This spring has been one of the chilliest in decades, which might be why my thoughts have been turning toward the Arctic Circle. More likely, though, it’s because of the paperback re-release of Nobody Gets Out Alive, a debut book of fiction from Alaska native Leigh Newman. A collection of dazzling, courageous stories about women …
“Looks like northeasterly winds fifteen knots with scattered clouds and light rain,” the Alaska Airlines pilot announces (or something like this) when you land at the Kodiak Airport. You drive into town with waterfalls and scree slopes on your left, the seaport on your right, and a magpie dashing along beside you. Maybe you’ve come …
Amy Kane, who owns the bookstore in Haines, the tiny Alaska town where I live, tells everyone that my books, especially the most recent one, Of Bears and Ballots, published June 30, 2020, saved her business during the pandemic, but really, The Bookstore saved me. “Bottom line is without that book we wouldn’t be here,” …
Set in Alaska in the 1920s, a husband and wife are drifting apart. Unable to have their own child, they create one out of snow one night, and it changes their whole lives. This novel is full of rich imagery and wonderful characters. Eowyn Ivey has written a beautiful fairy tale that really reaches out …
Welcome to Moose Springs, Alaska, where locals are grumpy, the tourists are sometimes overly touristy, and the moose love to cause mischief. I’m not ashamed to admit I stayed up way too late reading every page… Perfect for anyone who needs a little rom-com to lift their spirits.” –Melissa, Trail’s End Bookstore, Winthrop, WA This …
Originally published in Shelf Awareness for Readers April 5, 2019 Among explorers, hunters and fishermen, Alaska was long known perceived as a man’s world. Women have often had to fight for the chance to love this harsh, beautiful land and prove they can handle its challenges. Sophie Forrester, military wife and aspiring photographer, is initially …
The Library of Congress National Book Festival is an annual literary event that brings together best-selling authors and thousands of book fans for author talks, panel discussions, book signings and other activities. Over its long history, the National Book Festival has become one of the pre-eminent literary events in the United States. Attendees can interact …
Non-fiction for the cold, hard facts, fiction for flights of fancy. One grounds you while the other sets you spinning. Most of the time, maybe, but my experience this week perfectly inverts that paradigm. I’ve been reading a brand-new book from Oscar-winning documentarian Errol Morris, who is best known as the filmmaker behind such projects …
The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock This profound young adult novel, written by a fourth-generation Alaskan, examines the 70’s-era culture of so many small towns in that part of the world, where domestic violence, alcoholism, child abuse and poverty are still the highest in the nation. The story is told in alternating …
When I met Meagan Macvie, during the first minutes of our three-year MFA program, she was buried in a book, occasionally peeking up through her glasses to observe us all getting to know each other. An introverted bookworm, I thought, and I was right about the bookworm part. Just check out her answer below when …
