We’ll be honest—we’ve been doing our fair share of binge-watching lately. And even if most of what we’ve been watching is about the outdoors, we can only handle so much screen time. So this week, we asked the Backcountry Herd to share what they’re reading. From classic SciFi novels to tales of adventure, here are eight books we’re reading right now.

1. Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman

By Yvon Chouinard

Nonfiction – Autobiography/Business

 

Patagonia founder and owner Yvon Chouinard shares how his upbringing, climbing adventures, and other outdoor pursuits led to the birth of the legendary brand.  

 

2. Around the World in Eighty Days

By Jules Verne

Fiction – Adventure

 

Had an international trip postponed or cancelled? Pick up Verne’s most loved novel and travel around the world by train in this timeless tale.

3. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster

By Jon Krakauer

Nonfiction – Adventure

 

Krakauer retells his firsthand account of one of Everest’s most harrowing summits. This story of adventure and its occasionally fatal consequences will get your blood pumping without you even having to leave the house, which is exactly what some of us need right now!

4. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

By Betty Smith

Fiction – Semi-autobiographical

 

Looking for a calming yet well-written novel? Search no further. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows the life of a young family living in Brooklyn tenements in the early 20th century. The book reminds us how we can find beauty all around us—a reminder many of us can currently use.

 

5. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

By Douglas Adams

Fiction – Comedy/Science Fiction

Widely recognized as one of the world’s funniest books, the Hitchhiker’s Guide gets us out of this universe and into another. From the very first page, you’ll enter a world that, like ours, doesn’t always make sense. This hilarious story leaves us with one brilliant apropos takeaway: Don’t panic.

 

6. Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain

By Bruce Tremper

Nonfiction – Guidebook

 

Written to mirror American Avalanche Association classes, this book is an essential read for any snow shark waiting for the next storm. Tremper shares his deep knowledge from forecasting in Alaska, Montana, and Utah on snow science, the latest research, and safety techniques and strategies.

 

7. Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage

By Alfred Lansing

Nonfiction – Adventure

 

Shackleton’s account of his journey into the Arctic is possibly the pinnacle of adventure stories. In an unbelievable tale of human survival and fortitude, the legendary explorer and his men are trapped in Weddell Sea ice flows for over a year using what little they have to remain alive before eventually being rescued—talk about isolation.

 

8. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

By Yuval Noah Harari

Nonfiction – Philosophy

 

Based on lectures Harari gave as a history professor, this book is packed with startling data points and endless fodder for deep thought. Starting in the Stone Age, Harari breaks our species’ history into four major revolutions before peering into the future. Whether or not you agree with Harari’s sometimes provocative arguments, Sapiens provides something we can all use more of right now: perspective.