This piece was originally published on the Island Books blog. Growing up, I loved getting lost in books. It didn’t matter to me if the book was adventurous, dramatic, suspenseful, or fantastical; as long as it transported me somewhere else, I was happy. I’d be so immersed in my book that I’d barely hear my …
Stephanie Land’s Maid gives voice to those of us who have lived below the poverty line. Land cleaned other people’s houses while her own walls were covered in black mold that made her child sick. She lost precious wages standing in line for food stamps. She filled out endless paperwork to get childcare so she could work …
On Thursday, February 14 at noon, the Oregon State Capitol Foundation (OSCF) Speaker Series Presents Oregon author Dede Montgomery and her nonfiction book, My Music Man. The event is free and will be held in the Hearing Room at the Capitol Building in Salem, OR. Dede Montgomery brings her personal family history to the Capitol …
“Dear America, is this what you really want? Do you even know what is happening in your name?” Most of us don’t know what is happening in our name. This gorgeously written memoir is an important baby step towards Americans learning about our current deeply broken immigration system and the effects it has on our …
Thursday, February 7, 2019 Country Bookshelf in Bozeman, MT is thrilled to welcome author debut Montana author Stephanie Land, who will discuss and sign the highly anticipated Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, Thursday, February 7th at 6pm. This event is not to be missed! “There are tens of millions of …
Winter evenings by the wood stove present just the right opportunity for revisiting a classic book. And for anyone who studies and writes about natural history, as I do, few titles are more foundational than Walden by Henry David Thoreau. It’s the sort of text that gets quoted more than read, however, and I couldn’t recall …
Spokane author Nisbet always seems to find the most interesting bits of untold NW history to write about, from explorer/naturalists David Douglas (The Collector), cartographer David Thompson, to the natural history of the Columbia River Gorge (I loved Visible Bones). In The Dreamer and the Doctor he continues that thread with the story of John …
There’s a scene in A False Report I think of often. Stacy Galbraith, a police detective in Golden, Colorado, goes home after work. She tells her husband about a case she’s working—a rape investigation with all kinds of chilling twists. Her husband works at another police department, nearby. He listens, then tells her: We’ve got …
Eli Saslow pens a riveting tale of the White Nationalist, Derek Black, who was tapped as the “heir apparent” to the leadership of the KKK, but eventually rejected that role. Growing up, Derek’s father was a grand wizard for the KKK, and his mother was once married to David Duke. Accepting this political stance was …
In Buzz, Thor Hanson takes us through the fascinating lives and history of bees, from when the first bees split from the wasps to offering them protection now. Hanson’s narrative style makes the information flow in an easily digestible way, and readers will come away knowing and appreciating more about bees than they ever thought …
