Read Adventurously! Display
Action adventure books aren't just for kids, and if you loved them back then, you can love them now. There are so many great action packed stories for adults. Check out some of these titles and head on an adventure without leaving home!
If you're looking for a true action adventure classic, check out "The Hunt For Red October" by Tom Clancy. This title was published in 1984 and is a fan favorite--I read it for the first time in the 90s. "Tom Clancy's rich imagination and his remarkable grasp of the capabilities of advanced technology give this novel an amazing ring of authenticity. It is a thriller with a new twist, a "military procedural" with an ingenious, tightly woven plot that revolves around the defection of a Soviet nuclear submarine--the USSR's newest and most valuable ship, with its most trusted and skilled officer at the helm. A deadly serious game of hide-and-seek is on. The entire Soviet Atlantic Fleet is ordered to hunt down the submarine and destroy her at all costs. The Americans are determined to find her first and get her safely to port in the intelligence coups of all time. But the Red October has a million square miles of ocean to hide in and a new silent propulsion system that is impossible to detect. Or is it? Her daring and cunning captain, Marko Ramius, thinks so. The commander of the Soviet's fastest attack submarine, however, is confident that he will find his prey. And Bart Mancuso, the aggressive commander of the U.S. Navy attack sub the Dallas, is counting on the sensitive ears of his resourceful young sonar operator to identify Red October's unique sound print and track her down. The nerve-wracking hunt goes on for eighteen days as the Red October stealthily eludes her hunters across 4,000 miles of ocean. But just short of Ramius's objective, his submarine converges with the others in a rousing climax that is one of the most thrilling underwater scenes ever written. Can the start of all-out war be avoided? The outcome is clear only on the very last pages."
Another classic (that I also read when it was released in 1998) is "The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure". William Goldman's modern fantasy classic is an exceptional story about quests--for riches, revenge, power, and, of course, true love--that's thrilling and timeless for readers of all ages. "This tale of true love, high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and a frightening assortment of wild beasts was unforgettably depicted in the 1987 film directed by Rob Reiner and starring Fred Savage, Robin Wright, and others. But, rich in character and satire, the novel boasts even more layers of ingenious storytelling. Set in 1941 and framed cleverly as an "abridged" retelling of a centuries-old tale set in the fabled country of Florin, home to "Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passions." Both this title and "The Hunt for Red October" have movie adaptations, so you can plan a read-the-book-then-watch-the-film experiences for yourself!
"Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore" by Robin Sloan is a gleeful and exhilarating tale of global conspiracy, complex code-breaking, high-tech data visualization, young love, rollicking adventure, and the secret to eternal life--mostly set in a hole-in-the-wall San Francisco bookstore. "The Great Recession has shuffled Clay Jannon out of his life as a San Francisco Web-design drone--and serendipity, sheer curiosity, and the ability to climb a ladder like a monkey has landed him a new gig working the night shift at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. But after just a few days on the job, Clay begins to realize that this store is even more curious than the name suggests. There are only a few customers, but they come in repeatedly and never seem to actually buy anything, instead "checking out" impossibly obscure volumes from strange corners of the store, all according to some elaborate, long-standing arrangement with the gnomic Mr. Penumbra. The store must be a front for something larger, Clay concludes, and soon he's embarked on a complex analysis of the customers' behavior and roped his friends into helping to figure out just what's going on. But once they bring their findings to Mr. Penumbra, it turns out the secrets extend far outside the walls of the bookstore."
In "The Last Great Road Bum", Héctor Tobar turns the true story of a naive son of Urbana, Illinois, who died fighting with guerrillas in El Salvador, into the great American novel for our times. "Joe Sanderson died in pursuit of a life worth writing about. He was, in his words, a 'road bum,' an adventurer and a storyteller, belonging to no place, people, or set of ideas. He was born into a childhood of middle-class contentment in Urbana, Illinois and died fighting with guerillas in Central America. With these facts, acclaimed novelist and journalist Héctor Tobar set out to write what would become "The Last Great Road Bum". A decade ago, Tobar came into possession of the personal writings of the late Joe Sanderson, which chart Sanderson's freewheeling course across the known world, from Illinois to Jamaica, to Vietnam, to Nigeria, to El Salvador--a life determinedly an adventure, ending in unlikely, anonymous heroism."
"Follow the Stars Home" by Diane McPhail is a "captivating reimagining of the intrepid woman who-8 months pregnant and with a toddler in tow-braved violent earthquakes and treacherous waters on the first steamboat voyage to conquer the Mississippi River and redefine America. It's a journey that most deem an insane impossibility. Yet on October 20th, 1811, Lydia Latrobe Roosevelt-daughter of one of the architects of the United States Capitol-fearlessly boards the steamship New Orleans in Pittsburgh. Eight months pregnant and with a toddler in tow, Lydia is fiercely independent despite her youth. She's also accustomed to defying convention. Against her father's wishes, she married his much older business colleague, inventor Nicholas Roosevelt-builder of the New Orleans-and spent her honeymoon on a primitive flatboat. But the stakes for this trip are infinitely higher. If Nicholas's untried steamboat reaches New Orleans, it will serve as a profitable packet ship between that city and Natchez, proving the power of steam as it travels up and down the Mississippi. Success in this venture would revolutionize travel and trade, open the west to expansion, and secure the Roosevelts' future. Lydia had used her own architectural training to design the flatboat's interior, including a bedroom, sitting area, and fireplace. The steamship, however, dwarfs the canoes and flatboats on the river. And no amount of power or comfort could shield its passengers from risk. Lydia believes herself ready for all the dangers ahead-growing unrest among native people, disease or injury, and the turbulent Falls of the Ohio, a sixty-foot drop long believed impassable in such a large boat. But there are other challenges in store, impossible to predict as Lydia boards that fall day. Challenges which-if survived-will haunt and transform her, as surely as the journey will alter the course of a nation..."
You'll find these and lots of other titles in our "Read Adventurously" display. For additional title suggestions, see the lists below:
