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Such many novels to read, so little time… I don’t have nearly as much time to read as I’d like because of employment, outdoor adventures, and taking care of all the the things on the to do list to have a functioning house!
And if I do have a few minutes to read an engaging memoir, it’s generally not long before I have to intercede in an out-of-control sibling brawl, bandage a skinned knee.
It’s all about priorities, I know, and I need to create more time for reading.
Summer is an ideal time to accomplish it because our family life slows down when school is out and the nicer weather calls for a slower pace in general.
This year, I’ve also opted to set my intentions by developing and publishing a reading list.
Forest Bathing
The traditional Japanese practise of forest bathing, or shinrin-yoku, has recently gained popularity, with at least four books released on the subject in 2018. Forest Bathing: How Trees May Help You Find Health and Happiness is one of them, and it is a practical guide to spending time near trees and how it can benefit our health and emotional well-being.
Regular walks in the forest, it turns out, can lower your stress and blood pressure, strengthen your immune and cardiovascular systems, increase your energy, mood, creativity, and attention, and even help you lose weight and live longer.
Wild
A teenage Cheryl Strayed embarks on a life-changing solo through trek of the Pacific Crest Trail, plagued by grief over her mother’s death, her troubled marriage, and her lack of direction in life. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail is a gritty, interesting, and brutally honest tale of finding yourself in the forest with nothing but yourself and a thousand-mile trail ahead of you.
You don’t have to be a hiking enthusiast to enjoy Wild; it’s a narrative about human endurance in the face of adversity as much as it is about solo trekking.
Hike It Baby
Shanti Hodges, a new mother, asked a few local families to go hiking with her in 2013, having no clue that it would be the beginnings of a community for parents to get outside with their newborns and toddlers.
Hike it Baby is the name of that community, which now has over 300 branches across North America.
Hodges and other hiking parents share some of their best tips and tricks for hitting the trails with little ones in Hike it Baby: 100 Awesome Outdoor Adventures with Babies and Toddlers, including practical tips for preparing for trail hazards, packing the right gear, and keeping the kids happy until you get back to the car.
She also lists 100 family-friendly hikes in the United States. This is an adventurous road map that will be an excellent companion for your next road trip!
The Nature Fix
Author Florence Williams delves thoroughly into the reasons why spending time outside is beneficial to our health and well-being in her book The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative.
She travels the world in quest of answers, taking part in eco-therapy for persons with mental health difficulties in Scotland, forest bathing in South Korea, and investigating why the Finnish government is so interested in green areas as a way to reduce public health care expenditures.
Think again if a research-heavy nonfiction book sounds boring. Unlike many other novels in this type, Williams incorporates herself into the fact-filled narrative, making it both smart and humorous.
Through A Window
Jane Goodall’s approaches were anything from traditional when she began studying chimps in Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park in the 1960s. While immersed in the chimp group, Goodall, who is now widely regarded as the world’s leading authority on chimps, observed that our closest relatives in the wild exhibit emotions and actions that are astonishingly similar to our own.
Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe is a memoir written by a dedicated conservationist and animal advocate, as well as a scientific study that tells the remarkable narrative of wild chimps from within their own community.
The Lost Art Of Reading Nature’s Signs
Despite the fact that humans have developed in nature for millennia, we now spend the majority of our time indoors, where we have lost our ability to “read” nature as our forefathers did to survive.
However, as author and professional navigator Tristan Gooley demonstrates in his book The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs: We can still unearth nature’s signs if we know where to look (Use Outdoor Clues to Find Your Way, Predict the Weather, Locate Water, Track Animals, and Other Forgotten Skills (Natural Navigation).
This book contains over 850 predicting and tracking recommendations for both the city and the countryside, based on observations of the land, sun, moon, stars, plants, animals, and clouds. The ideal book for adult Girl/Boy Scouts everywhere.
H is For Hawk
The narrative of falconer and novelist Helen Macdonald and the goshawk she obtains after her father dies unexpectedly is told in H Is for Hawk.
But Mabel, as she decides to name the hawk, is unlike any of the other birds Macdonald has trained, and she continues to stump her mistress in odd ways. Mabel’s disposition is fierce and wild, mirroring Macdonald’s own anguish following her father’s death, and the raptor and human “learn the pain and beauty of being alive” together (People).
My side Of The Mountain
Jean Craighead George wrote the ultimate runaway fantasy for youngsters everywhere over 30 years before Gary Paulson’s Hatchet. Sam Gribley, a young man, flees to the Catskills in upstate New York. He learns to fend for himself with the help of his animal companions, a falcon and a weasel.
Though intended for young readers, Sam’s tenacity and creativity are admirable even if you aren’t a child. This book reflects George’s distinct and deep appreciation for animals.
Life Of Pi
A boy. It’s a tiger. A rowing boat. The vast ocean. A young man named Pi fights for survival on the Pacific Ocean in this bizarre journey. When the ocean liner on which he is riding with his family sinks, he barely escapes with a tiger named Richard Parker.
Despite their desperate condition, Martel spins a wonderful narrative. Pi experiences firsthand the ocean’s wonderful diversity. Pi and Richard Parker achieve transcendent understanding after overcoming biological constraints.
The Shipping News
Following the betrayal of his life’s love, “third-rate newspaperman” Quoyle relocates his two young girls to his ancestral homestead in Killick-Claw, Newfoundland. Quoyle, who has been rejected and neglected his entire life, discovers unexpected connections among the odd and isolated residents.
Ways and customs are shaped by the wind and waves and are firmly set against the stormy coast. Proulx delivers a riveting tale about finding your place in the world.
In The Shadow Of The Banyan
Cambodia was ruled by the violent Khmer Rouge from 1975 until 1979. In the Shadow of the Banyan, seen through the eyes of a small girl named Raami, follows an aristocratic family subjected to atrocities by the communist state.
Raami loses her voice as the trauma worsens, but she discovers a new sense of wonder at the beauty of the world around her. Ratner’s superb descriptions of the countryside weave a story about the importance of beauty in survival.
The ZooKeepers Wife
The Warsaw Zoo was caught in the crossfire of eugenics and natural biology in 1939. During the German occupation in World War II, sycophantic officers ringed the zoo, which contained some of Western Europe’s greatest living treasures.
Taking advantage of the Nazi fascination with science and power, the zookeepers Jan and Antonia Zabinski put their lives in danger to aid the Polish resistance. This thoroughly researched book will show you a new aspect of history and naturalism.
A Walk In The Woods
Bill Bryson set out in search of adventure along the dense, hilly Appalachian Trail. He lays out an extraordinary historical and ecological foundation. Bryson, on the other hand, never makes you feel like a lecturer.
This, like all of Bryson’s novels, reads like slightly inebriated anecdotes from your favorite uncle. Locals—and bears—appear in this vivid and fascinating story of the pioneer’s first challenge.
Gorillas In The Mist
Dian Fossey’s unwavering love for animals, tenacity, and gruesome murder at the hands of poachers are epic story material.
Her description of 13 years spent in mountain gorilla habitats catapulted these kind, intelligent beasts to the forefront of international attention. Fossey’s work remains not only because of its influence on ecology, but also because of her great love for these strong, sensitive natural wonders.