Wife gave me a Kindle Paperwhite for Christmas and looking to get some good recs for books to put on the list.

Would prefer anything Western or hunting/conservation/outdoors related if you've got good ones. Wondering if there really is anything worth reading on the Kindle Unlimited book list or if anything worthwhile is something you'll pay for.

Already reading Empire of the Summer Moon in paperback unfortunately, so I'll have to read that one old school.

I think I read pretty much EVERY Louis L'Amour book as a kid, but saw a Riders of the Western Trails series of books that I don't think I've read. Anybody read these? If they're L'Amour books I'm sure they're great.

Just looking to build up a library to start reading.

In the stickied FAQ outdoor thread, there are a ton of book recommendations!

Read everything by Elmer Kelton

Indian Creek Chronicles by Peter Fromm

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

My Side of The Mountain by Jean Craighead George

I enjoyed the green hills of Africa by Hemingway.

Peter Heller is awesome, The Dog Stars was his first huge hit but all of his books have been great as I rarely take longer than a couple weeks to finish them. He has been a huge contributor to Outdoors magazine and Natgeo. His writing is very engaging and poetic with a lot of fly fishing and river navigating knowledge. I have read all of his fiction but have not read any of his nonfiction yet.

If you want a very realistic end of times....


Read One Scond After. 1/4. 4th just came out and I'm re-reading. It should be horror, because of what will happen. And from my work history, if in an urban area, way worse than the story line.

The Frontiersman but anything by Allen Eckert.

The Old Man and the Boy

Skeletons of the Zahara - Chronicles the true story of twelve American sailors who were shipwrecked off the coast of Africa in 1815, captured by desert nomads, sold into slavery, and subjected to a hellish two-month journey through the perilous heart of the Sahara.

Plugger - Grigar claimed to have caught more than a million pounds of fish in his sixty years along the coast. Yet fervent and abiding concern for those waters spurred his commitment to a catch-and-release policy for all fish under three pounds and to Gulf Coast conservation. His tales and tips are the bible of those now wading the Plugger's favorite spots.

Maybe too obvious, but...A Sand County Almanac...Aldo Leopold.

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant. About the hunt for a man-eating tiger in the Russian Far East shortly after the Cold War.

These threads always cost me money!

Joe Pickett series by CJ Boxx

The stranger in the woods by Michael Finkel

"A Sand County Almanac" is one of my favorites.

Bill Bryson's "A Walk in The Woods" is funny and about the Appalachian trail.

So far I've downloaded Death in the Tall Grass. That was free with Kindle Unlimited

On the lighter side, Jimmy Buffett is an entertaining read. I picked up "Where is Joe Merchant" again after about 20 years. "A Pirate Looks at Forty" is good and " A Pirate Looks at Fifty" is how I would have liked to celebrate my 50th, but was short an amphibious and private Jet at the time.

The Lonesome Dove series by Larry McMurtry are very good.

I decided to read them in chronological order, since I was familiar with the characters from the tv series. Though a slight majority on the ob favored to read them in published order.

Lonesome Dove is the best of the four. I also liked Comanche Moon a lot. Thought Deadman Walking was okay. If I had to do it over again, I would skip Streets of Laredo. Thought it could have been a really good finish to the series, but the author dropped the ball, imo.

brew82 said:

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The Lonesome Dove series by Larry McMurtry are very good.

I decided to read them in chronological order, since I was familiar with the characters from the tv series. Though a slight majority on the ob favored to read them in published order.

Lonesome Dove is the best of the four. I also liked Comanche Moon a lot. Thought Deadman Walking was okay. If I had to do it over again, I would skip Streets of Laredo. Thought it could have been a really good finish to the series, but the author dropped the ball, imo.

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Definitely planning to read that series

All of these lists start and end with

The Most Dangerous Game

by Richard Connell

Ag 11 said:

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The Old Man and the Boy

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This and The Snows Of Kilimanjaro

Indian Depredations in Texas. Will give you a great appreciation of what was going on and why the fighting was so vicious

Comfort Crisis- Michael Easter
River of Doubt

Tribe, by Sebastian Junger.

Finished Empire of the Summer Moon this past year. Excellent piece of history but damn it was rough in a few places.

Everything by Patrick F. McManus.

The "F" stands for 'funny".

I'll second the recommendations for Hemingway's Green Hills, Death In The Tall Grass and The Old Man's Boy, but seriously, anything by either Capstick or Ruark should be looked at for consideration.

I don't read much, but my wife and daughters read a ton. She checks out books from the library via the Libby app. Libby is like a hub for the public library, so if you have a library card you can check out book and they'll go straight to your device. We're in Houston area, so we use Harris county public library and we have access. I dont know enough about the app to explain it more than that, but definitely something to look into if you're just gonna read it once and move on. Beats spending money on books that are just gonna sit on the shelf. Here's a video that might help:

O.G. said:

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Tribe, by Sebastian Junger.

Finished Empire of the Summer Moon this past year. Excellent piece of history but damn it was rough in a few places.

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I have Empire of Summer Moon in paperback but considering buying it on Kindle now. So much easier to read without having a lamp, etc. Just hate to buy it again

Player, I recommend The Plainsmen Series, by Terry C Johnston. The reason I enjoyed these books so much is because they are historical fiction. Every character in these stories are in fact real historical figures with the exception of the main character, who the story is told through. There are stories about the Indian Wars, Buffalo Soldiers, even Custer's Last stand. A lot of them are Texas based also.

I too have a Kindle Paperwhite, have had it for years. I like it, because I read in bed, and if I fall asleep and drop it. it turns off and I don't lose my page. Most books on Amazon are also cheaper than print books.

Horn of the Hunter by Robert Ruark. Best safari book I have ever read.

Man Eaters of Tsavo - Book about the hunt for a man eating lion in Africa during British Colonial rule that was attacking the railroad villages. This was the book that the movie Ghost and the Darkness was based on.

Continuing the African Safari theme, take a look at a book called White Hunter, by Brian Hearne. It is similar to the Ruark and Capstick books relating tales of safaris or hunters.
In addition to the books that Capstick wrote, he also had a deal with St. Martin's Press to re-issue books from the past by different writers such as Teddy Roosevelt, Bror Van Blixen and others.

+1 for Peter Heller.

Dog Stars is my favorite. The River is a close second and I have enjoyed them all.

Read The River before The Guide.