The Best Adventure Travel Books of 2020 – Outside Online

The opportunities to be transported around the world through the pages of a good read have been a balm for adventure seekers. and with so many great releases this year, we had some trouble narrowing down our list. So we asked eight authors whose own books have recently taken us to incredible places to recommend some of their favorites. these titles will satiate you until it’s safe to travel again.

‘rockaway’ by diane cardwell

(Courtesy Houghton Mifflin)

According To: Bonnie Tsui, author of four books, including American Chinatown and Why We Swim.

You are reading: Best adventure books 2020

Bonnie Tsui, who examines humans’ attraction to water in her most recent book, Why We Swim, returns to a similar theme in her recommended pick. In Rockaway, Diane Cardwell’s focus is on staying afloat, literally and figuratively, while navigating a “failed marriage” and a feverish career. “This book is about starting over and finding the thing – sailing! – that transforms that life into something hopeful and new,” says Tsui. Through a physically challenging endeavor, Cardwell helps readers understand how he has weathered the storm and offers hope to others trying to do the same.

why we need this now: in a year where the pandemic has added a layer of difficulty to all of our lives, rockaway serves as a guide to survival and exploration in our own backyards butts. Diane Cardwell’s experience of figuring out how to surf while living in New York City makes for a great read at a time when we’re all desperately searching for novelty closer to home. it also has a good dose of playfulness and a different perspective,” adds tsui.

buy the book

See Also: 17 Top Publishing Houses for Poetry – Writing Tips Oasis

‘leave only footprints’ by conor knighton

(Courtesy Crown Publishing)

According To: Mark Adams, author of four books, including Turn Right at Machu Picchu and Tip of the Iceberg.

“every human on earth will need a long vacation next year, which, if optimistic vaccine forecasts come true, could be the best summer trip in decades. In this delightful survey of dozens of national parks, Conor Knighton self-medicates with a broken heart by soaking up the wonders of America’s biggest outdoor hits,” explains Mark Adams, whose prolific travel writing career includes trips that took him to search for the lost city ​​of atlantis and follow in the footsteps of the explorer hiram bingham iii in the mountains of peru.

why we need this now:for adams, the book offers a valuable distraction from the grueling news cycle we’ve been dealing with this year. “knighton will make you think of better uses for your stored energy. like setting up a tent.”

See also  Clementine - Book Series In Order

buy the book

See Also: 17 Top Publishing Houses for Poetry – Writing Tips Oasis

‘I have a wolf by the ears: stories’ by laura van den berg

(Courtesy Macmillan)

According To: Morgan Jerkins, author of three books, including Wandering in Strange Lands and Caul Baby: A Novel.

one of time’s 100 must-read books of 2020, laura van den berg’s collection of female-centric horror stories may not seem like travelogue at first (unlike the writer’s previous novel, the third hotel), but morgan jerkins says the author’s deft portrayal of florida is just one example of what it’s like. “Florida is a character in her own right in the book. van den berg deftly details heat and nature as well as people. it’s very different, and i would put her in the group of esteemed young writers like alissa nutting and t kira madden who are carving out florida as a necessary place in the literary canon,” says jerkins.

See Also: 10 Best Audiobooks for Tweens | Audible.com

Why We Need This Now: According to jerkins, van den berg’s ability to explore complex female emotions and transport readers to each destination provides readers with a timely balm. “I think this is the perfect book on travel in 2020 because the author sets stories in different places, both national and international, and the way she explores fear could be the sense of understanding that we need in an unprecedented time.”

buy the book

See Also: 17 Top Publishing Houses for Poetry – Writing Tips Oasis

‘wanderland: a search for magic in the landscape’ by jini reddy

(Courtesy Bloomsbury Wildlife)

According To: Gina Rae La Cerva, author of Feasting Wild: In Search of the Last Untamed Food.

In Jini Reddy’s memoir, Travel Country, the London-based Canadian writer takes a magical journey through the natural landscapes of her adopted home to cope with the feeling of being an outsider. “sometimes the best adventures happen in our backyards,” says gina rae la cerva. “Reddy follows her heart and a healthy dose of serendipity to explore Britain’s natural wonders. this book is a celebration of the joys of wandering and discovering who we are when we come face to face with the mysteries of nature.”

why we need this now: la cerva, whose own book is a worldwide search for what foraging means to different cultures, understands how important connecting with nature is to our well-being . “For many people, lockdown has made escaping into nature more challenging. reddy shows us that even the most mundane landscapes contain their own wild magic. I also love that this book is about a woman of color exploring her connection to nature, including the role of her Hindu upbringing in that relationship and her own sense of otherness.”

buy the book

See Also: 17 Top Publishing Houses for Poetry – Writing Tips Oasis

‘underland: a journey through deep time’ by robert macfarlane

(Courtesy W.W. Norton)
See also  The 5 Best Charles Bukowski Poetry Books - Owlcation

According To: Tom Zoellner, author of eight nonfiction books, including Island on Fire: The Revolt That Ended Slavery in the British Empire and The National Road: Dispatches from a Changing America.

“less a physical adventure than a surprising intellectual journey, underland invites us to become aware of a basic fact of our daily existence: the ground on which we stand hides invisible chthonic layers”, says tom zoellner about the latest proposal of robert macfarlane in underground. spaces, ranging from historical remnants, such as nuclear waste burial chambers in finland and the catacombs in paris, to places that take us beyond easy access, such as the sea caves in norway. “Macfarlane is like John Wesley Powell without the tan, taking us on a psychological odyssey of caving,” adds Zoellner.

Why We Need This Now: As the world has seemingly shrunk during the pandemic, the thought of exploring our underground offerings gives a whole new meaning to appreciating our backyards. “Macfarlane gives us reason to delve into pedestrian landscapes, not just picturesque ones, and the language we use to make sense of them,” says Zoellner.

buy the book

See Also: 17 Top Publishing Houses for Poetry – Writing Tips Oasis

‘spirit run: a 6,000-mile marathon through the stolen land of north america’ by noé alvarez

(Courtesy Catapult)

According To: Maggie Shipstead, author of three books, including Seating Arrangements and the forthcoming Great Circle (May 2021).

See Also: Top 5 NAPLEX Review Books for Pharmacy Students

a search for connection, with the land and his ancestors, is at the heart of the continuous journey that noé alvarez takes readers throughout his book. “the route [Alvarez ran] was designed to go through as much tribal land as possible, and he found himself running only on gravel roads or simple trails that crossed mountains, rain forests, punishing deserts, volcanic moonscapes and sometimes, urban centers, looking at the relationship between native peoples and the land that was taken from them,” explains maggie shipstead, whose travelogue, to be published next May, also examines the connections forged on a journey through time (from the prohibition until modern times) and the place (america, new zealand, and england).

why we need this now: “Álvarez is the son of Mexican immigrants who endured decades of back-breaking work [in Yakima, Washington] to make ends meet, and he weaves the stories of his parents. in his race account, as well as those of the other [indigenous] runners, many of whom have led overwhelmingly difficult lives. For many of us, 2020 has been a year of dealing with the cruelties of the American system while also trying to make sense of mass suffering, and Alvarez’s memoir, deeply personal and poignant in its rawness, does both,” he says. shipstead.

buy the book

See Also: 17 Top Publishing Houses for Poetry – Writing Tips Oasis

‘the new desert’ by diane cook

(Courtesy Harper)

According To: Rahawa Haile, author of the forthcoming In Open Country (2022).

In her memoir of the Appalachian Trail, scheduled for release in 2021, rahawa haile shares her experience of finding herself back in the wild frontiers. Diane Cook’s debut work does the same with its female leads fighting for her survival. “The new wilderness is a speculative novel involving a group of people seeking refuge in the last remaining wilderness when the city air is deemed too toxic for children,” explains haile of the lively dystopian debut. “It is an exciting and involving work, centered on a mother and a daughter, that deftly jumps between the physical and interpersonal challenges faced by those who have left everything behind to have the opportunity to fight again.”

See also  BIG List of Best Preschool Workbooks Your Kids Will Love | Kids Activities Blog

Why We Need This Now: The book’s focus on the need to work with our neighbors, even those with whom we don’t share a similar life experience, to preserve the planet is timely. According to Haile, “This book is perfect for anyone who spent 2020 cooped up at home due to the pandemic while nurturing healthy anxiety about the climate crisis. if you want to lose yourself in a story about the natural world set in the long-term consequences of unchecked extractive industries, this is your novel.”

buy the book

See Also: 17 Top Publishing Houses for Poetry – Writing Tips Oasis

‘eating the buddha’ by barbara demick

(Courtesy Random House)

According To: Monisha Rajesh, author of Around the World in 80 Trains: A 45,000-Mile Adventure.

a trip to north korea introduced monisha rajesh to barbara demick’s nothing to envy, which she describes as “a gripping examination of the so-called hermit kingdom through the voices of six defectors” . In Eat the Buddha, Demick uses that same skill to produce a “fair and measured narrative” for Tibet. “This time, she has collected stories told by Tibetans from Ngaba County in China to shed light on the struggles that have taken place since China occupied Tibet [in 1950],” Rajesh explains. Tracking down and tracing hundreds of eyewitnesses to events from 1958 to the present day, he has conducted extensive interviews that allow him to recreate everything from the smell of burning towns and the screams of tortured grandparents to softer moments of salty yak butter than sparkles in tea ”Rajesh, who also visited Tibet by train for her own book, appreciated Demick’s unbiased approach. “We see the virgin land before the invasion and we witness the destruction of the natural environment as time goes by.”

why we need this now: “demick presents a nuanced interpretation, explaining that many Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama, were initially open to Chinese help when it came to improving Tibetans’ lives , but not to the point that their culture and religion should be eroded,” says rajesh of the current crackdown on Uyghurs in xinjiang province. “this book is a very relevant read that sheds light on how the Chinese government perceives and treats minorities and the reasons behind [their persecution],” adds rajesh.

buy the book

See Also: 17 Top Publishing Houses for Poetry – Writing Tips Oasis

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *