Reading is HUGE in the Hixson household. We love snuggling up in the RV with our little electric fireplace keeping us warm (Nice addition, East to West!) and escaping the world for a few hours. The RV lifestyle may not seem like the most convenient one for avid book readers like ourselves (ya know, small spaces… not much storage for the giant library of hardback books we used to have…) but we have found ways to make it work. When we started our journey, we had to get rid of the majority of our book collection, which was heartbreaking! We held onto a few of our favorite books, but now we read almost all of our books on Kindle (this is the one we use) and Audible. 

Books are such a great motivator and company for us while on the road. And it is important to know, we never discriminate either! We have favorites in ALL genres that have uplifted, inspired, and challenged us in some way.

Philosophy of Adventure

1. Island

Island is an Aldous Huxley book about the utopian remote Pacific island of Pala. We both really connected with this book because it envisions a utopia that we both agree with. It is a very adventurous story about how excellent the world could be when focused on being present in the here and now.

2. The War of Art

The War of Art gets a big thumbs up from us in the self-improvement department. This book emphasizes the resolve needed to recognize and overcome obstacles in your life to reach the highest level of creative discipline. If you consider adventure to be an art form (which we do) there are concepts in this book that help you overcome what the author calls “resistance” and embark on the thing you care about, which for us is adventure!

3. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

This book is a classic travel story that combines both philosophy and travel, and we think it’s a MUST read for anyone that cares about, well… travel or philosophy! It examines how we live and how to live better. 

4. The Four Hour Workweek

The Four Hour Workweek was very impactful to both of us. It extracted our minds from the way we always thought the world was supposed to work in terms of a career or jobs and showed us that if we knew what we wanted to do and made some smart decisions, we could travel AND work. A great read for all the nomads and remote working people out there! 

5. Civilized to Death

Similar to the way that Island depicts a utopia, Civilized to Death depicts precisely how it works and gives you the research on how humans are meant to be healthier and happier; how we are supposed to live. As a bonus, the way that the author describes the perfect human condition is as hunters and gatherers, nomads who move around often. This book argues that “progress” in our society may not be a good thing. We liked this book because the always moving lifestyle of the hunters and gatherers collides really well with the adventure lifestyle we are currently living, and it gives us inspiration for how to be healthier and connect to our prehistoric roots.

Health

6. Cooked

 Cooked is a phenomenal book by Michel Pollan. (There is also a Netflix series, which was good but we liked the book better!) This book was one of the main ones for us that got us thinking about making all of our food from scratch. If you have ever wondered why we are so into cooking, you can think Cooked! It also gets into some of the philosophy of taking your life into your own hands through cooking your own food. Very inspirational! 

7. Own the Day, Own Your Life

 Own the Day, Own Your Life kickstarted us into pursuing healthy lifestyles. It is an all-encompassing picture of a perfect day of health, and we think it’s a really cool place to start from if you are wanting to make a lifestyle change as well!

RVing

8. Living in an RV

Andrea picked up this book when we decided we were going to adapt the nomad lifestyle in an RV. It is an all-encompassing read for how to live in an RV. There were things we still had to figure out on our own but it was a great starting place to understand what life in an RV looks like.

9. Gone with the Wynns Blog

We don’t know of many books out there on RV life, so another source we turned to a lot was the Gone with the Wynns blog! They have a TON of articles on how to do basically anything you could ever want to do in an RV (and now in a sailboat). So, if you are looking for a resource on Rving, this is a great one!

Tyler’s Favorites

10. Fight Club

Fight Club became one of Tyler’s favorite books because it envisions ‘self-improvement’ in a totally new light. And it doesn’t hurt that it is just an excellent story. It takes you along the journey of the narrator as he leaves his lackluster job and discovers how fighting and destroying what we think we need can be a liberating experience. 

11. Lila

Tyler loved Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance so much he decided to check out Robert Pirsig’s other book, Lila, and loved it even more! It is a great message on morals, values, and understanding of life. Tyler particularly loved the part where he discusses that the modern American is a combination of both European and Native American values, which he feels is encompassing of our lifestyle of living in an RV, where we are both living in comfort and also constantly adventuring and facing discomfort.

Andrea’s Favorites

12. Sky of Stone (Rocket Boys Trilogy)

One of Andrea’s favorites is Sky of Stone, which is the third book in the Rocket Boys Trilogy by Homer Hickam. The trilogy takes a look into his childhood in the coal mining town of Coalwood, WV. This is her favorite of the trilogy because it looks at failure and how to cope with it, redefine it, and become the person you want to be in the shadow of success. It is all about understanding perspective and finding yourself! 

13. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

If you are looking for a fantastic adventure story, this is it! The different places that they go and the way Jules Verne writes about them is so descriptive, and it’s really inspiring to go on all of their crazy adventures with them. It evokes a spirit of wanderlust that we are constantly feeding in our nomad life, and that’s why it is one of Andrea’s favorites! Her current read is Journey to the Center of the Earth (which she hasn’t been able to put down!)

Whether you are just starting out your life on the road or have been doing it for a while now and are looking for a comforting and inspiring way to grow and push yourself, we highly recommend getting way more into reading. There is nothing quite like the unique world of books and the imagination and courage they inspire!

Let us know if you decide to give any of these a read, and if you have one you think should be added to our list for 2021, drop them below! 📚

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