Good Reads.

[jeanontheroad]

Don't know where to put this, but has anyone read any good camping/RV/minimalist related books?

 

[Donedirtcheap]

No books but this guy has some good stuff if you can tolerate the little bear and the strange sound of his voice at times.

http://www.youtube.com/user/KennethKramm

 

[sl1966]

Yes. But I can't remember the name I it to a friend who started full timing before me. I'll post it when I remember.

 

[jeanontheroad]

One I read recently was more of a pamphlet than a book. It is

Treasure And Metal Detecting The Way I Do It
by Howard Whittaker

A good overview of how to research places you might find things, either in your home area or in your travels, digging etiquette, getting permission to hunt on private land, and getting to know your detector.

From what I have read here, metal detecting is an RV-friendly activity enjoyed by several people on this forum.

---

One I read a year or so ago was

Full-Time RV Living - A How-To Guide For The RV Lifestyle
by Chris Poindexter

This was a gift. It is pretty basic and I would not have purchased it for myself. It covers subjects that most people on this forum are already familiar with, starting with different types of RV's available. But it would be an excellent place for a newbie to start.

 

[akrvbob]

A book I liked a lot was "American Nomad." It's about the history of mobile people in the USA starting with some of the Spanish conquistadors. It covers among others:

American Indians
Mountain Men/Trappers/Explorers
Cowboys
Hoboes
Tramps
Rainbow People
RVers

Bob

 

[Donedirtcheap]

A book I liked a lot was "American Nomad." It's about the history of mobile people in the USA starting with some of the Spanish conquistadors. It covers among others:

American Indians
Mountain Men/Trappers/Explorers
Cowboys
Hoboes
Tramps
Rainbow People
RVers

Bob

Listed from least environmental impact to worst.

 

[Mackerous]

I've only just begun it, but even though you're an RVer, you might like Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon, the original vandwelling book from what I understand >=)

 

[jeanontheroad]

I found Blue Highways on the Barnes and Nobel ebooks. I can't find anything that looks like the right American Nomad,tho. Maybe it is not available as an ebook. Maybe the library has it.

 

[arlon]

I found Blue Highways on the Barnes and Nobel ebooks. I can't find anything that looks like the right American Nomad,tho. Maybe it is not available as an ebook. Maybe the library has it.

I'd second a vote for Blue Highway.. Got mine used on Amazon for a reasonable fee. Stop in any resale shop, there's always something worth picking up for less than a buck no matter what your interests are. Found a few real reading treasures in a few of those places. When you finish, find someplace or someone on the road that will swap. Or just give to someone that doesn't have anything to read. (-:}

 

[sl1966]

Just remembered it ... It's a good beginners basic nuts and bolts what to think about before starting out kind of book. An Introduction to Full-time Rving by Gaylord Maxwell

 

[Patrick46]

Listed from least environmental impact to worst.

DDC....

...you DO realize that Mr. BOB is at the bottom of that list, right???

 

[Mackerous]

I have American Nomad on my Kindle wishlist, but it's a different one. Looks like Bob forgot the S: American Nomads - http://www.amazon.com/American-Nomads-Conquistadors-Mountain-Bullriders/dp/0802141803

 

[Donedirtcheap]

DDC....

...you DO realize that Mr. BOB is at the bottom of that list, right???

Its very easy to realize that Bob and ALL of us are at the bottom of the list.
It is what it is. Bob is where he is, but compared to living in an 1800 sq ft house with a pool and sprinkler system Bob is kicking ass with his little carbon footprint.
As he says, hes doing the best that he can in his way. What mpg is that gas sucking class C of yours going to get? I hope around 8 or 9 so I can stay just one notch greener than you and closer to MR Bob with my 10 Mpg piggy.

Hey, I want to say thanks again for the Copart link. That place is fantastic even if you dont want to buy anything. I love just walking around looking at all the crashed and burned stuff. I'm bidding on a barely damaged TT that retailed for $34,000 one year ago. The only problem is they listed it with minor damage yet when I crawled all over it I found that it had some suspension damage.

I think they chained it at the pivot point between the two springs to pull it sideways out of a ditch and bent the rail on both sides. Tilted the hanger U brackets. I would also have to deal with a Texas salvage title. Easy fix for me but I think I'm going up against bidders that dont know about that damage. Oh and the frig is full of food. It will almost drop you when the door is opened.

 

[jeanontheroad]

Currently trying (for the umpteenth time) to plow thru Hawking's " A Brief History of Time". Not really RV related except that it's a season where a lot of people are trapped inside with a lot of time on their hands. I have tried to get thru it, before, and failed. Every time, I get to almost the same part and get lost. Don't know if it's my math or my imagination or my mental ability that is lacking. Whatever it is, he goes on and I can't.

I am hoping that now, with a lot of time to devote to it, I can get to the end and understand it.

 

[jeanontheroad]

Put Hawking aside. Too distracted to concentrate, lately. Started on "Blue Highways." That really is a good read. Only about 60 pages into it. Author likes clever play with words (big surprise, as he was an English teacher) and that pleases me. Enjoying the book. Interesting picture of 30 years ago.

 

[Blue]

well...

Bullet Monkeys- great book lightning fast pace, cant recomend it enough, reads like a slightly more serious sin city comic book. if you looking for a distracting roller coster ride that forces you to keep page turning, its awesome.

Survivor-Chuck Pallanuk (guy who wrote fight club) I've read or listened to everything chuck has written. Awesome author, every book includes a skill set to learn (in fight club it was how to make soap and explosives, in survivor its using old fasioned cures and remedies... like using bread dough to pick up broken glass, lemon and soda water to remove blood stains etc) and generally I would recomend any pallanuk book. but I really liked the mom in survivor... shes a vandwelling anarchist who changes the hair color bottles in the boxes at the stores ;-)

Just read "Doctor Sleep" by Steven King, was pretty good, but not an uber great king book, if you loved "the shineing" its required reading... one thing though... the villians are RV fulltimer child stealing vampires who travel cross country in RV convoys non-stop.... HEH!!!

 

[jeanontheroad]

Just finished Blue Highways. It felt like reading Bill Bradley or Lin Pardey, sort of. Tales of people and places from a world that was there yesterday, was changing as the author experienced it, but has just now slipped away entirely or morphed into something completely unrecognizable. He has written more, some of it published quite recently. I need something completely different now, tho, for a break.

 

[Reducto]

Robert M. Pirsig - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: Worth a read, or re-read if it's been a while.

Jon Krakauer - Into The Wild: guy wanders in a car, by foot, by canoe, made a good movie too.

Richard Feynman - Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman: Surprisingly amusing tale of his involvement in the Manhattan Project and other physics-related antics.

Kevin Mitnick - Ghost in the Wires: Notorious hacker's tale of how he evaded capture for years. There is a fair amount of technical stuff, but it's explained plainly and most of his hacks were "social engineering" anyway - impersonating people with access to information or equipment he wanted.

 

[Blue]

Reducto- read Zen and the Art... awesome book... what do you feel after climbing the mountian? Didnt read Mitnick's book but hung out with him at DefCon (computer security consultant's convention in vegas) actually... I think Mitnick was a bit nuts brilliant but nuts.

 

[jeanontheroad]

Reducto, I have read Surely You Are Joking Mr Feynman. Read The Pleasure of Finding Things Out, too. Loved 'em both. I have watched a couple of Feynman lectures on Youtube, too. Wonder if they are still there. Feynman, Gould, Sagan ...... it really does seem, sometimes, like too many of the good die too young, while the malingerers malinger on forever.

I may download the Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Repair, but it will have to wait for a bit to get read. DH ans son have been after me to start the Wheel of Time series they are reading so we ca all talk about and make "in" jokes and references. I guess I will finally start.

Blue, I have never heard about the books you mentioned, but I will look into them. I'm not much on horror or sci-fi, or for fiction in general. But sometimes, a well written story hits the spot.

---

Blue, there are several books with blue monkeys in the title. Do you have an author name?