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Generally prefer non fiction - adventure/doing stuff books.
last few have been ghost trails , dividing the great , be brave be strong and hell of a journey - to give an idea of what i like.
"Stories of my life" i generally avoid although ive read most of the great cyclists auto biogs.
any suggestions?
Geraint Thomas' book is a good read.
nothings [b]jumping out[/b]
How about this?
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Not sporty, but outdoorsy and very good -
Inglorious by Mark Avery
A shepherds life by James Rebanks
Poor had no lawyers by Andy Wightman
Poor had no lawyers by Andy Wightman
****ing great book.
hard reading in places but backed up with proper refereances and not just he said she said. Not one to jump in and out of though its a propper sit down for a couple hours book.
shall investigate the other 2.
nothings jumping out.
Kids pop up book?
Currently enjoying William Fotheringhams "Racing Hard". Basically a compilation of his key articles covering the last 20 years of cycling, with little updates - Lance, BC, Sky etc.
as a follow up(mostly because its for a good cause and maybe some of you will be interested in reading and supporting) i plumped for ....
"mostly happy returns"
Stories from braemar mountain rescue.
http://www.braemarmountainrescue.org.uk/book.html
"The Man Who Cycled The World" by Mark Beaumont is very good
""The Man Who Cycled The World" by Mark Beaumont is very good"
Thats a matter for debate but Mark is a very good and motivational public speaker.
his subsequent books have been better. The journey was certainly an emotional rollercoaster for him - I didnt like the style it was written in though.
I read A Voyage For Madmen over the weekend, really enjoyed that. 🙂
If you want something a little more lighthearted, whilst stuck on a rig in some far flung hellhole, I can heartily recommend anything by Christopher (but not Chris Brookmyre, that's his crime stuff) Brookmyre, David F. Ross or John Niven.
All Scottish writers, all funny as **** 😆
These 3 in particular...
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My stock answer is Jupiter's Travels by Ted Simon. Brilliant account of going for it and a great snapshot of the world as it was not too long ago.
Also read In the heart of the sea recently and couldn't put it down.
[url= https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chickenhawk-Robert-Mason/dp/0552124192/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466417544&sr=1-1&keywords=chickenhawk ]https://www.amazon.co.uk/Chickenhawk-Robert-Mason/dp/0552124192/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466417544&sr=1-1&keywords=chickenhawk[/url]
In the heart of the sea +1.
Also read an awesome book about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis (ship that delivered the H bomb to the Enola Gay), canny quite remember the name though...
+1 Shepherds life. Excellent read.
Pigs in Clover- Simon Dawson- very good read, about a couple who started up a smallholding in Devon.
Also read an awesome book about the sinking of the USS Indianapolis (ship that delivered the H bomb to the Enola Gay), canny quite remember the name though.
Was it In Harm's Way?
Just finished Chris Boardman's auto bio Triumphs and Turbulence. Written by him not a ghost writer and you can hear his voice. Really well written, honest, occasionally thought provoking and occasionally laugh out loud funny.
I'd go for The Revenant by Michael Punke. Excellent read, and better than the film. Gripping, real life (mostly!), adventure tale.
Have you read A Shepard's Life by James Rebanks? It's very good indeed, particularly if you have an interest in The Lake District.
If you like a little humour Bill Bryson is worth a read .
I was having a look for books this morning for a holiday thats coming up soon so cheers for the David F. Ross suggestion nobeer, just ordered two of his books what with him being a killie boy and all.
He's excellent Gary, I'm reading the rise and fall of the miraculous vespas at present, The last days of disco is hilarious, but also quite poignant too.
As a lapsed 'shireman, you need to read the Amateurs, even if you're not into golf, unbelievably funny particularly if you 'get' the vernacular.
I like Arabian Sands by Wilfred Thesiger - the story of his travels through the empty quarter of Saudia Arabia in the late 40's
I enjoyed "Forensics", a non-fiction book by (crime writer) Val McDermid:
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Real-life CSI, as opposed to the fictional stuff.
I'm reading the rise and fall of the miraculous vespas at present, The last days of disco is hilarious
That's the two I ordered, swithered between the amateurs and miraculous vespas but the latter sounded a better read,
Do have a look at Andy Kirkpatrick's stuff if you haven't already, too.
I also went to see him a few years back, a more droll and unassuming (and funny) speaker would be hard to find in recent experience..
if you're a fan of the cairngorms and haven't read "the living mountain" by nan shepherd, it's awesome...
I quite liked this one and have been recommending it to fans of warry non-fiction.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Junior-Officers-Reading-Club-Fighting/dp/0141039264
The film of this was good & I've been meaning to read the book.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wild-Journey-Found-Cheryl-Strayed/dp/0857897756
good one phatstanley - id meant to get that after a recomendation on the thread for the tv series by the same name.
forgot all about it.
it is truly sublime, imho...really beautiful.
These threads are fatal, I've just ordered 6 books on amazon!
That near death thing £3 on eBay
A short walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby.
Actually any of his stuff is good.
Cap of Honour.
By David Scott Daniell.
The story of the Gloucestershire Regiment.
Good read.
My Great Grand Father was is the 1st Glosters and was killed in action on Hill 30, 1915, aged 38. 🙁
The Cuckoo's Nest by Clifford Stoll
Cuckoos egg surely ?
TR: I can lend you Jupiters Travels if you fancy.
I also have a fair few climber/mountaineer books of you're that way inclined...
Do No Harm: Stories of Life, Death and Brain Surgery by Henry Marsh. Stories from a neurosurgeon. Suprisingly interesting and readable.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Do-No-Harm-Stories-Surgery/dp/0297869876
Breaking Loose by Dave Cook. Communist party politics, rock climbing and cycling. Dave Cook breaks loose and cycles from the UK to Australia in 1989. Meeting a few rock climbers and others along the way.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Breaking-Loose-Dave-Cook/dp/0948153261
The fall of Yugoslavia; Micha Glennie. That will cheer you up!
Fiction but I really loved The Goldfinch; Donna Tartt.
'Into Thin Air' by Jihn Krakuer - his account of Everest disaster in 1997.
I couldn't put it down.
'Clear water's rising' by Nick Crane - a gentle, charming account of a walk across Europe's divide.
Or, if you fancy some fiction[url= http://https://www.amazon.co.uk/Son-Philipp-Meyer/dp/0857209442/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466461008&sr=1-3&keywords=The+son ] 'The Son' by Philip Meyer[/url] - brutal, beautiful, unforgettable.
back to square 1 . will try some of other suggestions now.
Read mostly happy returns on the plane down to oz. Great book for those with a link to the area. Probably not one for those that don't already have an interest in the cairngorms and or MRT's
Like cairngorm john a great insight into the the MRTs are run , the mentality and fortitude of those involved.
Next on my list is the us coastguard story "the finest hours" and when i get back ill pick up "the living mountain"
Maybe one of these [url= https://www.amazon.co.uk/Extreme-Sports-Hobbies-Games-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=10194171 ]Books[/url]
Speed by Michael Hutchinson, brilliant cycling book, lots to learn in there but also full of humour and some great tales of pro-cycling.
'Sand, Wind and War', RA Bagnold - pre-war desert explorer then joins LRDG and early SAS.
the living mountain by nan shepherd ,
The wild truth by carine mccandless (because krackaur leaves out/makes up big facts in his counts on most things it seems)
Zen and the art of motorcycle maintainance by robert pirzig
and jupiters travels by ted simon
ordered up for my holiday in a few weeks 😀
Fiction, but I recently enjoyed Coffin Road by Peter May. Factual / topical premise set largely in the Outer Hebrides.
I tend to go for factual - military history etc, but this got me back into fiction - a real page turner
if you're a fan of the cairngorms and haven't read "the living mountain" by nan shepherd, it's awesome...
Referenced by Robert Macfarlaine in his books, which are all very well worth reading:
[i]Mountains Of The Mind, Landmarks, The Wild Places, The Old Ways[/i]
If you don't find enormous inspiration to get out into the countryside after reading these wonderful books, then you ain't got no soul! 😀
Bruneeps pending autobiography?
[url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-37275356 ]Hen, gies a cochieback![/url]
Iron War
i just sent that to the wife earlier nobeer as she cycles along there almost daily .....although i pitty the fool that tries....
Have to agree with Clear Waters rising. A great book to return to. In fact anything by any of the Cranes is good.
Try something by Dervla Murphy, the older the better. Or Eric Newby, A short walk in the Hindu Kush is good.
Anything by Shipton or Tilman.
Herbie Sykes does nice cycling books.
+1 for Into Thin Air and Jupiter's Travels (The sequel 30yrs later is good too.)
Have'nt read The Finest Hours but the movie was good.
Best non-fiction books I've read over the years:
Call of the Wild by Guy Grieve: Scottish middle-class tw*t goes to live in the Alaskan wilderness for a year. You end up rooting for the guy. Would be worth it just for the chapter on learning to drive Huskies.
Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox: Totally heroic.
Fire Strike 7/9 by Paul Grahame: I didn't think the story of a bloke with a radio calling in air support (JTAC) would be more exciting than all the SAS type books - but it is.
Confessions of an NFL Dropout by Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson: It starts with him snorting coke from a Vicks Sinex bottle on the field, during the Superbowl and it's all downhill from there.
The Sweet Science by AJ Liebling: What a writer. Worth it even if you don't care for boxing.
Ten Points by Bill Strickland: An uncomfortable but also heartwarming tale of child abuse and criterium racing.
Currently reading this
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Fascinating read 🙂
Land of second chances by tim lewis now.
Perhaps a little vested intrerest because the mrs taught out there and rode with the guys in the book but shaping up to be a fascinating if not difficult at times read.
I know this is a novel, but it's also a great historical reference. And actually an ever so brief but compelling read...
"One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Trust me!
The Tiger by John Valliant
Sounds like you're sorted.
Recently ,I was so bored at work, I read both Freddie Starr & David Hasselhoff's autobiographies.
I can't recommend either.
(Someone left them in the tea room and I will never ,ever ,get that time back.)
🙂
I went through a big blob of polar exploration books- some modern accounts, some historical, some logs etc. Amazing stories, proving what can be achieved by total idiots.
Speed by Michael Hutchinson
Sorry, it's called Faster and is utterly brilliant.
Berserk in the Antarctic is a good read.