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Desert Solitaire
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
An account of the author's existence, observations and reflections, as a seasonal park ranger in southeast Utah
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review
LeftyDv
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Bailedbailed

By page 33 when Abbey chronicled his killing of a rabbit with a rock (just to do it), I‘d had my fill. I don‘t bail often, but this book about Arches National Park is about as boring as looking at postcards.

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SleepyDragon
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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Pickpick

Assigned reading for a college course in Environmental Ethics I took as a undergrad in the late 90s, this book inspired me to new heights of ecological appreciation. I have since read a few other things by Abbey, including a collection of correspondence. Living as I do now in a different part of his beloved desert, I understand a little more with each rereading. (Lost count.)

#Alphabetgame #LetterD

AnnR This sounds like a good choice for “D.“ I recently added this to my reading list for the #192025 challenge. 2y
SleepyDragon I'm just glad I had something other than Daisy Jones. I've no clue what to choose for E, I haven't found one yet. What's #192025? 2y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks thank you for playing!! 2y
16 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Becker
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Pickpick

Part memoir, part nature writing. A quiet and gentle book that transports you into the American desert. I enjoyed this very much. 🏜

SamAnne This book had such an impact on me in my 20s. Not all of his writings have aged well, but his love of the wild helped fire my passion for conservation work and the Big Wild. 2y
25 likes1 stack add1 comment
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ImperfectCJ
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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My family is planning a two-week road trip through several western states. We all enjoy listening to audiobooks on road trips, and now that my kids are both (just about) teenagers, it opens up possibilities beyond our standard fare (Jim Dale's Harry Potter, Stockard Channing's Ramona, etc). We have Under the Whispering Door, but I'd like one or two more particularly good audios as backup.

Suggestions?

(Photo from our 2009 trip to Arches NP.)

ImperfectCJ Fiction preferred, but engaging nonfiction (like Kate Moore or Sy Montgomery) could work, too. Bonus points for something related to the desert/Great Basin/Four Corners area. 2y
Susanita I read this in print, but I think there‘s an audio version as well. 2y
Mrs_B Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - the bbc full cast dramatisation! 2y
ImperfectCJ @Susanita @Mrs_B Thank you! I will look into these! 2y
45 likes1 stack add4 comments
review
SarieFaerie
Panpan

I do not recommend reading this book unless you want to have an exercise in learning about the horrid things people used to be super vocally open about. For me there was no celebration of the wilderness or living in the rough conditions of the desert, it was just a thesis about how horrid specific type of people are. Only reason I continued reading was for the 1000 Books You Must Read Before You Die challenge I set for myself.

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Brooke_H
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Panpan

Here are the things Abbey does in this manifesto:

1. Kills a rabbit with a rock just to see if he can
2. Fantasizes about moving to "grimy Oakland" and getting a "chocolate girlfriend"
3. Rants about how there are too many Navajo people, and proposes the idea that the US government should make Navajo birth control compulsory
4. Says that children, the elderly, and differently abled people should not come to the national parks
5. Denigrates women

Jas16 Sounds truly awful. 3y
16 likes1 comment
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BookieBiker
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Road trip to Moab must-read.

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saritaroth
Panpan

I couldn't really get into this book. And, frankly, some of the author's opinions about nature and the environment made me want to throw the book against the wall. The only things that kept me writing were the beautifully vivid descriptions of the Utah landscape and a few humorous sections that made me laugh out loud. I would give it two stars.

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BookmarkTavern
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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#7Days7Books Day 4

7 books that left an impression on me with no explanation.

SamAnne Me too. And Down the River. 4y
SamAnne And I recommend Desert Cabal by Amy Irving? a very short book that reads as a conversation with Ed at his grave, where she tells him how much he meant to her, but then calls him out on his sexist shit. And be other shit. And talks about the threats to wildnerness under the new American regime. 4y
SamAnne And BTW I love your Litsy handle. I had the entire Oz book collection as a kid and loved Ozma! 4y
BookmarkTavern @SamAnne Oh that sounds excellent! I will definitely look that up! Yeah, I first read this when I was a baby freshman in college that knew almost nothing. 😂 So it‘s really only upon rereading that I really begin to understand his views on women, Native Americans, and people with disabilities. And thank you! Ozma is my favorite. ❤️ 4y
67 likes1 stack add4 comments
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merelybookish
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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Pickpick

Abbey writes of his summer as a park ranger in Utah's then-undeveloped Arches National Park. It's easy to see why this is a classic of American nature writing. Abbey illuminates the rich, stark beauty of the harsh desert terrain. Unfortunately, Abbey's passionate plea to protect the wildness from development and industrial tourism was unheeded. Still, his love for the wild inspires.
A pick with reservation. Abbey's misogyny is a MAJOR detraction.

Suet624 I‘ve been meaning to read this. 5y
merelybookish @Suet624 I definitely recommend reading it! The descriptions are gorgeous and his thoughts on nature stirring. But the throwaway comments about women do start to rankle. And then there's his ideas on Native Americans. So just be forewarned. 5y
Suet624 Gotcha. Thanks. 5y
vivastory I've been wanting to read this since I read 5y
merelybookish @vivastory I think that's what made me stack it! 5y
68 likes5 comments
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Bibliogeekery
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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Pickpick

I finished this book on my last day in the desert. How timely. I really, deeply appreciate Edward Abbey's gorgeous detailed descriptions and meditations on the desert. I respect his fierce environmentalism (and can't help wondering what he would think of things now). His racism towards Native people, his attitudes towards women, his disdain for the old and disabled was really grating and made this book a slog at times. Picking it for the poetry.

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Bibliogeekery
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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Reading about the desert in a hot tub in the desert. Doesn't get much better than this! 🌵😍📚

valeriegeary So meta. 🤣🤗 5y
63 likes2 comments
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Bibliogeekery
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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🌵😍

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Bibliogeekery
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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😍

Soubhiville Wow, so majestic! 5y
57 likes1 comment
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Bibliogeekery
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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🌵

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Bibliogeekery
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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😍

emmalouise1 Stunning pictures 😍😍 5y
saresmoore Incredible! 5y
51 likes2 comments
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Bibliogeekery
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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🌵😍

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Bibliogeekery
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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🌵😍

Texreader So pretty 5y
Darklunarose The desert holds so much beauty 5y
57 likes2 comments
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Bibliogeekery
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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Morning in Utah

Djspens Beautiful view! 5y
Cathythoughts Wow ♥️ 5y
Tamra Very pretty! 5y
Wannabe_Quijote I grew up in Utah! 5y
Bibliogeekery @Wannabe_Quijote what a gorgeous place! 5y
61 likes5 comments
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Bibliogeekery
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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Beautiful day hiking in Snow Canyon State Park now curling up with a book about the area 📚⛰️

RealLifeReading Beautiful! 5y
cariashley 😍 5y
62 likes2 comments
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Bibliogeekery
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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In Utah. Reading about Utah. Glorious!

Christine Gorgeous! ❤️ 5y
Kalalalatja Oh, stunning! 5y
BeckyandBooks Utah is amazing! We‘ve been a couple times and have had so much fun. Enjoy! 5y
AlaMich That‘s so beautiful! 5y
69 likes1 stack add4 comments
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plemmdog
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Edward Abbey, writer and environmentalist, was born on this day in 1927.

"We need wilderness whether or not we ever set foot in it. We need a refuge even though we may never need to go there. We need the possibility of escape as surely as we need hope.

--Desert Solitaire, 1968

RaimeyGallant Lovely. 5y
10 likes2 stack adds1 comment
review
Anna40
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Pickpick

Yes, Abbey is a very gifted writer and whenever he writes about nature and its beauty I enjoyed his essays very much, but OH! the ranting, the endless ranting and snobbery of who should or should not be allowed into the parks, at times also the macho comments and sheer stupidity of arguments (mandatory birth control for the poor????!!!) spoiled it for me, I started skipping his polemics. To me this is a 3 out of 5. What a shame...

Nebklvr Hmmm.... I have heard a lot about Abbey but that pretty much puts me off. People who supposedly love nature but don‘t think they should need to share it or any other resources with others.....yeah, no 5y
Anna40 @Nebklvr to be fair, the ranting is short compared to the time dedicated to nature writing, but he totally disregards the facts that a) not everyone CAN hike, it's not only people who don't want to and b) when people see and experience nature, it is more likely that they will not only appreciate but also try to preserve it. Also some preadolescent idiotic arguments and the macho comments were annoying, I found it disappointing 5y
Izai.Amorim Einen guten Rutsch ins Neue Jahr, Anna! And a happy new year! 5y
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Anna40 @Izai.Amorim Same to you! Vielen Dank! 5y
SamAnne Love him but he is a mixed bag. And having come of age as a wilderness/environmental activist I lived it. 5y
Anna40 @SamAnne what books would you recommend by him? 5y
SamAnne I loved essays in Down the River and the Journey Home. Those would be my two faves. 5y
plemmdog I agree. It‘s hard to view him through the lens of today...I need to read some Annie Dillard to counterbalance him 5y
Anna40 @SamAnne thanks! 5y
Anna40 @plemmdog I tried Annie Dillard but have to admit only one essay and couldn't really get into it. Will pick something else next time:) 5y
10 likes1 stack add10 comments
review
BlueMonday42
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Pickpick

As much love letter to the southwest as book of philosophy, this has been a great summation of what I‘ve experienced living here in the southwest. I‘m leaving in just over two weeks, and this will be something I revisit when I find myself missing it.

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lauralovesbooks1
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Pickpick

Gorgeous nature writing about the beauty and solitude of the deserts and canyons of Utah and Arizona, complete with some healthy snark and cynicism about humanity and tourists in particular. I visited some of these places last year, visiting more of them next week - perfect pre-vacation read.

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peggyriley
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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“This is not a travel guide but an elegy.”

9 likes3 stack adds
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AndreaReads
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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Not really book related (other than I‘m rereading the tagged book), but my mom, sister, and I had a girls night out at Paint Nite! (I‘m in the middle.) We loved painting Delicate Arch so much we made plans for a girls hiking/camping trip there next summer! #PaintNight #DelicateArch #GirlTime

TheFunkyBookworm Wow 3 artists! You all did a great job! 💜 6y
Tanisha_A This looks superb! 6y
CouronneDhiver The pictures barely look different - wow! 6y
See All 9 Comments
Reggie I love paint nite!!!!! Looks great!! 6y
DivineDiana Love this! Where is Delicate Arch? 6y
Readergrrl Delicate Arch is beautiful!!! It‘s been a decade since my last visit. Time for a road trip!! 6y
Stacy_31 Paint Nite is so fun. Great paintings, ladies! 6y
AndreaReads Thank you, friends! We had a great time! @DivineDiana Delicate Arch is in Arches National Park in Moab, Ut—absolutely worth a visit! (edited) 6y
DivineDiana Thank you! Added to my list! 😊 6y
76 likes9 comments
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chowmeyow
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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On a national parks reading kick.

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Daolson2000
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
Pickpick

My all time favorite book

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SleepyDragon
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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Prefer river.
Prefer to float.
I've never RVed, though I want to try it sometime.

@Arcana #thisorthat

Arcana We floated in the river last year for more than four hours, and it was bliss! Can‘t wait to do it again❤️ 6y
1 like1 comment
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SleepyDragon
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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1. Winter. Summers are too hot here to be enjoyable.
2. Either, or, both
3. Technically, I think I just audit one #RtC
4. Either, or, both
@SilversReviews

SilversReviews Thanks for playing. 6y
4 likes1 comment
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8leagueboot
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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"In the second place most of what I write about in this book is already gone or going under fast. This is not a travel guide but an elegy. A memorial. You're holding a tombstone in your hands. A bloody rock. Don't drop it on your foot- throw it at something big and glassy. What do you have to lose?"

31 likes1 stack add
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SleepyDragon
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#meetthelittens @maich
1. California
2. Desert Solitare, Ed Abbey
3. Hitchhiker's Trilogy, Douglas Adams
4. Somewhere in Time
5. MASH
6. Annie Lennox
7. Earthy shades of green
8. Science Fiction
9. Home, I guess
10. A little dog and a cranky Russian tortoise

maich Hi😘😘 Thanks for doing my tag😊 6y
SleepyDragon @maich No prob, someone said this survey was yours. 😁 6y
maich @NeesyBeth Yes it was. I create it😊 I think one year ago...but I don't remember I'm not sure🙈🙈 Every month someone doing it and it is an honour reading all these post and meeting all this Littens. ❤ 6y
5 likes4 comments
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plemmdog
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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Today is the birthday of Edward Abbey (1927-1989). Desert Solitaire turns fifty this year. My tattered paperback copy rarely left my side for much of my itinerant twenties and probably still has some grit trapped in the pages, along with Abbey‘s marvelous voice. I was lucky enough to find a used first edition last week. “Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread.”

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Lea
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I have read this book many times. It is my favorite non-fiction book. But I cannot deal with this narrator‘s voice so I‘m moving on and I‘ll stick with my paperback version.

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LNScott
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Pickpick

This book is incredibly poignant given the current times and uncertainties surrounding our nation's National Park system. Abbey's a little rough around the edges, but that adds to his authenticity. His philosophical musings are eerily prophetic and ring all too true. This book is a must-read for anyone with an interest in parklands and preservation.

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she_barks
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There's no way in HELL I would use that bathroom!

BookInMyHands Not in a million years! 7y
mjdowens That is what diapers are for and I would not be ashamed to wear one!! 7y
she_barks @mjdowens 😭😂🤣 7y
50 likes1 stack add3 comments
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SuperPunkNinja
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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I was going to start reading this today and now it's on sale on Audible. Now I have to decide if I want to read or listen. It's a tough life. 😜

Suet624 Did you like the book?? 7y
40 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Loreen
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Can't celebrate 🌏 day without Abbey #earthtonecovers #aprilbookshowers.

28 likes1 stack add
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kgriffith
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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My classroom this morning. 💜

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kgriffith
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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I have to say, I shared more of Abbey's feelings about nature and civilization than I expected to, given his deliberately abrasive and antagonistic delivery. Still, it's a lot of time on one author for a semester. If I could have one superpower... #80sKid #OutOfThisWorld

scripturient OMG, I LOVED that TV series!! 😊 7y
kgriffith @scripturient SO GOOD, right?? 7y
kgriffith Also, absentee/hero dad, magical thinking stuff? #youdontknowme 7y
See All 8 Comments
scripturient @GlitterFemme I still think of that episode where Evie sang (and danced to) Berlinda Carlisle's Leave a light on for me. My teenage self was so impressed. 😂 7y
kgriffith @scripturient My list of tv characters I wanted to be honestly hasn't changed much over the years -- mayim bialik as blossom or as herself these days, either works for me! 😬 7y
scripturient @GlitterFemme 😁Yep, totally agree. 😊 7y
MarticaMustRead Omg, LOVED this show!!! I wish they would remake it or bring it back somehow..... memories.😍💭 7y
kgriffith @MarticaMustRead May happen, they did just remake Anne of Green Gables! 😊 7y
11 likes8 comments
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kgriffith
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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I wish there was an audiobook with the 😑 face instead of a 🙂 because that's how I feel about this book and Edward Abbey. Listening because I can't make myself read it otherwise. #requiredreading #dicklit #weneeddiversebooks

BethFishReads Hummm. I LOVED this book when I read it a million years ago (in the 70s). 7y
kgriffith @BethFishReads It's really not my usual, so even setting aside what feels like testosterone seeping from the pages, I'd probably never have picked it up. He does make some points I agree with entirely, and then says or does something I find abhorrent. He set out to get reactions and I can say that he achieves that at least. (edited) 7y
BethFishReads Maybe I should do a reread???? 7y
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kgriffith @BethFishReads If you do, I'll be interested to hear your thoughts! 7y
BethFishReads I will share. But I'm not sure I'll tackle it again. We shall see 7y
kgriffith @BethFishReads FWIW, I enjoyed it quite a lot after the first... maybe 1/3? I would even listen to it again, which I genuinely didn't expect to say at the outset. 7y
BethFishReads Ahhhh. Nice to know. I guess I remember only the good part 7y
19 likes1 stack add7 comments
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kgriffith
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I should really look at how many pages read and how many questions answered are due on Tuesday, before Monday night. Here goes nothing... #schooldaze #litcrit

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AndreaReads
Desert Solitaire | Edward Abbey
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#JanuaryReads #Day7 #BooksAboutNature This was assigned reading in my Philosophical Literature class way back in college. Needless to say I don't remember much about it, so it's gone back on my TBR list.

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LiteraryFiend86
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It's winter time, the snow is falling, and I'm about to immerse myself in a poetic tale set within a desert!!

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GoneFishing

Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread. A civilization which destroys what little remains of the wild, the spare, the original, is cutting itself off from its origins and betraying the principle of civilization itself.

Belles I read this a while back. I'll be interested to see what you think. I was only so so on the book but love Ed Abbeys wisdom in general. 7y
29 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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Bookbeez
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Listened to Imprudence on my way to WF and now enjoying a relaxing read that takes place in one of the most beautiful places on earth, Utah. State's a little weird, but its beauty is amazing. Can't wait to take another road trip west. My mood is rapidly improving. Oh the power of books to take the blues away (the iced coffee and the double chocolate cookie also help).

[DELETED] 3216391035 I've been to Zion, Arches & Canyonlands...& can't wait to return! And, this book is on my list! 8y
24 likes1 stack add1 comment