Whether its an epic excursion on the high seas, a journey to the deep woods, mountain tops or the land down under, reading can take you on an unforgettable adventure!
Though summer is winding down, you can still enjoy a wild reading getaway, with our August Reading Resolution challenge, The Great Outdoors.
In addition to real-life stories of wilderness exploration and survival, Westerns, and classics such as James Fenimore Cooper’s Leatherstocking Tales, or Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, you can choose romantic beach reads, horror, thrillers, science fiction, and literary fiction titles. Non-fiction books are a great choice too; including those addressing climate change, marine biology, botany, and other topics related to the natural world.
Here are a few suggested titles:
Literary Fiction
News of the World by Paulette Jiles – In the aftermath of the Civil War, an itinerant news reader is offered fifty dollars to bring an orphan girl, who was kidnapped and raised by Kiowa raiders, from Wichita Falls back to her relatives in San Antonio. Their 400-mile journey south through unsettled territory and unforgiving terrain proves difficult and at times dangerous. Yet as the miles pass, the two lonely survivors tentatively begin to trust each other, forming a bond that marks the difference between life and death in this treacherous land.
Relationship Fiction
Beach House Memories by Mary Alice Monroe- In the summer of 1974, Charleston socialite Olivia “Lovey” Rutledge takes refuge from social pressures, and her philandering husband at her family’s rustic beach cottage. There, she pursues her passion for studying loggerhead sea turtles, earning her the nickname, Turtle Lady. When biologist Russell Bennett visits to research the loggerheads, their shared interest and knowledge brings them together, and blossoms into love, forcing Lovie to an agonizing decision.
Non-Fiction
Atlas of a Lost World: Travels In Ice Age America by Craig Childs- A vivid travelogue through pre-history, that traces the arrival of the first people in North America at least twenty thousand years ago, and describes the artifacts that tell of their lives and fates. Atlas of a Lost World chronicles the last millennia of the Ice Age, the violent oscillations and retreat of glaciers, the clues and traces that document the first encounters of early humans, and the animals whose presence governed the humans’ chances for survival. A blend of science and personal narrative reveals how much has changed since the time of mammoth hunters, and how little. Across unexplored landscapes yet to be peopled, readers will see the Ice Age, and their own age, in a whole new light
To help you find more books, we’ve created a special online catalog. Our monthly Reading Resolution display in the Adult Services section has plenty of suggested reads as well. For even more outdoorsy books, be be sure to check out the Hot Days/Cool Reads display near the Reference Desk. Don’t forget to to track your Reading Resolution reads in Beanstack, so you’re eligible for our monthly prize drawing, and for our large drawing at the end of the Reading Resolution Challenge. Not sure how? Give the Adult Services department a call.
