I’m feeling relieved this week as I have finished writing my latest book. It’s my 13th book, so hopefully a lucky one!

Ask An Adventurer takes a behind-the-scenes look at my working life, answering questions put to me on Twitter.

The questions range from ‘how do you earn a living?’, ‘how do you make time for adventure?’ and ‘how do you get published?’, all the way to ‘isn’t adventure entirely selfish and pointless?’, ‘how do you deal with the dilemma of flying and adventure?’ and ‘how do you keep your ego in check?’…

It has been a fun book to work on!

Ask An Adventurer will be published in July. Fear not – I shall be letting you know! 

Here are a few things I’d like to share with you today (and don’t forget to scroll down to the archives at the bottom; it’s really good today)… ?

• ? Join us on June 21st as I talk to swimmers from around the world about their longest day swim. Hear stories of outdoor swimming, see photographs from other swimmers and share your own. Free webinar. (Apologies if you receive this too late… it was great. ?)
• ? Girls gotta eat dirt. The story of three best friends, roommates, and riding partners with a taste for the finer things. A fun film.
• ? A Two-Year Canoe Journey across America.
• ? Lots of people are looking forwards to some microadventures this summer. Here is a list of FAQs I’ve put together to try to help.
• ? We’re creating a network of walking routes that connect all of Great Britain’s towns and cities. Up for helping?
• ? For Decades, Cartographers Have Been Hiding Covert Illustrations Inside Switzerland’s Official Maps.

• ✂️ Surely These Notebooks Will Help Me Create Amazing Things.
• ✂️ A friend of mine has changed career to start building handmade canoes. I’m jealous!
• ✂️ Click to drop a raindrop anywhere in the contiguous United States and watch where it ends up. (Via Kottke, as so much good stuff is.)
• ✂️ A wild baking microadventure.
• ✂️ From Polar exploration to the packed Underground – Five tips for successfully emerging from isolation (or lockdown).
• ✂️ The Relatable Emotions of Depressed People From 3,000 Years Ago.
• ✂️ I’m halfway through my year of exploring a single map. Here are my photos so far (scroll quickly as there are lots!).

Cheers,

Alastair

(with a flashback to Xmas marketing…)

• I’m not a Christmas curmudgeon (although I dislike its ever-earlier beginning). But having to buy presents for the sake of it irks me. The world does not need more pointless stuff (or plastic). I have written a list of present ideas for ‘hard to buy for’ people (i.e. me). My two favourite gift ideas are to Twin someone’s Toilet for them, or buy an oak tree. I’ve also compiled a Definitive List of Books to Give.
• Newsletters are hot stuff at the moment. Here’s a nice list of 20 others to follow.
• The lovely folk at the YHA decided to lock me in a box for three days. The aim was to highlight just how crucial adventure, movement, and being in the outdoors really is. They did this by taking it away from me (staggeringly boring), and giving it instead to some lovely young kids who are having a tough time at the moment.
• The proud time I earned my Blue Peter badge talking about microadventure ideas for children.
• The Dollar Street website reminds me of so many different families I met round the world. Fabulous.
• Golf and Adventure. An odd mix. A whopping journey, gorgeous landscapes, superb filming. And the longest hole in golf.
• I’m a big fan of Deathclock. Here’s a poster version in case you’d like to glimpse your own mortality… Merry Xmas!
• I am enjoying Cal Fussman’s interview podcast. Seth Godin was wise as ever, the best stuff I’ve heard from Tim Ferriss, and fascinating to hear Kobe Bryant’s obsession with curiosity.
• I spent two weeks at my desk condensing what I feel is important into a 20-minute talk. I hope that you might find it useful.
• A really interesting article from Tim Moss about why he quit Adventure to become an Accountant.