Books I've Been Reading

To Siberia
Per Petterson

Petterson's Danish seascape is gorgeous, the lives of his characters are meticulously rendered, and his tracing of their lives is perfect. Guaranteed to take your breath away, To Siberia quietly tells the story of a lovely and innocent childhood opening like a flower in a storm.

And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

Jack Kerouac & William Burroughs

The legendary "lost book" of the Beats, this early collaborative novel reveals two of the Beat's finest writers at the beginning of their careers. Some of these chapters are brilliant short stories in and of themselves. An illuminating and enjoyable read.

The English Major

Jim Harrison

You don't have to be young to start over, hip to seize life, or daring to have adventure. You don't need to be moneyed (or utterly destitute) to meet the right people; a simple life is fuel enough for insight and meaning; and change is often good. Jim Harrison's writing is marvelous, and in his new novel - "On the Road" for the common man - he takes the reader on a trip with a teacher-turned-farmer when he hits the highways after personal catastrophe.

Bretz's Flood

John Soennichsen

The massive Missoula floods carved the dramatic scablands of eastern Washington and flooded the Columbia and Willamette valleys to depths of 400 feet as far south as Eugene. This is the bracing story of the geologist who, like Galileo and Darwin before him, challenged prevailing thought and put forth a theory that incited academic controversy for years.