The Bedside Table

By the time I'm tucking in for the night these days, I don't have a lot of mental power left. Much as I want to read The Brothers Karamazov or The Winter of Our Discontent (the latter of which has been in progress for some weeks now), I find myself re-reading the same paragraphs over and over. Unless I'm on a beach vacation, I need easier reading at night now.

But "easy" still has to be inspiring, eloquent, thought-provoking, instructional, and perhaps even slightly amusing at times.

Here's one I got that ticks all those boxes:

46 Days: Keeping up with Jennifer Pharr Davis on the Appalachian Trail.

This book was written by Jen's husband, Brew, who crewed for her on her June-July 2011 Fastest Known Time (FKT) completion of the 2,181 mile (3,510 km) Appalachian Trail in the USA. Jen broke her own female record and broke the overall record, taking 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes to do the whole thing. She was basically hiking from 5 AM to 9 or 10 PM every day for 46 days. She took 26 hours off the previous record.

Of course, having done the Bibbulmun Track FKT, I can probably get into this book quite easily. It was fascinating to read what she ate, how much support she had on the trail, her setbacks, and how her "pit crew" worked so well to help her achieve the record. Last night I made myself stop reading, as I was about to finish the book and didn't want it to end. So, tonight, huddled up to escape the cold of this old, uninsulated house, I will finish my journey with Jen and Brew.

And then??? Well, maybe, just maybe, John Steinbeck will get a turn for a few days again. BUT...John has a little competition in the form of Scott Jurek. The long awaited book that is perhaps part biography, memoir, vegan recipe book, and training guide, "Eat and Run" should land on my doorstep tomorrow!

I'll be reading the book over the next two weeks and then in the last week of June, I'll be running a competition where anyone who reads my blog or websites can win a copy! I'll have three to give away all together. Stay tuned!