Compasses & Bookmarks: What to Read on Your Next Camping Adventure

In college I had a series of relationships with outdoorsy boys who took me camping on Lake Travis and on the Pedernales River. As long as it was just for one night, and we left early the next morning to return to showers, toilets, clean clothes, and eggs cooked on a stove, I was ok (ish) with the arrangement. By graduation, I had outgrown that phase and eventually met my husband who blessedly shares my love of a nice soft bed and air conditioning. I haven’t camped since.

Two weekends ago I returned to the great outdoors for a mother-daughter Girl Scout “camping” trip. Our adventure was a little too rustic to really be called glamping but certainly couldn’t be considered camping as the arrangement included cabins, beds, showers, functioning toilets, and perhaps most importantly, a coffee maker. I have absolutely no camping tips to offer, but for those of you who like to camp, we are entering that perfect time of year to be outdoors, and I have some excellent reading tips to share for your next camping trip.  

Snuggle up in your tent after a day in the great outdoors with one of these books:

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant is the suspenseful story of Cooper and his daughter, Finch, who live for eight years in a remote cabin in the woods with no electricity and no contact with the outside world. As readers we don’t know what they are hiding from, but only that this is life or death. Then when Jake, Cooper’s only friend and the man who brings them supplies annually, doesn’t show up one year, Cooper is faced with a series of choices. Ultimately, he must decide if he will expose them to the dangers of the outside world, and he must decide who he can trust. This is a fast-paced novel with plenty of tension, but it’s also a family drama, exploring the bonds and boundaries of a parent and child.

Five women trek into the Australian bushland for a wilderness retreat, but only four return in the thrilling mystery, Force of Nature by Jane Harper. This is the second book in the Aaron Falk detective series, though I don’t think familiarity with the first book is necessary to enjoyment of this novel. Jane Harper has a masterful way of creating a sense of place, and in this novel, the crushing closeness of the woods and the sense that something is out there watching and waiting creates an intense, thrilling atmosphere. The story alternates between Falk’s investigation and what happened in those woods.  

John Krakauer is well-known for his outdoor writing. His 1996 book, Into the Wild, will remind you to return from your adventures. This is the story of Christopher Johnson McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp, a young man born to privilege who discarded all of his possessions and money and walked into the Alaska wilderness in 1992 never to be seen alive again. The story follows Supertramp’s wilderness adventures, exploring his quest to abandon a materialistic society for a life in the wild. Krakauer pieces together his final months to weave a cautionary tale that reads more like fiction than fact.

For an audiobook on those dark evenings or on your drive to the campsite, check out Wild by Sheryl Strayed. I had seen the Reese Witherspoon movie when it first came out but was late coming to this book. This is a captivating memoir, as there is quite a bit of action and growth, but it’s also extremely well written. Sheryl isn’t particularly likable as she sets out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in California, and she has a lot of growing up to do. On the trail she encounters everything from bleeding feet, a pack she can hardly carry, rattlesnakes, dehydration, and a few creepy men. She also learns that she’s tough and resilient, and she meets a lot of interesting people on the trail. This is a compelling and fast-paced story of growth after a fall.

Nothing says camping like sitting around the campfire and telling stories, ghost stories more specifically, so for those looking for a terrific ghost story, check these books out:

Sure, you’ve seen the movie and been totally terrified by Jack Nicholson hacking through that door, but did you know The Shining was originally a terrifically creepy novel by the master of horror, Stephen King? The book is very different from the film and is much more of a psychological thriller than a true horror book. The bones of the story are the same – Jack Torrance takes over caretaker duties at the remote Overland Hotel where he goes for the winter with his wife Wendy and their 5-year-old son Danny. Danny has special gifts, and the book focuses on what is happening inside everyone’s heads. Why doesn't Wendy leave? Why are they there in this isolated spot in the first place? What's up with Danny? What motivates Jack? And why does he become so unhinged? Stephen King is a master storyteller, and he has all the answers. This is an absolute must read.

Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House and Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black are more traditional ghost stories. Skeptics spend an evening or multiple evenings in secluded houses and are slowly tormented by the ghosts who inhabit those houses. They are slowly driven away, and their lives are forever altered by their experiences. These are both gothic tales told in a style similar to Edgar Allen Poe, and they are more about the atmosphere than the psychology. Jackson and Hill both wrap things up in less than 200 pages, so if your trip is short, these can be easily finished by flashlight.

Happy camping!