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Mountain Mama: Outdoor Book Gift Guide

Dear Mountain Mama,

What do I buy the bookworm on my list this holiday season?

Thanks,

Last-Minute-Gift-Guy

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Dear Last-Minute-Gift-Guy,

When the temperatures plummet and obligations keep us indoors, adventure vicariously through the words of a local author. Books about the outdoors not only provide a dose of adrenaline, but they inspire us to explore new places. This year, I’m hoping Santa delivers these three books written by local authors:

1.  PRECIPICE: Well-known for regional whitewater guidebooks, Leland Davis published PRECIPICE this year, his first novel. For those on your shopping list who enjoy an action/adventure book, PRECIPICE will keep them turning the pages. When the book’s hero, a professional paddler, teams up with Navy SEALS, adventure ensues deep in the jungles of Mexico. PRECIPICE is written to appeal to mainstream readers, so while the kayaker on your list will love the paddling references, PRECIPICE is also a perfect gift for those on your list who haven’t yet ventured onto whitewater.

2. Wherever Waters Flow: A Lifelong Love Affair with Wild Rivers: By his own account, Doug Woodward fell head over heals, “I fell in love. Deeply, dangerously, without chance of escape.” Doug recounts his love affair with whitewater, from harrowing accounts of family adventures on frigid rivers to the stunt work involved for Deliverance. Doug provides an insider’s view of the early days of paddling in the Southeast. For the hard-to-shop-for-paddler on your list who has everything, Wherever Water Flows is a perfect present.

3. Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail: Jennifer Pharr Davis‘ coming of age story unfolds on the unlikeliest of places — the Appalachian Trail. After graduating from college, Jennifer tackles the 2,175-mile trail and gives readers the real scoop on the highs and lows to life on the infamous footpath. Jennifer takes the reader on a physical and emotional adventure as she hikes from Georgia to Maine. Anyone who’s ever wanted to find themselves in nature will enjoy reading about Jennifer’s grueling long-distance hike.

Best of all, Last-Minute-Gift-Guy, all of these books are available on Amazon, so you don’t have to even leave your own favorite reading chair to finish up you shopping.

Hope you like my Outdoor Book Gift Guide. Have suggestions of your own? Leave them in the comments! 

Happy Holidays!

Mountain Mama

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