#desert solitaire

I read six books in August and I had one dnf. Six books per month has been about my average this year. I read two fantasy books, and four books of nature literature. Most of these are in preparation for an upcoming trip I have to Utah. Let's get into it!

1.An Echo of Things to Come (Licanius Trilogy 2) by James Islington, 4/5 stars. I had a good time reading the second book in this doorstopper fantasy series. I liked it more than book 1, and felt like it really delved into the plot. I'm looking forward to finishing this series up, and the ending of this book was: 😮

2.Landmarks by Robert Macfarlane, 5/5 stars. This is a prominent piece of nature literature from within the past decade. Macfarlane has a way with words, and I enjoyed reading a nature lit set somewhere besides the US. I liked his "word-hoard" project, and would definitely pick up more of his books in the future.

3.Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher, 4/5 stars. This is Kingfisher's newest release, a snow white retelling. Like her other fairy tale retellings, I thought this was a fresh adaptation and an interesting twist on the tale. It reminded me a little bit of her horror book, the Hollow Places, as a sort of alternate realm horror. Enjoyable, but I don't think I enjoyed it as much as some of her other books. I also don't care much for the cover, and don't think it really fits the book.

4.This is the Place: Utah by Maurine Whipple this is a travel guide for Utah written in the 1940s by mormon author Maurine Whipple. I skimmed parts of it, and was mostly interested in the pictures. I was hoping for a bit more about the natural landscape, but this was mostly about Mormons/Mormonism (sorry just not interested lol).

5.Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey. I reread this on audio and was incredibly happy that Michael Kramer narrated the audiobook. I do really love this book despite some of Abbey's views.

6.Desert Cabal: A New Season in the Wilderness by Amy Irvine. This is an essay published on the 50th anniversary of Desert Solitaire, and Irvine having a conversation with Abbey at the place where he is buried. It's a recollection of what has changed since Abbey's book and a reflection on the desert now in the 21st century.

DNF: The Councillor by EJ Beaton. I read about 100 pages but just couldn't get interested in it. I set the book aside for now, maybe one day I'll pick it back up and try again.

September tbr:

Katabasis by RF Kaung (already finished lol)

Read some other Utah books (Zion Canyon Reader, Red, Capitol Reef Reader?)

The Light of All that Falls by James Islington (Licanius 3)

Roots of Chaos novella by Samatha Shannon

What Stalks the Deep by T Kinfisher

One final paragraph of advice. Do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am—a reluctant enthusiast—a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it's still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizzly, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for awhile and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely, mysterious and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound people with their hearts in a safe deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this: you will outlive the bastards.

I've started planning out some of what I'm going to read for @batmanisagatewaydrug's 2025 book bingo (read more here), and to get myself hyped, I'm sharing the books I've set in stone, as well as recording some ideas I have for the other spaces!

I've been looking forward to Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins for a while now, I'm interested to see if it will live up to the philosophical examination it sets itself up as.

I got the illustrated copy of Eragon by Christopher Paolini/Sidharth Chaturvedi for Christmas, so that's kind of a no-brainer for the re-read.

Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao I'm also getting for Christmas, but it's the pretty Illumicrate version, so it's not getting here until January or February. I took a gamble with Iron Widow and got the hardcover, and I was not disappointed (I've read it 3 times and am going to reread it once I get HT, and will certainly reread both in the future), so I expect the fancy one will be money well spent (by my aunt but still).

I am just assuming that My Friends by Fredrik Backman is going to be set in Sweden, because all of Backman's other novels are set there. Hopefully I don't need to find a new book for the category lol. If I do this one will probably fit Literary Fiction anyway.

I've been working my way through my reread of the Hitchiker's Guide trilogy by Douglas Adams, and think I can finish the 3rd in the next few days, so I'm all set up for the 4th going into 2025 :)

I stopped reading Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey when school got really rough last year and have wanted to go back to it for a while. It was recommended to me by my dad, and one of his favorite books. In the 100-ish pages I've read, I've found it to be amazing as well.

Things My Son Needs to Know About the World by Fredrik Backman was going to be my memoir choice until I realized it was actually essays.

I saw Death In Rocky Mountain National Park: Accidents and Foolhardiness on the Continental Divide by Randi Minetor while just wandering Barnes and Noble and was sure I had to read it when the title made it clear it wasn't going to blame animals for the actions of humans.

I've wanted to read Last Chance to See by Douglas Adams and Mark Carwardine for a long time, but the concept alone has always made it a little too sad to convince myself to pick up. This year will be its year though.

I promised my roommate that I would read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson last year so that we could watch the show for Halloween. I'm following through this year instead.....

My reasoning for Thud! by Terry Pratchett is simple. I like Discworld, I like Ankh Morpork, I like the Watch novels, I like Sam Vimes.

Below the cut are some of my ideas for the sections I haven't filled yet (anyone should feel free to send me as many recommendations for these as you want):

“Desert Solitaire” Namib Desert, #Namibia

Edward Abbey