If your a restless soul like me, sitting down with a book can be challenging even though I love getting lost in a good story. Audiobooks come with me while I'm moving, whether that's running, cleaning my apartment, or on a good long drive. These audiobooks have inspired me to adventure and have also kept the dream alive when adventuring wasn't an option. Let me know if you've read any of them in the comments and what you thought!
Nomadland by Jessica Bruder (now a movie!)
This audiobook was sad and fascinating and inspiring and hard to listen to. It follows a new trend of older Americans hit by the Great Recession that lost everything and now live out of their RV's, traveling around to work seasonal jobs. It will make you realize what a privilege it is to have a job that allows you to work while traveling by choice and not because it's your only option.
As Long As It's Fun by Herb McCormick
Lin and Larry Pardey's motto, "go simple, go small, go now", sums up their life eloquently. This "couple of cruising" spent their lives seeing the world via their built-by-hand sailboat. They weather storms, make other traveler friends, and cover over 200,000 miles before settling down on a little cove in New Zealand. This audiobook is definitely nomad life inspo and brings to life what a life of adventure could look like when you find the right partner in crime.
What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding by Kristin Newman
Get ready to laugh. Kristin Newman is a seasoned sitcom writer, who has written for That 70's Show and How I Met Your Mother among many others, and you'll come to realize how the crazy premises of those shows are often based on the wacky and wild lifestyles of their writers. Follow Kristen through her 20's and 30's as she scratches her travel itch and refuses to settle down until she's ready to leave the party that is her life. A little bit romance, a little bit comedy, a lot entertaining.
The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau
While this book follows Chris on his pursuit to visit every country in the world, it is more about the people he meets and the quests they put themselves on just like his. These quests keep us living while we're alive and give us a purpose and drive. He delves deep into the psychology of quests and shares the epic stories and accomplishments of other questers he has met along the way.
To Shake the Sleeping Self by Jedidiah Jenkins
I read this in May of 2020, when it began to sink in that we were in it for the long haul with the pandemic. I don't know if it made it easier or harder to read about Jedediah's epic bike ride from Oregon to Chile, but it was an absolutely entrancing story. Jedidiah's parents walked across the continental United States back in the 70's, and it seems he was destined to journey long as well. This book follows his 16 month ride south as he gets honest about how unprepared he was, how hard some days felt, and how worth it it was anyway.
I burn through audiobooks like nobody's business, so I'd love to know what books you guys have read (or listened to) that inspired you to keep seeking adventure! Let me know in the comments below!
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