Adventures in reading

Spring is in the air – along with dust, pollen and the occasional snowflake. If you are like me, the advent of this season stirs the desire to move, to travel, to explore this paradisiacal playground we call Durango.

If, like me, you are summoned by the promise of sleeping outdoors, of waking up to the sounds of desert rain, of kayaking in a spring snow storm, then you have begun planning your summer adventures. Every adventure requires its own gear list, and its own reading list.

OK, maybe you are not like me. Maybe you don’t bring a book with you wherever you go (just in case). Maybe you don’t buy your purses in an effort to accommodate packing a book of any size, or spend weeks prior to a vacation picking out the right book for the journey. Perhaps, you even wait to shop for a book in the airport bookstore! (Scoff!)

Since people often ask me to recommend a book to them (though I can hardly guess why), I would like to take this opportunity to advise on the best book for your upcoming trip. All vary in genre and style and may not hold the interest of someone who wishes to finish Oprah’s Book Club list. However, choosing a good book will not only enhance your vacation but will link that book to a memorable time and place.

River trips are usually action packed, and between beers, rapids and camp games, you may not search for the leisure time to read. However, a few minutes alone or gathered under the shade of a cottonwood in late afternoon with a book might be just what your group needs. Usually, the more odd and random the book, the better it seems on the river.

I passed a morning on the Green River with a hangover hiding under the shade of a self-made tarp as a group of like-minded sufferers took turns reading Jurassic Park by Michael Chrichton. Oddly enough, it was a highlight of the trip for myself and the rest of the group. However, if you desire a more related topic for your book, and perhaps you are trying to gain some introspection, read The River of Doubt by Candace Millard, a nonfiction account of Theodore Roosevelt’s journey down the Amazon River. For a more thrilling read, I would recommend Deliverance by James Dickey. It might turn into a ghost story told round the fire, but it’s sure to keep you in suspense, though perhaps a little suspicious of other groups.

Though weight is always an issue when backpacking, I cannot help but bring something to read; I have even gone so far as to cut up a book and send the later pages along with a re-supply of food. A collection of stories by Jack London is among my favorites. London’s prose is strongly connected to nature and such stories as To Build a Fire will leave you with a profound respect for the wild; the first section of White Fang can be read independently of the novel, and if read in the evening while coyotes begin to chirp and call, it becomes almost ghostly.

If you are embarking upon a longer through-trip like the Colorado Trail or the Camino de Santiago, I would go so far as to recommend Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes as translated by Edith Grossman. Few people will open this book, yet it is an integral part of our culture. A through-trip is a quest in itself, and you may identify with the crazy Knight and his trusty squire Sancho Panza. Grossman’s translation brings humor and life to one of the first novels ever written, and you will begin to understand that we all have our windmills.

 Perhaps you are on your way to Europe, and if you are not planning on hiking the Camino de Santiago, but insist on a more leisurely form of sightseeing, I recommend The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. His abrupt, masculine style and chronic consum­­­ption of alcohol is perfect for a sunny sidewalk café paired with your choice of libation. If you really want to experience Hemingway, forego the coffee and order the cognac.

If instead of wandering Europe on a whim, you plan to gas up your truck and head out across America, there are many books to help the miles go by. If you are lucky enough to play an audio recording of the book in question, hooray for you and your fancy CD player. Usually, because we are too cheap to buy the MP3 download or the $50 CD case, my boyfriend and I will take turns reading chapters aloud. Far from my favorite book, but perfectly appropriate for a wandering road trip, On the Road by Jack Kerouac combines the randomness of sex with the remote highway of the 1950s for an entertaining read.

However, one of my highest recommendations goes to Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty. I would take this backpacking or downriver, as well. The only western to win a Pulitzer Prize, Lonesome Dove provides humor, excitement and perspective to your long drive. You will be thankful you aren’t herding cattle from Texas to Montana … or maybe you will wish you were there with Gus and Call.

Books – be they fiction, nonfiction, one-of-a-kind literature or a popular series – are transporting. They are great escapes from our routine or daily commute. Sometimes, we even need an escape from paradise. When that happens, load up your gear, grab your maps and pick a book. It’s all part of the experience.

– Maggie Casey