Recent, Current, & Future Reading; Mostly Outdoor & Nature Topics But Not All

My slowly healing hand following a recent operation is keeping me off the hills so I’ve been doing more reading than usual. I thought I’d mention a few outdoor, nature, and other books that might be of interest. Very short reviews only as typing is also slow and not that easy.

I've just read Hunt For The Shadow Wolf: The Lost History Of Wolves In Britain by Derek Gow and The Hidden Fires: A Cairngorms Journey With Nan Shepherd by Merryn Glover. I can recommend both though be warned the first is grisly and disturbing in places. Derek Gow’s in-depth research is phenomena and fascinating but does paint a rather dismal picture. Merry Glover’s book is a celebration of the Cairngorms, my local mountain range, and beautifully written.

I'm usually reading at least two books at once. Currently it’s four – Harold Raeburn: The Steps Of A Giant by Peter J. Biggar, I Belong Here: A Journey Along The Backbone Of Britain by Anita Sethi, and Divine Might: Goddesses In Greek Myth by Natalie Haynes, and Marple: Twelve New Stories by 12 different writers. I haven’t read much of any of them yet but all are enjoyable so far. The Raeburn is a handsomely produced weighty tome about one of the founding fathers of Scottish mountaineering full of fascinating old photos – all that tweed clothing, all those very long ice axes! Anita Sethi’s is a personal account of walking the Pennine Way as a non-white woman.

The last two books are not outdoor or nature ones of course. I thought I’d include them to show I do read other things! I’ve always been interested in mythology and pantheons of gods (so much more fascinating than monotheism) – somewhere I still have copies of Robert Graves’ 2 volume The Greek Myths I bought in the 1960s. Natalie Haynes tells the same stories with the goddesses at the centre. Haynes pops up as one of the writers in Marple, a book of tales featuring Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. It makes for easy late-night reading when I’m too tired to read anything more serious or demanding.

I have a large pile of ‘waiting to be read’ books. At the top are these 'hope to read soon' ones: Wild Service: Why Nature Needs You edited by Nick Hayes and Jon Moses, Beastly: A New History Of Animals And Us by Keggie Carew, and The Great Divide: Walking The Continental Divide Trail by Tim Voors. I’ll let you know what I think when I’ve read them. They all look good.

Finally, a mention of a book I’ve been dipping into for months, The Cairngorms & North-East Scotland by Iain Young, Anne Butler, and Heather Morning in the Scottish Mountaineering Club’s Hillwalkers’ Guides series. This is a magnificent book packed with information and photos. Everyone interested in the Cairngorms should have a copy.