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Nothing is more relaxing than lounging in your hammock reading a good book.
Some of my favorites are fictional mysteries about camping adventures, guide books to the national parks, and nonfiction books about outstanding women.
The books listed here are a few of my recommendations, but I would love to hear what you are reading. If you have a book you think our glamping friends would like, drop a comment and let me know.
The Leisure Seeker
author: Michael Zadoorian
In “The Leisure Seeker,” Michael Zadoorian weaves a story about love and mortality. This poignant tale follows Ella and John Robina as they embark on one final vacation along Route 66 in their 1978 Leisure Seeker RV.
Told from Ella’s unflinchingly honest perspective, the story balances heartbreak with humor as she navigates her metastasized cancer while caring for John, whose Alzheimer’s causes him to drift between clarity and confusion. Against their children’s protests and doctors’ advice, they pursue their dream to cross the country and reach the Pacific Ocean.
As she details encounters with desk clerks, robbers, and a tattooed group of classic car enthusiasts, there are moments that make you laugh out loud and others that bring tears.
Through roadside attractions, diner meals, and nights in highway motels, we witness a relationship that remains unbroken despite illness and time. “The Leisure Seeker” reminds us that even as bodies fail, the heart’s capacity for love endures.
Despite the solemn nature of the story, the couple’s determination to live their final chapter on their terms transforms what could be depressing and mundane into something surprisingly uplifting and entertaining.
Campers & Criminals
author: Tonya Kappes
In Tonya Kappes’ delightful “Campers and Criminals” cozy mystery series, we meet Mae West (no relation to the actress), a fish-out-of-water protagonist whose life turns upside down when she inherits the Happy Trails campground in Normal, Kentucky. The series opener sets the stage perfectly for what becomes a charming 30-book series filled with mystery, humor, and small-town charm.
Mae’s transition from her glamorous New York City life of designer clothes and upscale living to a dilapidated RV park is both hilarious and heartwarming. Her initial horror at trading her fashionable friends for gossipy old bitties and tottering old men creates the perfect backdrop for her character development. When a dead body turns up during her first night at the campground, Mae finds herself the prime suspect in a murder investigation she never asked for.
What makes this series shine is the colorful cast of supporting characters who help Mae navigate both her new life and the mysteries that seem to follow her. These quirky campground residents, initially viewed through Mae’s judgmental New York lens, soon become her unlikely allies and friends as she works to clear her name and solve the crime.
The transformation of Mae from reluctant inheritor to campground champion forms a satisfying arc that continues throughout the series.
Each subsequent book follows a similar pattern—a crime occurs, Mae somehow gets involved and with the help of her growing circle of friends, she solves the case while further embedding herself in the community she once disdained.
For fans of small-town mysteries with heart, humor, and just enough suspense to keep things interesting, the “Campers and Criminals” series offers a perfect escape.