Happy Birthday, Jack London. To so many readers, your name stands for self-reliance, bold individuality, love for nature and animals, and an adventurous soul. On this day, January 12th, when you would have been 136 years old, we considered what books you might want to read. Here’s our list:

Into the Wild by John Krakauer - The story of a young man who travels to Alaska to live in the wild, this book was Krakauer’s first bestseller (which JL would surely appreciate), helping to launch his career as one of the preeminent contemporary chroniclers of adventure and the outdoors.

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat - based on the wolf research that Mowat conducted himself in Canada, Never Cry Wolf has done as much to change people’s misconceptions of Canis lupus as any other book, even London’s own. A highly entertaining and informative portrayal of a man living in the cold, cold wild surrounded by wolves and voles.

SAS Survival Handbook by Lofty Wiseman - “For Any Climate, In Any Situation” - thus does this book promise to educate you about survival. And it delivers. Jack London could have used it while suffering from malnutrition and scurvy in the Klondike. But the book didn’t exist then.

Crazy for the Storm by Norman Ollestad - As survival stories go, this one stands among the giants. In 1979, an 11-year-old boy is the sole survivor of a small plane crash in the San Gabriel Mountains. He must make his way down the frozen slopes through a blizzard, using the skills he learned from his father, who was killed in the crash. Alternating between the escape and memories of his father, Norman Ollestad has created one memorable book.

Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac - They’re both named Jack. Both spent some time in San Francisco. And both address the wandering soul. Jack Kerouac does it a little differently than Jack London, but we feel like London would have appreciated this free-flowing and generally positive book that includes Kerouac’s hike to the Matterhorn in the Sierra Nevadas.

Lost City of Z by David Grann - British explorer Percy Fawcett hiked much further than the Sierra Nevadas. He went all the way to the Brazilian Amazon, where he promptly disappeared. David Grann became obsessed with the mystery of this intrepid adventurer and went in search of his lost trail. What followed was a trip to the Amazon, an adventure, a discovery of sorts, and this best-selling book.

The Dangerous Book for Boys by Conn Iggulden and Hal Iggulden - For every boy (and probably girl) who loved Call of the Wild, this book should sit on the same shelf. We feel like Jack London would appreciate it, too. Honorable mention: The Dangerous Book for Dogs

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan - It’s not as well known, but in his later years, Jack London owned a ranch in Sonoma County, California, where he attempted to develop environmentally sound practices. He might have appreciated reading Michael Pollan’s book out on the porch of the old winery cottage at his Beauty Ranch.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy - Perhaps this is a bit of a stretch, but London himself wrote a book called The Road, which is a memoir of his days wandering North America. Cormac McCarthy’s characters wander North America in this book, too, albeit a place that’s a bit more post-apocalyptic than anything that London encountered. Except maybe for the Klondike.

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan - This is definitely a stretch, but London liked to write about wolves. In this day and age, would werewolves have been far behind? Glen Duncan’s werewolf has the wisdom, the wit, and the dignity of a Jack London character.