# Books to read while living in the woods for 6 months **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326 "2006-12-23T06:23:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/1 "2006-12-23T06:23:41Z")
So, there’s a good chance that I’m going to be thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail starting in March, and I’d like to get some good reading done while I’m out there. Without nearly as many distractions I’m hoping to get through several full length books. I’ll only carry 1 at a time of course and have the others mailed to me as I mail back the finished ones. Books I’m thinking of so far: -Kon Tiki -Something by Twain -"" Tolstoy -"" Dostoyevsky At home lately I’ve been reading a lot of popular science (Sagan, Dawkins, Gould, Feynman) but I’m worried that might not hold my interest on the trail, and comic books/graphic novels, and they aren’t nearly long enough (the ones that take more than a day or two to read are generally heavier than I want to carry.) I _might_ take a couple volumes of Lone Wolf and Cub, though. So, feel free to support (or shoot down) my ideas so far, and please recommend other stuff. I have a pretty broad range of taste and I’m willing to think about taking anything, but right now I’m thinking big, epic, profound, perhaps viewpoint-changing. I’ll probably try to read a few lighter books as well. World War Z looks fun. ---
**Author:** ![snorlax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@snorlax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snorlax)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/2 "2006-12-23T06:50:32Z")
If you’re after something which is directly relevant to the experience itself, you could check out Bill Bryson’s book about walking the Appalachian Trail called “[A Walk in the Woods](http://www.randomhouse.com/features/billbryson/bb_title/display.pperl?isbn=9780767902526)”. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/3 "2006-12-23T07:07:28Z")
_Hatchet_ by Gary Paulsen? ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/4 "2006-12-23T07:13:41Z")
[QUOTE=snorlax] If you’re after something which is directly relevant to the experience itself, you could check out Bill Bryson’s book about walking the Appalachian Trail called “[A Walk in the Woods](http://www.randomhouse.com/features/billbryson/bb_title/display.pperl?isbn=9780767902526)”. [/QUOTE] I came in to suggest that one, too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/5 "2006-12-23T07:37:37Z")
Thoreau’s _Walden_? ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/6 "2006-12-23T09:23:22Z")
Dos’ The Idiot, but I thought it was kinda stupid. But if you’re a reader and there’s nothing between you, the trail and boredom, you can probably get through a lot of these classics that no one reads. I took the Hobbit, and Lord of the Rings with me once when I was backpacking for a month by myself in Tibet. That was a good read… ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/7 "2006-12-23T11:58:08Z")
I haven’t read it, but it has been on My List for a couple of years. [The Outermost House](http://www.amazon.com/Outermost-House-Year-Great-Beach/dp/B000GQLCWS/sr=8-1/qid=1166874514/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-4234678-5706404?ie=UTF8&s=books) [Wiki’s ditty on Henry Beston](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Beston) Another highly enjoyable read, one that has been in print for 100 years: [Three men and a boat ( to say nothing of the dog)](http://www.amazon.com/Three-Men-Boat-Nothing-Classics/dp/0765341611/sr=8-1/qid=1166874920/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4234678-5706404?ie=UTF8&s=books) I also came in here to suggest Bill Bryson’s book. Great read. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/8 "2006-12-23T11:59:30Z")
Where are you starting at for the hike? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/9 "2006-12-23T12:08:54Z")
Pretty much the two biggest books I’ve ever read - [_A Suitable Boy_](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=399384) by Vikram Seth, and _The Wind-up Bird Chronicle_ by Haruki Murakami. Both are good for travel, as they’re both engrossing and rewarding, and don’t require you to switch books too often. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/10 "2006-12-23T15:37:54Z")
> [@](#): > > Tolstoy > - Dostoyevsky You going to do a major hike, and you want to read interminable Russian novels about war and evil? Huh? This is nature experience, right? Big time nature experience— probably the best you’ll ever have in your whole life. Immerse yourself in it, totally. Stick to books about the wilderness. I recommend Colin Fletcher ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/11 "2006-12-23T15:54:08Z")
[My Side of the Mountain](http://www.amazon.com/Side-Mountain-Jean-Craighead-George/dp/0141312424/sr=8-1/qid=1166889106/ref=pd_bbs_1/105-8590647-2926833?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Jean Craighead George, of course! It’s not big, epic, profound, or viewpoint-changing, but it _is_ about living in the woods for 6 months. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/12 "2006-12-23T16:29:58Z")
I went out and bought [and read] Bryson’s book shortly after I decided to do the hike and I loved it. [QUOTE=Shirley Ujest] Where are you starting at for the hike? [/QUOTE] Springer Mtn., GA. The books don’t have to be about wilderness or living in the woods. I’m going to be experiencing that so I don’t necessarily need to read about someone else doing it. Those types of books will probably be better suited to either before or after the trip. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/13 "2006-12-23T16:48:17Z")
I’d pack an [SAS Survival Guide](http://www.amazon.co.uk/SAS-Survival-Guide-Collins-GEM/dp/0004723023), because you never know… Besides, if some hiker hottie twists her ankle and you show her you can make a splint out of two twigs and some sap, you might be in for some zipped-together sleeping bag lovin’, if you know what I mean. ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/14 "2006-12-23T16:48:42Z")
I’d think George R. Stewart’s book, [Earth Abides](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_Abides) would be a great primer and rather ironic reading while on your trip. Fitting. (It’s about a biology student, IIRC, who’s one of the only survivors in a post-apocalyptic, humanity-wiped-out-by-virus world and who’s going through life observing everything that happens. Except it doesn’t come off as quite that contrived; Stewart is obviously a better writer than I am ;)) ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/15 "2006-12-23T16:57:10Z")
I forgot to mention another book I’m considering: Samurai William: The Englishman who opened up Japan. [QUOTE=Bryan Ekers] Besides, if some hiker hottie twists her ankle and you show her you can make a splint out of two twigs and some sap, you might be in for some zipped-together sleeping bag lovin’, if you know what I mean. [/QUOTE] I can imagine the postcard home to my wife . . . \*So this hiker hottie twisted her ankle today . . . \* 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e56c9b/32.png) [@Harriet\_the\_Spry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harriet_the_Spry)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/16 "2006-12-23T20:17:51Z")
I second the choice of _Kon-Tiki_. It’s a pretty fast read, though. I’m not sure I’d go with the Dostoevsky. If you’re going to be alone with only one book, you should probably pick one that isn’t too depressing. Do you like Michener? If so, maybe _Chesapeake_, _The Source_, or _The Drifters_. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/17 "2006-12-23T20:24:01Z")
I second Walden. It’ll never make more sense than when you read it in the woods. ---
**Author:** ![newcrasher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b3f665/32.png) [@newcrasher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcrasher)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/18 "2006-12-23T20:31:32Z")
[QUOTE=Motorgirl] [My Side of the Mountain](http://www.amazon.com/Side-Mountain-Jean-Craighead-George/dp/0141312424/sr=8-1/qid=1166889106/ref=pd_bbs_1/105-8590647-2926833?ie=UTF8&s=books) by Jean Craighead George, of course! It’s not big, epic, profound, or viewpoint-changing, but it _is_ about living in the woods for 6 months. [/QUOTE] I was going to suggest this one too. I read it in 5th grade, and have wanted to revisit it. ---
**Author:** ![sinjin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@sinjin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sinjin)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/19 "2006-12-23T21:45:12Z")
Hey why not go for the gold and read “War and Peace”? That way you only need to carry one book for the whole trip. Tolstoy has the first take I’ve ever seen on chaos theory during one of his battle scenes. I’m half way thru my second reading of this. Sinkid said the first translation I read sucked. Maybe I should just polish up my Russian and read it in the original to save time. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2006, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326/20 "2006-12-23T21:53:47Z")
Walden looks good, and I’ve been meaning to read Thoreau for awhile. I’ll put that on the “almost definitely” list. Thanks. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-to-read-while-living-in-the-woods-for-6-months/385326.md?page=2)