Ep. 757: Surviving and Thriving (and Finding a Dead Man) in the Alaska Bush

Book about John Hornby and two companions (including his nephew) who starved to death in the Canadian Arctic east of Great Slave Lake near the Thelon River. The youngest kept a detailed journal chronicling their deaths, which was found in the stove of their cabin. Speaker 1 gave this book to Randy Brown and mentions having difficulty finding it.

A novel set in the 1780s about the first families moving into the mountains of Appalachia. Speaker 1 mentions being obsessed with this book and sending it to his friend Bobby Doug. The book discusses details like using groundhog hide for bootlaces. It's about 'land breakers' who cleared ground to grow corn.

Referenced multiple times throughout the conversation. First mentioned when discussing a dog named 'Strider' (a character from the book). Speaker 1 discusses his high school teacher Bob Heaton who taught a class called 'Modern Mythology' where students only read Lord of the Rings. The characters Tom Bombadil and the Fellowship are also referenced. Speaker 2 mentions that he and his circle of friends in Alaska were all Tolkien fans.

Mentioned briefly when discussing the number of installments in the Lord of the Rings series. Speaker 1 says 'I don't count the Silmarillion' when counting the books in the series.

Referenced when discussing the Lord of the Rings series installments. Mentioned as separate from the main trilogy, with Speaker 1 noting they could 'go back in time and hit the Hobbit later.'

Speaker 1 proposes a sociological comparison between 'Lord of the Rings people' and 'Harry Potter people' in terms of their moral perspective and work ethic. Speaker 2 mentions his younger son read and loved Harry Potter.