One last reminder: on Thursday, LIVING WITH WILDNESS author Bill Sherwonit will be at Title Wave at 7 PM.
On Friday, many contributors to CROSSCURRENTS NORTH will be at the Anchorage Museum: Marybeth Holleman, Anne Coray, Mike Burwell, Ann Dixon, Jo Going, Kaylene Johnson, Steve Kahn, Joan Kane, Buffy McKay, Sue Pope, Libby Roderick, Eva Saulitis, and Bill Sherwonit. (There are other signings as well; see bottom of my 9/20 post.)
I won’t be there on Friday, because — in keeping with this week’s theme — I am actually going offline (is it possible?) to enjoy some real nature. I’ll be backpacking for 5 days on Resurrection Pass Trail, enjoying the yellow aspen/poplar leaves and smell of mouldering high bush cranberry, hoping to see animals (at the proper distance) and hoping also to stay relatively warm, while working off all the yogurt pretzels, chocolate, jerky, and schnapps we’ll be carrying in those heavy packs.
I have been spending the last five weeks blogging like crazy (as many of you know) and balancing a bunch of other writerly duties, and I look forward to this time to regather my energies and rest my twitchy mouse-clicking fingers.
What will I be reading on the trail? (You ask…) John Straley’s new mystery novel, THE BIG BOTH WAYS, which Publishers Weekly called “a gripping tale of survival, betrayal and murder set in the Pacific Northwest in 1935.”
When I return, I will be unveiling the complete plans for inaugurating an online “Equinox Book Club,” which will feature a bunch of us posting comments to discuss Straley’s book.
Do you love Straley and all he has done for the last two years as Alaska State Writer? Do you like the fact that Alaska Northwest Books, Straley’s publisher, has added fiction to their list? Do you appreciate this blog? Do you appreciate Alaska writers in general? Then add a comment and sign up below, promising you intend to read THE BIG BOTH WAYS between now and November 1. More details will be announced, but I can’t tell you how happy I’d be to come home to a pile of comments from readers willing to take part. (You’re committing only to this one book, not an ongoing book club — it’s our first experimental effort in that arena.)
Thanks.
After winning The Big Both Ways as door prize last week, I started reading it just last night! Know nothing about Straley yet, but on my way to finding out. Will read the book through quickly, I bet. At first, my impression was “overwritten,” but then the details grabbed my attention and held it. More as the pages unfold….
This is perfect! I’ve wanted to read The Big Both Ways since it came out, so I’m signing up for your plan. By the way Andromeda, I’m half way through your book and it’s wonderful. I had that feeling today that I didn’t want to do anything except keep reading it, which is the highest praise I can think of. I’ll write more when I’m finished with it, and I’ll watch for more about John Straley’s book on your blog.
I’m compiling my vacation reading list right now. Maybe it’s time to read Straley.
Have a great trip!
Juneau Lake is most definately my FAVORITE part of the trail. Beautiful views from the cabin, great lake for canoeing (hopefully it is still there), and great fishing! Bring a pole!
We scattered my fathers ashes in that lake so it will always hold a special spot in my heart.
Post pictures!
I'm back from Rez Pass and looking for more Straley readers! Thanks Kay & Eowyn for being the first to read along with me. On the trail, I read the first several chapters, and it's an easy, atmospheric read, set in Seattle in the 1930s — quite different from the first Straley mystery I read over 10 years ago. Looking forward to getting deeper into the story and finding more Alaska online readers to share it with me…