Wild: From lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail

by Cheryl Strayed


Here's another book that received a lot of acclaim when it came out, so I perversely avoided it for some time. Then I read it.

It's a nonfiction account of Strayed, who inexplicably became obsessed with hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. A 20-something, Strayed was living up to her name: promiscuous, no career, drug addiction. She decided to hike the trail for three months, with no knowledge of the wilderness beyond a book.

Strayed's writing style is very clean and concise but not boring -- anything but. I burned through this book, fascinated with the adventure and this very, very flawed heroine.

I highly recommend this book.

Ada Blackjack

by Jennifer Niven

So this wasn't the most compellingly written nonfiction ever but the subject was fresh and the research thorough.

The story follows a polar expedition closed to the turn of the century, one that came a bit late in the explorer game, so the riches and fame weren't quite as heady. A key plot point is the fact that the organizer/main explorer did not even go on the trip, which was to Wrangle Island in the Bering Sea.

Instead he recruited a team (mostly inexperienced), raised money (not enough) and outfitted (poorly) the team, which included a single Inuit woman, Ada Blackjack.

Educated but abandoned by her husband and desperate for money to support her son, Ada joins the team as a seamstress/cook. She knows little about living in the wild, having been raised in the city.

So of course, mishaps and misadventures mean Ada has to survive on her own and the story is told very carefully and without drama (except the actual drama taking place). I've read little about explorers so if nothing else it was interesting on that level.

Heartsick

by Chelsea Cain

Funny thing, this. I've been meaning to ready books by this author for years. I used to follow a personal column she wrote for "The Oregonian" that I just loved. I loved her style, loved her personality, loved her.

But then she came out with a crime novel/mystery, one fated to become a series, and I hestitated. Because I really don't enjoy them that much and I think there are way, way too many of them. So I avoided dealing with it.

 But eventually I caved and it was worth it. Story revolves around a serial killer and a reporter-turned-dectective (nothing new there) but it was set in Portland (always fun to have someplace you're familar with) and the tone and characters were fresh enough it felt good. 

Even though I avoid series like the plague, I will read the next one and hope it's just as good.

The Invisible Ones

by Stef Penney


So I realized recently that I rarely check out books from the library anymore. Oh, I check out books on building chicken coops, books on gluten-free baking, books with knitting patterns or design ideas but rarely 'reading matter', especially fiction.

And it's not that I'm not reading these things, it's that I have so much of it at home (and keeping adding to it, despite the fact that I can't keep up) that I don't need to check out books from the library.

And funny, because I used to haunt the library and take absurd amount of books home.

Yet, by chance this book jumped into my arms from the library and even though I'm reading three at home, I checked it out anyway. And on a day off from work, when I was going to treat myself to a bit of reading before my chores, I ended up reading the whole friggin' book. In a day. It was that good and that compelling -- like a good Stephen King read that's impossible to walk away from.

The book revolves around English Romanies (Gypsies) so I was a sucker for it already. The main character, Ray, is a Rom by birth by not lifestyle, having grown up a fairly ordinary English life. He goes to college and becomes a private detective.

Onto his office walks a Romany father with a missing daughter. He chooses Ray because he's a Gypsy but doesn't know Ray doesn't live 'the life'. Needing a case, Ray takes the job and gets sucked into the enormously complex life of the Romanies, despite his efforts to remain removed.

As a mystery, it avoids cliches to such an extent it doesn't feel like a mystery story. It feels like a story. And even though I deduced a crucial plot point slightly more than halfway through, I still finished the book because the telling of the story was that good. 

Let's Take the Long Way Home

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by Gail Caldwell

I don't read at ton of nonfiction but this one was recommended by my local bookstore owner and I respect his opinion. He was right, it was a wonderful book. Caldwell rights mostly about the arch of her friendship with her closest woman friend but the book is about more than that: her career, her relationships, with family, friends and her beloved dogs.

The book is very simply written (Caldwell was a journalist) and I love her style. It's clear uncluttered language was poetic on some levels. She writes about her best friend, who is her soul mate in many ways and who died painfully of cancer. It's brilliantly told, this story of friendship and love. It makes you cry at the same time it makes you believe in the power of love.

The Orchardist

by Amanda Coplin

Honestly, the main reason I read this book was because it is set in North Central Washington, around Wenatchee, Cashmere and Methow Valley, an area I've come to love.

It takes place around the turn of the 20th century and revolves around a lone orchardist, Talmadge, who takes in two teenage girls fleeing a horrible situation.

Despite his desire to be left alone, the bachelor gets drawn into a complex situation involving the girls and the man who is after them.

I enjoyed the book, the plot was intriguing and the period and geographic details felt true. The characters were tough to get to know, however, a little too obtuse. I like complex characters but these just seemed...vague.  

The Lacuna

by Barbara Kingsolver

This book was such a surprise. A huge Kingsolver fan, this book in no way resembled anything she's done before.
Its hero is a man, it takes place in pre-WWII Mexico and post-war U.S., the prose is more sparse but still lyrical in an open, disarming way. The story is told through journals, letters and other documents.
In 'The Lacuna,' Harrison Shepherd (presidential name, isn't it?) is a boy a bit on the outside, with a vivacious Mexican mother, a remote American father and a very active imagination. Later still, he lives in the U.S., going to school and trying to be American. He's more comfortable in Mexico, where he meets up with artists, scholars, revolutionaries and cooks. But eventually he finds himself back in the U.S., where he becomes sucked into the anti-Communist fever that spreads through the populace like a virus, leaving no one immune.

I very much enjoyed the book but not as much as others by Kingsolver -- and I don't know why. I really enjoyed reading about a time and social upheaval I knew little about. I loved the character of Harrison. Why didn't I treasure it like I did others by her?

Crossing the Borders of Time

by Leslie Maitland

I love reading books by journalists, at least the well-done ones. The research and attention to detail can be breathtaking.
This book is an  account of Maitland's mother's life, from well-to-to childhood in Germany to terrifying pre-war years in France. It delves into amazing detail of Janenne's personality, her motivations and emotions, her memories and how reality conflicted with those.
The book tells you as much about Maitland as her mother, but in a side-glance way, as clues tune you into her motivations, her emotions as well.
The depth of characters and little plot side trips (just like real life!) in this book were endless.

Loved it.

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

I waited until all the hullabaloo about this book (and its sequels) died down, and did not see the film, before trying to give this teen book a try. I was intrigued by the premise: a futuristic totalitarian society where, for some twisted 'appeasing the masses', a survival game to the death is held every year. With children and teenagers.
It was quite an entertaining read, it reminded me of some fantasy books I'd read as a teen. Katniss was a well-defined character and the plot was not too predictable.

I like it well enough to try another, to be sure.