is fascinating. Jon Krakauer gathers a collection of interviews, postcards, exerts of books and newspaper clippings to document the life and death of McCandless, otherwise known as Alexander Supertramp.
3. "Girl In The Woods"
"On the yellow grass I saw white stones placed in a loose pattern, a formation as large as a reclined body. I stilled for a moment, looked more closely. They were in the wobbly shape of a 1-0-0-0. One thousand. Stones telling me I had walked one thousand miles.” - Aspen Mantis
Another favorite of mine is the story of young Aspen “Wild Child” Mantis who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail after she was raped the second night of college. She writes of her rediscovery of herself, describing the ups and downs of both the trail and the relationships she made (which includes the man she would eventually marry). Mantis perfectly captures the emotional turmoil she faced growing up sheltered and suddenly feeling cold and alone after attempts to seek peace before turning to the trail for answers, and her perseverance is worthy of any bookshelf.
4. "Eat, Pray, Love"
“I took off at a run, galloping away from the path and down into the meadow, just tearing across that moonlit bath of grass. My body felt so alive and healthy from all these months of Yoga and vegetarian food and early bedtimes…I threw my arms around one of those trees, which was still warm from the day’s heat, and I kissed it with such passion.” – Elizabeth Gilbert.
I had not originally intended to read this book, but it happened to be my mother’s favorite in her collection. Having read it, I must agree with her. The book is a glimpse into the spiraling life of Elizabeth Gilbert, an author trapped in a failing marriage who finally musters the courage to leave and starts her new life with three monumental trips of self-discovery, traveling to Italy, India and Indonesia. "Eat, Pray, Love" is the perfect book to fawn over if you have ever questioned your purpose in life or fuel to entice your love of exploration.
5. "A Walk In The Woods"
“Life takes on a neat simplicity, too. Time ceases to have any meaning. When it is dark you go to bed and when it is light again you get up, and everything in between is just in between. It's quite wonderful, really.” – Bill Bryson.
Where do I begin?! This book is a wonderful mash up of the personal experience of Bill Bryson as he hikes the Appalachian Trail (including a horrible hiker he encounters very early in his hike) and an assortment of history on the National Parks Service, bears, the trail itself, towns and murders in surrounding areas. Armed with wit and overpriced hiking gear, Bryson takes the reader on an engrossing journey of appreciation through the mountains of eastern America. Ranked with great honor on my shelf, I promise Bryson is a riot, and the book will leave you with an uncontrollable desire to race off into the woods.
6. "Wild"
“It had to do with how it felt to be in the wild. With what it was like to walk for miles with no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and meadows, mountains and deserts, streams and rocks, rivers and grasses, sunrises and sunsets. The experience was powerful and fundamental. It seemed to me that it had always felt like this to be a human in the wild, and as long as the wild existed it would always feel this way.” – Cheryl Strayed
Perhaps my favorite book I have read so far — "Wild" is the exhilarating tale of Cheryl Strayed struggling with the death of her mother and her divorce from her best friend, now ex-husband Paul. She turns to the Pacific Crest Trail looking for relief and acceptance, earning the nickname “Queen of the PCT." Her journey is a remarkable one, walking alone through the sweltering desert and the freezing Sierra Nevada, encountering all walks of life on and off the trail. This is a terrific read, and it surprises me more every time I reread it.
