Lisa Gresham

Small World by Jonathan Evison Screeching brakes, shattering glass, passenger names on a manifest, a retirement party that never happens. Jonathan Evison shows his hand on the first page of his new novel, “Small World,” described by Kirkus Reviews as “a bighearted, widescreen American tale.” Knowing that the characters will all find themselves in this … Read more

Mud, Rocks, Blazes: Letting Go on the Appalachian Trail by Heather “Anish” Anderson In summer 2013, Bellingham-based Heather “Anish” Anderson set the fastest, unsupported time on the Pacific Crest Trail. She recounted the 60 day, 17 hour, 12 minute thru-hike in her 2019 memoir “Thirst: 2,600 Miles to Home.” It is an exhilarating personal tale … Read more

Cascadia Revealed: A Guide to the Plants, Animals & Geology of the Pacific Northwest Mountains by Daniel MathewsOld Barns of Whatcom County: Photos and Poems by Jeff BarclayInside My Sea of Dreams: The Adventures of Kami and Suz by Susan Conrad If gift-giving is part of your holiday tradition, think about keeping it local with … Read more

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave Sometimes when the world is heavy, a book that’s not too complicated and not too dark can be just the thing for a rainy or windy weekend. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave fits the bill. It’s not quite a thriller, not quite a mystery, … Read more

At the Edge of the Haight by Katherine Seligman One night several years ago while driving through Golden Gate Park, journalist Katherine Seligman and her husband were stopped by a frantic man who jumped in front of their car, pleading with them to stay with him and saying that someone was threatening to kill him. … Read more

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson Set in the redwood forests of Northern California near the Oregon border, Ash Davidson’s impressive debut novel, Damnation Spring, tells the story of a logging family and community clinging to a vanishing way of life. Davidson sets her story during the late 1970s, when the National Park Service is expanding, taking … Read more

Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and A Woman’s Search for Justice in Indian Country by Sierra Crane Murdoch The recent media frenzy over the murder of 22-year-old Gabby Petito is drawing some disheartening comparisons to the attention paid to the alarming number of missing indigenous women across the United States. In South Dakota alone, there are … Read more

The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw It’s not surprising that Deesha Philyaw’s story collection The Secret Lives of Church Ladies was a National Book Award finalist. Her writing is confident, moving, insightful and real. Each of the nine stories is deliberately and finely crafted. Philyaw (pictured) begins with an epigraph by southern poet Ansel … Read more

The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-centered Planet by John Green What do Canada Geese, Diet Dr. Pepper, and the song “Auld Lang Syne” have in common? In the mind of author John Green, these disparate topics become pitch-perfect prompts for essays exploring life in the Anthropocene, the current geologic age defined by human activity’s … Read more

Hippie Food: How Back-to-the-landers, Longhairs, and Revolutionaries Changed the Way We Eat by Jonathan Kauffman There is no shortage of “hippie food” in Bellingham. Between the Wednesday and Saturday Farmers Markets, the Community Food Co-op, CSA Farm Boxes, meat shares, Whole Foods, and community gardens—we’re up to our ears in whole grains, organic produce, kombucha, … Read more