Who Gets In and Why: a Year Inside College Admissions by Jeffrey Selingo First, a warning: If you are a high school senior or parent of a high school senior currently awaiting news of college acceptances, do not read Who Gets In and Why: a Year Inside College Admissions by Jeffrey Selingo. Parents of younger teens—this book is for you, … Read more
Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard Everywhere you look in Whatcom County, Patagonia clothing is ubiquitous. Maybe it’s because so many of us love to spend time being active in the outdoors. Maybe it’s because the clothes are high quality and last a long time. Maybe owning … Read more
The Cold Millions by Jess Walter Among the many excellent fiction writers in Washington state putting out great work these days—Jonathan Evison and Jim Lynch among them—Jess Walter (pictured) stands out for his ability to take on a wide variety of genres and excel in each. Citizen Vince has a mobster-noir feel; The Zero is political satire; Over Tumbled … Read more
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May Life is full of times when events may cause us to drop out of the flow for a time. These fallow periods, often unexpected, can contribute to feeling isolated, frozen and cut off from others. Sounds a lot like 2020, doesn’t it? … Read more
Finding Dorothy by Elizabeth Letts Before the ubiquity of DVDs and Netflix, families wishing to share a little movie magic by watching the annual rebroadcast of MGM’s The Wizard of Oz had to keep a keen eye on the TV listings. It often ran in winter, and was a must-see before the holidays. Millions tuned in to … Read more
It’s been a long and challenging year, and many of us are having trouble concentrating enough to read or just want feel-good reading. To that end, this year’s suggestions for holiday gift books have in common the theme of kindness, compassion and shared humanity. They are the type of books that are lovely to have … Read more
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Timothy Leary, Richard Nixon and the Hunt for the Fugitive King of LSD by Bill Minutaglio For those who think the past four years of the Trump era have been over-the-top outrageous, take a magic carpet ride back to the early 1970s via Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis’ … Read more
Uncharted: A Couple’s Epic Empty-nest Adventure Sailing From One Life to Another by Kim Brown Seely As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the prospect of chucking it all and sailing off into the sunset has a certain appeal. A change of scenery, some fresh sea air, a chance to slow down time and escape, far from … Read more
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue In an overcrowded hospital in the heart of Dublin during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, Nurse Julia Power works long hours in the “fever/maternity” ward, where women who have succumbed to the flu and are also pregnant are sent. There aren’t enough doctors and nurses to … Read more
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi While Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel, Homegoing, was epic in scope, weaving together generations of voices covering 300 years of life in both Ghana and America, her recently released second novel, Transcendent Kingdom, turns to the intimate quarters of family, faith and the mother-daughter relationship. Gifty is a sixth-year doctoral student … Read more