Nomadland by Jessica Bruder 

Bob, your presence in the movie, Nomadland, was the most poignant part of the movie for me. While Frances McDormand perfectly embodied the grief of Fern's circumstance, you spoke to the truth of WHY so many in our country are now on the road in an attempt to survive today's America. Thank you for your committment to the mission of helping so many. Thank you for being the voice and sharing the voices of nomads.

I just saw the movie. I think it will open many people's eyes to this way of life.

I just saw the movie "Nomadland" and your part towards the end made me weep. Love you xoxo

I loved the book, and immediately started planning a nomadic retirement. I love the purity of Bob's enthusiasm and his drive to help others. This troubled world needs him and the nomads.

Bob, I was deeply touched by your part in this beautiful movie. Speaking of your son as I lost a daughter. "Some people never get over it and that's ok too." Thank you.

Bob. Bob. Bob. Thank you so much for the reading. If they do a book on tape YOU should narrate! You give me hope!

Hi Bob. Who else made it here after watching the movie Nomadland? Great Job! Congrats! Can you review a movie you star in? lol.

Bob Wells, one of my most favorite people on RU-vid. The whole reason I have home internet to view his content. I have since begin to follow others, but he was the real reason to watch! I certainly will buy his book! A small investment in a true gentleman.

So bloody excited to see you in the film version! It's so fitting that you be in it - for what you've contributed to the community.

Congratulations on the Best Picture Oscar!

Bob I just ordered this book because I am committed to live this way. You and others on RU-vid have started a new realization of life for people like us that just want to live and not be burdened with society’s requirements . Freedom is the most precious gift we have. Many people in the world don’t have this privilege. We are lucky here plus we are lucky to have people like you! You inspire me and now my life’s goal to live free on the road. I’m a few years away from being free but it’s my goal and I will make it someday. Thank you so much for the work you do!

Thanks for reading the forward of this book, Bob. I really enjoyed it. My grown daughtet & I have a 5-year plan (that's when her youngest will graduate high school) to move into our own vans and hit the road to see America. For quite a while I've had on my bucket list a dream of seeing all the National Parks & Monuments before I die. At age 62, given how old the women in my family live, I figure I've got about 30 years to accomplish this dream. We are looking forward to it. My daughter is a gifted photographer and she wants to photograph her way around the country (she has already worked out a way to support herself & her van with her photography). Together we have this goal/dream and are working & planning to make it a reality. Even though we have lived in deep poverty for more than 35 years we believe we can accomplish this...in fact, we believe we will have a better life living this lifestyle. We watch your videos, plus a few others, and have gained a lot of insight into van life from you & the others. Maybe we will all meet someday. That would be nice.

You were great in Nomadland. Definitely one of the best movies in 2020.

Yes, each line is brilliant.

I think this book seems to offer a healthy dose of realism, as well as optimism, to the nomad movement. Bob and many others focus on the positive aspects of this way of life, which is perfectly fine, but everything has its cons, including the nomad lifestyle. There is no 'magic bullet' solution to everyone's problems. People who are seriously considering the nomad lifestyle need to go into it with both eyes wide open. Personally, I'll probably never become a full-time nomad, but I hope to be able to become a strong part-timer when our kids become adults. Still, I find this lifestyle fascinating in many ways and would certainly direct others who have not been as financially blessed as I have been to consider it. And it's good to know that if we ever did run into really hard financial straits, this lifestyle is something that we could 'fall back on' and do so quite happily and contentedly. Blessings to you Bob! And Merry Christmas!

Reduce your expenses if you can't raise your income ~Bob Wells

Audio books are the BEST! Thanks for reading to us Bob. 💕

Bob, you have such a beautiful voice! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and joy! Awesome public service! Cheers for continued adventures ahead ❣️

I just saw Frances Mc Dormand in Nomadland and I saw you too! Wow! I am fascinated. I have already two years traveling and living in my van.

I don't pretend to understand the RU-vid algorithms, but they served me well today. Thank you YT and Bob Wells for this video! It reminded my that I purchased Kindle editions of "Nomadland" and "How to Live in a Car, Van or RV...", then promptly forgot about them. Buried in my ever growing pile of "digital stuff". I jumped right in to "Nomadland" and began to read along with Bob. What a great afternoon!

I finished her book a couple of weeks ago. I looked forward to daily bites of what I believe will become a classic commentary of our times. I found it well written and full of delicious descriptions. Thank you for your recognition and commentary. I enjoy all you have shared with us and continue to look forward to your contributions. It appears as if you are doing a wonderful job of enhancing peoples lives. Bravo!

I'm reading Nomadland right now and it's a wonderful book. Gives me lots to consider as I prepare to make my first RV purchase for full time living. As consciousness rises, nomads lives will improve as they find their homes within the mobile tribes.

Ordering a copy right now. I’m so glad you are reviewing books. I find the whole idea of “counter culture “ and the ingenuity of humanity when it comes to finding and living a better lifestyle while embracing the best things in life without the price tag. This trend is truly amazing, especially due to the fact that with internet connectivity it is now possible to stay connected, listen to audiobooks and learn while still being in the remotest parts of BLM land.

Can't wait to see the movie! Thanks for all you do Bob. My van life adventure starts in April! Can't wait to be a full time gypsy!

I'm excited to see the film on this. I've been watching Van and RV Living videos for months now as I'm feeling the sand in my shoes starting to shift again . Bob, your RU-vid channel was where I started and I hope if I ever get out there, I'll get to shake your hand and thank you personally. You've taught me a lot and this book and subsequent film will do much to help families and friends to understand our wanderlust. Thx Bob.

So happy to see Nomadland win the Golden Globe award for Best Picture and Best Director. The movie comes across as a real story and will truly move anyone that watches it. All of us experience grief at some point in life and it is how we work through it and survive that’s important. The past 12 months has been really hard on all of us, and this movie shows that it’s possible to survive in the toughest of time. Bob Wells was great in this movie, and it was he and the other Nomads that made this story so real.

Love to hear you read, and expound on each sentence or idea that is worth a few minutes more. Good job, Bob. Thank you.

When we can let go of perfection, life in u can thrive!

I just saw Nomadland yesterday and it was one of the best movies I've seen all years. I was surprised to find you here on RU-vid since I'm a film reviewer and am currently editing my review of the film. The research I did following the movie was both fascinating and heartbreaking, knowing how devastating the impact of the great recession was. Congrats on the movie, and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the film.

I just saw you in the trailer and said, I know that guy!

I just bought the audiobook! I know the book is a little different than the movie, and I really loved the movie! It was nice to see several of the RU-vid nomads that I follow in the movie. Thank you Bob for all you do to help so many people!

The passage you read is my favorite part too: "...like blood cells running through the veins of America." Jessica has become my friend as well and she is an amazing writer. I am proud to know her.

You were so correct that by the time most of us become nomad we will have experienced loss and pain. Cried when you spoke at the end 🖤

...and Bob is in the 2021 movie 🍿🎥

I appreciate the message here. My wife and I full times for 2.5yrs and are now back in a house settled back into good jobs again. For us full timing was a way to get a taste of the freedom we all seek when dreaming of hitting the road. We will definitely be RVing still just on our little slice of heaven in the Rocky Mountains.

We are so looking forward to see the movie, and live the life !!!!!!!

I saw the movie and loved it. I am glad you could be in the movie as yourself.

Well said Bob, I have to get out and buy this book. For Jessica to have lived and worked as a nomad says so much for who she is. Thank you for sharing this with all of us. Bob, you have such a big heart and a kind soul, you give so much of yourself to help people, including myself a way to get out from under the stress of living on the edge all the time. I never would have thought of this as an option until I ran across your channel. This has opened up my mind and given me hope of a freedom. God willing I can join the tribe before to long. Just have some important issues to work out. This life is my calling. Nature has been in my blood all of my life. Kind people helping out others is what God intended for us. So many people have lost sight of this or never had this in their sight. The world has changed so much through my lifetime and yet those like myself are still out there, how refreshing to have learned this through you. Again, what a wonderful person you are. Again thank you for sharing your knowledge and insight on this life.

Thank you for this series. I am a vandweller and a voracious reader. Never thought about audio books. Thanks again.

Love love love it!!! You could read to me all day. There's something wonderful about being read to by a fellow avid reader that has similar interests and ideas. It just works. I love this format and look forward to your next video. Thank you.

Wow! Great when a reporter/author lives the life! Wonderful! Just came back from 2 months in the AZ and NM desert. Dry heat. Sunshine! Wow! If it hadn't been for Bob's videos? I never would have tried it! Going back next year, if not sooner!

Loved BOTH the book and the movie! I’m so sorry about your son... I didn’t know. God bless you, Bob.

So glad you read that. I envie the life you live, someday hope to get to that place that is calling to me. For now I practice helping people, being self sufficient. I live in my mind threw your videos. Hope to see all on the road someday. Safe travels all.

I finished this book about a week ago. I agree this is a great book. It is the kind of book that really takes a good look into the nomadic life. I took away a real sense of what I can expect if I get into this lifestyle. She deals with the reality of living this lifestyle by accurately describing the lives of some of the people she met. Personally the nomadic lifestyle sounds like a great life but I don't think I can deal with the work some people do in order to make it work for them.

Never met you in person but as I listen to your voice I am comforted and so filled with appreciation and gratitude for you. I love you Bob. Thank you for sharing this way of life with us for so long and so consistently. You’re changing lives one vehicle at a time!

Thank you. Excellent and buying Nomad land today - audio! Got it, just not time for my train travels! Thank you.

I look forward to reading this book. She is a good writer and it introduces people to this little known lifestyle. It certainly does promote your philosophy. Yes she does sound like most are forced into it and it’s a little heavy on the slaving away at the beet harvest or for Amazon. Many nomads seem to enjoy the work and look on the bright side of life on the road. Although they may have a tight budget, some find their money stretches so much farther that they do not have to work. It can be whatever you need it to be depending on your income. All nomads are welcome, not just white people, but you can’t force people to join in just to fill an imaginary quota. This lifestyle is not desired by everyone. It is what it is and I do not see diversity as a problem.

So excited to see the movie this Friday, can't wait. I was looking for an interview on youtube with Bob to see what he thinks about the movie if he got to see an early viewing.

My bookclub just finished discussing Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Published twenty five years ago, his speculative fiction describes a time not too far from today’s reality when many young people cannot make a living wage so live in camper vans or rent storage lockers that they turn into homes with their equally disadvantaged friends. Your review and others of Nomadland help spread the word that life is getting harder for many people who have been abandoned by the American Dream.

Great book! Everyone needs to read this. We have to learn how to be compassionate toward other humans that live differently than us.

brah you were great in the movie. When you spoke of your son I was so touched.

As a friend once said, “You live in a car, but you can’t drive a house.” I’ve had vans since I started driving in 1976. After moving to Las Vegas in 1980 at 23 years old I heard the term “transient.” That’s what I am.

Saw the movie! Really good movie. I will read the book. Sounds good as well! Thanks Bob!!!👍🏼 You do so much for others, your generosity and thoughtfulness shine through and is much appreciated!💕👍🏼

Hi Bob I've only just found the time to listen to this review of the book Nomad land. God knows what the hell I've been doing as my days are filled with nothing and just currently existing due to severe depression. I watch your RU-vid posts all the time and they keep me going in this limbo land of darkness. Thank you for bringing hope into our lives and for making me feel that there is definately another way to live. Take care keep safe and keep on nomading 😘

*Awesome!* ❤

I'm a reader and I love your new series.

Came here after watching Nomadland. For all the rightly deserved praise the movie gets for being a heartfelt and inspiring story I think people overlook the economic undercurrents that drive people into van life. The story of Empire, Nevada is fully real and is a particularly acute example of the larger trend of what happens to a community when 'the factory' closes - those who leave, can, and those who can't, fall further and further behind. So many people in this country are living paycheck to paycheck, constantly on the edge of financial despair, and none feel it more acutely than van lifers who are doing it out of necessity making the most of a fixed income. I think of how Fran was forced to turn to her well-off sister who can afford to simply write off a few thousand dollars and wonder how that story goes if she doesn't have that option, because, of course, not everybody has that kind of family resource. And where did that money come from? 'Earned' in real estate - because land, mysteriously, seems to always make money. (In this context the racial wealth gap between whites, the owners of land, and blacks, who were historically forbidden from owning land, is unsurprising.) I first became interested in van life after reading about programs like Universal Basic Income and imagining how a modest, reliable income - coupled with lifestyle changes to reduce your living expenses with things like van life and earthships (very happy to see those mentioned in the film) - could free us from the tyranny of the dollar, as we enter an age where most work is frankly bullshit and automation and artificial intelligence are going to further reduce the value of human labor. The film is set in 2011 and in the last 10 years the trends have only accelerated - small towns in the midwest are dying, more and more retail is moving to Amazon, suicide and drug overdoses are increasing. I fully expect more and more people to turn to van life as economic conditions worsen because while it's not easy, it certainly seems like one of the best ways to make the most of limited resources. Thank you for doing what you do and I hope more people listen to what you have to say.

I really liked your review. So much that I went ahead and picked it up on Amazon. I'm looking forward to more of your reviews and seeing the movie. I so long for the day when I can hit the road and leave this trap behind.

Definitely sounds like she was quoting you all the way through Bob. Preach it sister! love it.

That movie is going to be AWESOME

I’ll read it. My perception on older women traveling alone in RVs is that this is the new face of homelessness. The “Tribes” are the new community that is so necessary for most women. Works well until you are older, as in old lady with a very old RV. I understand it, I am drawn to it too, but It seems a sad lonely life unless you have a community to help each other. What happens as you all age and drop away from each other?

Congrats. You were mentioned at the Golden globes, Chloe Zhao won best director.

Bob, even those who are not on the road appreciate her writing. She has that expressive voice that resonates to everyone.

Bob your the bees Knees, I live the narrow boat lifestyle in the uk, cost of living here is horrendous..so we made the decision to give up the house and all those bills,! Best decision we've made, life is for living not just existing, truth is we really don't need all those materialistic items things, nope in my opinion you don't..nature is the biggest thrill in my life .. watching sunsets, the stars 🤩.. otters.. swans.. birds.. listening to the wise owl speak..now that's truly living..bless you Bob X

Love the video ! If I wasn't so old Lol, I would do it.

Loved this book and the movie was done fantastically. Love you too, Bob. ✌️

The people in this nation have a long history of Nomad living...covered wagons. I would love to live in a van or RV, but I cannot. Congratulations to all who choose to be a Nomad!

Wow Bob, you were really good in this film. All of the "non actors" were excellent.

You were so awesome in the movie! Was so trippy to watch the trailer on TV and say "wait...... Is that the guy from cheap RV living????" Hahaha

I think you, Bob, and RV nomads in general would love Jack London's The Valley of the Moon. It goes into detail about labor conditions, capitalism, homesteading, and economy and society in general in a unique way. Also, there is a great love story at the center. It's rare, I think, to see those kinds of subjects treated so insightfully in literature.

I am going to order that book! I can’t explain but i must have been a nomad in a previous life because it attracts me everytime again! You do such good work Bob Wells👍🏻👍🏻

Bobby, I like you more everytime I watch you on RU-vid. You are not only a gentle kind soul, you are also an intellectual as revealed in this video. You have a way of bringing out the wholesome side of the Nomadic life, the camaraderie, genuine caring for your neighbor, and you especially show concern for women who are living on the road. Most of us can appreciate that about you and wish more men could be like you. #45 could have learned some lessons from you, but that's a comment for another day.

Thanks Bob. I really appreciate.

Halfway through this video I ordered myself a copy of Nomadland. Thank you for this video

I love having stories read to me. Nothing nicer than that. ❤️ Ordering the book now.

I watch it too at hulu. So nice to see u there.

I read the book this week.

Love this series! I like getting your opinion on these books.

Thank You Bob for sharing this book it's wonderful writing ...

I absolutely love this movie, I watched it at least 8 times and I have the book too. Thanks Bob!

This showed up on my feed, which is funny because I had speed-read Nomadland when it came out. I do no have an RV, having put off the plan due to both advancing age (74) and doubts about the wisdom of RVing. I would never go full-time but the possibility exists of extended trips keeping a modest base of operations.

Nomadland is my all-time favorite book, and I've read a lot.

I am so glad to see this video re-circulating. I also adore audio books, Bob!

After watching the Golden Globes I found out what Nomadland was and remembered I haven't been keeping up with your videos for many months. This book is something I have to read. Can't wait to see the film. I hope it encourages more people to hit the open road. There's not going to be much choice soon as I hear the next round of foreclosures will hit soon. Thanks for the book read & recommendation Bob. 👍👍

Saw the movie last night. Loved your part. Watch you all the time. I thought the movie was well done too .

This channel is one of the Good Parts of the internet.

The movie was good. Watching Bob's videos has taught me things I will use.

Thanks for the read. I will see if I can get this book at the library. We will have a new Amazon center here by next Christmas, so I have a lot to tell the local press.

Hi Bob, I wish I could live this lifestyle but poor health prevents me. Great review.

wow what an inspiration I did it last year in a little camper shell on the back of my pickup in the desert of New Mexico and I'm totally hooked this year coming I'm shooting for a very short skoolie anyway I am so getting this book on tape thank you Bob for everything you're the best

Hey Bob. Maybe I should be one of them. I thought I had prepared for retirement, and I truly did my best, but then I had a diagnosis ankof MS when I was 54. I traveled to the third world to work and taught English for more than 10 years, and by then, I realized there was no way I was going to be able to live in the States on my income. So, I came back to the 3rd world and here, I am able to live without ever having to eat cat food. Imagine that! But I miss my homeland, Bob. I am again considering life on the open road. Going to see what you advise and I hope maybe this is the answer. Thanks for the book review and reading, and for being a legend. I think I am gonna get the book on tape, and I watched the move on prime this morning. See ya down the road.

I just put "Nomadland" in my Amazon cart 😊

I just saw the movie trailer and I was like....”wait....that’s Bob!” Hah!

Follow your videos every now and then... recognized you in the movie!

I’m definitely getting this book. Thank you Bob for the insight! 💕

Love the nomadic life The beauty of simplicity in it It is very full filling I’m happy Travelling, working and living in my van It is a choice you made whatever makes you happy go for it, life is too short.

Due to you sir I am building my truck camper as I am watching this vid, many, many, thanks to you Bob!............ATB!

I downloaded the book to my Kindle and listened to it free with Audible. I loved it.

Thanks, Bob. Just read an article at latimes.com (November 22, 2017 by Ellie Robins) that was posted to C's fan club Facebook page today - author gives good history of American public being conditioned to acquire and accumulate stuff and then compares two books on RV living - one by a woman, Karen Flett, who seems to have bought the lie, [Living the Airstream Life] and the other Jessica Bruder's NOMADSLAND. Interesting that they both show an Airstream trailer on the cover. Great article. Now you have given me further reason to pursue a copy of Jessica's book.

Great job Bob. There is hope.