From top left clockwise: Stories In The Stars from Random House, £20; The Outsiders from Amazon UK, Alone in Antarctica from Amazon UK, £7.19; The Code from Wordery, £8.72; Extreme Sleeps from The Guardian Bookshop, £7.19; How To Climb Mont Blanc In A Skirt from Waterstones, £8.99
Stories in the Stars: An Atlas of Constellations by Susanna Hislop
Now, this isn’t a fiction book, but it is a lovely book for your coffee table or bedside table. It’s beautiful printed atlas of constellations with the story of each one opposite. A great Christmas present for someone who likes gazing at the night sky.
The Outsiders: The New Outdoor Creativity
This giant tome of a book is another ideal coffee table book. It features everything we love at She Who Adventures – beautiful photography, snippets from athletes’ stories, interviews with craftsmen who make outdoors gear – from hiking and canoeing to surfing to backcountry skiing.
Alone in Antarctica by Felicity Aston
“Only three people in the world have crossed Antarctica alone. The first two were men and both Norwegian. At the age of 34, British woman Felicity Aston became the third,” says the blurb to Aston’s travel book, detailing her solo journey across the continent on skis. This is a truly inspirational tale of one woman defying the impossible.
The Code by Shaun Tomson
Shaun Tomson has lived quite the life – from one of the best competitive surfers in the world to setting up two surf clothing brands to losing his 15-year-old son to a sudden accident. His book The Code is a collection of stories from Tomson’s own life that will inspire you to live the best life you can. He believes in the power of ‘I Will’ – or positive thinking. If you will something, it will be come to be. It’s a really good inspirational book to dip into time and again.
Extreme Sleeps: Adventures of a Wild Camper by Phoebe Smith
Technically, wild camping is illegal in the UK – but that doesn’t stop people sleeping in some unusual places. Extreme Sleeps was penned by Wanderlust Magazine editor and camper extraordinaire Phoebe Smith. It tells of her mission to sleep – often alone – in the strangest, more bizarre spots around the UK – from abandoned WW2 bombers to cliff tops on the Lizard Peninsula. The result is guaranteed to inspire you to grab a tent and get outside.
How To Climb Mont Blanc In A Skirt by Mick Conefrey
When people think of traditional explorers, they think of men. Men with lined faces and ice-encrusted like Ernest Shackleton or Captain Scott. In fact, there have been female explorers pushing boundaries as long as their male counterparts. Mick Conefrey’s book charts the history of these pioneering women. It’s a funny book with snippets of advice – from how to sweet-talk a cannibal to what to do when the loo paper runs out in the middle of a glacier.
