Literature for the Badass

   The only activity I enjoy as much as riding and writing is: reading (as well as one more activity I’ll resist mentioning).

    If you watch TV. STOP. You’re wasting your life and TV’s are stupid. Don’t argue. I have no tolerance. Do you realize how much there is to DO in life?!

Here are some of my favorite picks.

Kiss or Kill, by Mark Twight.

Mark Twight—the famous rock-climber/alpinist—is a self-proclaimed, ‘world’s biggest badass’. In many ways I can’t argue with him. The feats he’s accomplished are unbelievable. Through reading his raw, hold-nothing-back writing style I not only was inspired to push my mind/body past new boundaries, but I also came to terms with my own desire to write about the thoughts most people are too scared to admit they have (chasingafterharm.com). Check him out if you want to be pulled into the dark world of a man who sacrificed everything to try and find out how hard he is to kill.

In Pursuit of Excellence, by Terry Orlick

I never give credit to how rad my mom is. You see, she gives me lot of advice, and the rebelliousness of my youth still sticks around so I just say, “thanks mom,” and let her advice slip out my ears. She’ll give me books to read and they are either the tackiest damn things ever printed, or, more often than not, the most perfect-est books I could ever read. This book, which she gave me during the years I had quit cycling, gathered dust on my shelf for a while until I pulled it down and read it and realized that mom’s are still always right.

Why Zebras don’t get Ulcers, by Robert Zapolsky

My mom struck home again. This time I didn’t ignore her and dove straight into the wisdom of this book. Though, it took me a while to get over the hecka cheesy title. Once I did, I found some of the wittiest writing that was simultaneously backed by decades of some of the best and most respected scientific research in the field of Stress. In short, this book explains that stress will literally kill you. So, stop giving an ‘eff about your damn mortgage, what people think about you, your pointless job, and just embrace the moment, because most of the stress in our lives is psychological and social, which I must remind you: is not REAL, it is a human construct. Invent your own existence.

The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman.

A crazy old lady who was at her prime in the pre-hippie era, (aka she’s the real deal) gave me this book. When I’m in Seattle I work in her garden and listen to her wild and wise stories (she says to me, “Daniel! Wear a damn helmet. I know. I know. In the sixties I used to stand on the seat of my motorcycle with no hands drunk as hell and never wore a helmet.” She giggles to herself. “But, I don’t want to see your brains spattered on the street!” How badass is she?) Anyways, this book is a fantastical thought experiment about how humans are LITERALLY killing themselves through their rampant destruction of nature and are too blind to see the obvious. Probably the best book I’ve read in five years. It should be a mandatory read for every freshman in high school.

dan harm