I just had to refrain myself from asking for recommendations for 5 books that should be on an outdoors person's bookshelf as references.

I'm thinking of books like The Backpacker's Field Manual, NOLS' Wilderness Guide, Living off the Grid, and perhaps a book on Wilderness Medicine.

This would serve two purposes. 1) Politely side step any questions asking for general library advice in a nicer way than just closing them. Now they can be closed with a link to the FAQ that maintains a suggested reading / reference library. 2) Let the moderators share their knowledge with the site readership and perhaps engage people in chat or meta that want to nominate new additions or changes to the existing list.

Also, the process of discussing a list here in this meta question will help narrow down some of the on-topic and off-topic areas of the site as people think of books they would want included/excluded to help shape this site.

I just had to refrain myself from asking for recommendations for 5 books that should be on an outdoors person's bookshelf as references.

I'm thinking of books that cover the basics of living and traveling outdoors. Weather education, safety, first aid, environmental concerns, and most importantly shelter needs would apply to just about everyone that is outdoors for whatever reason.

This would serve two purposes. 1) Politely side step any questions asking for general library advice in a nicer way than just closing them. Now they can be closed with a link to the FAQ that maintains a suggested reading / reference library. 2) Let the moderators share their knowledge with the site readership and perhaps engage people in chat or meta that want to nominate new additions or changes to the existing list.

Also, the process of discussing a list here in this meta question will help narrow down some of the on-topic and off-topic areas of the site as people think of books they would want included/excluded to help shape this site.

To help shape the discussion - feel free to add books you might consider worth making this list as an experiment to see what the group might consider candidate topics to cover:

• The Backpacker's Field Manual - a nod to one very popular outdoor activity
• NOLS' Wilderness Guide - good for learning about deeper back country trips
• Living off the Grid - some stays outdoors last longer than others
• Wilderness Medicine - not only a great first aid compendium, but more advanced topics as well
• Freedom of the Hills - Mountaineering and high altitude / steep situations