Arctic Traverse: A Thousand-mile Summer of Trekking the Brooks Range by Michael Engelhard Warning: reading Arctic Traverse: A Thousand-mile Summer of Trekking the Brooks Range by Michael Engelhard may cause you to fall in love with Alaska’s Brooks Range – and also to dream about being pursued by grizzly bears. Engelhard is an evocative writer, and Arctic Traverse is very … Read more
I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger Against the backdrop of a dystopian landscape in a climate-changed near future, “I Cheerfully Refuse” by Leif Enger tells the story of Rainy, a gentle bear of a man, house painter and aspiring bass player, as he seeks redemption after the loss of his beloved wife, Lark. Setting sail on … Read more
Here With You: A Memoir of Love, Family, and Addiction by Kathy Wagner The opioid crisis has reached epidemic proportions with virtually no place escaping its devastation. Here in Whatcom County, according to data provided by the Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s Office, there were 136 overdose-related deaths in 2023, up from 91 in 2022. Libraries and other agencies now offer free naloxone, a … Read more
Find Yourself at Home: A Conscious Approach to Shaping Your Space and Your Life by Emily Grosvenor Emily Grosvenor is a feng shui consultant, editor of Oregon Home magazine and author of “Find Yourself at Home: A Conscious Approach to Shaping Your Space and Your Life.” (Photo courtesy of Beth Olson Creative) How would your life change if your concept of home was not as sanctuary, a … Read more
The Ways of Water by Teresa H. Janssen “Life, like a river, can take some sharp twists and turns. People can shift as much as a water’s course. There are reasons I broke my promises. I want them to be known.” Thus begins the coming-of-age story of Josie Belle Gore, daughter of a Louisiana train engineer … Read more
A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan Seattle author Timothy Egan is adept at bringing history to life for readers, often identifying little-known people whose lives played a pivotal role in “how it all turned out.” His recently published book, “A Fever … Read more
Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution by Rainn Wilson Viewers of the sitcom The Office may wonder why the guy who played the “beet-farming, paper-selling, tangentially Amish man-baby with the giant forehead and short-sleeved mustard shirts” is writing a book about spirituality and how it can save humanity from all that threatens to overwhelm us. Three-time … Read more
Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention–and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari If you’ve ever Googled “how to get my brain to focus” or lamented your lost capacity for concentration, check out writer and journalist Johann Hari’s most recent book, “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply … Read more
111 Places in Seattle That You Must Not Miss by Harriet Baskas February and March can be challenging months here in the Pacific Northwest. Snow is on the ground as I write this, the temperature is freezing and it will be dark in a few hours. It’s a time when PNWers fantasize about trips to warmer … Read more
Better Than We Found It: Conversations to Help Save the World by Frederick and Porsche Joseph Intended as an introduction to topics of the day for a teen audience, adult readers of “Better Than We Found It: Conversations to Help Save the World” by Frederick and Porsche Joseph will appreciate this inspired examination of society’s most … Read more