DECEMBER IS FOR SNOW AND BOOKS

Snow is falling in a serious way. It is the kind of day when I want to grab my latest book and curl up on the couch in front of the fire and read. I have two novels on my bedside stand, one nonfiction on the couch, one nonfiction waiting to be opened, and two books to pick up at Iconoclast books, my local bookstore. Winter weather arrived in mid-November. Snow has piled up all around the house since then, and now piles became heaps in the last few days. These two months—November and December—seem to be busier than other times of the year. And really, I just want to read. 
       Because Christmas and other giving holidays are coming up in the next bucket (an old mining term), I thought I would give the gift of recommended books. I am often asked what I am reading or what I recommend. Here is a list of books important to me this year. If any appeal to you, and I hope they do, please go to your local bookstore to find them or go online to www.bookshop.org to order or check out from your local library.

Nonfiction:

Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World by Barry Lopez – a series of essays published posthumously for one of my favorite authors. He explored the world and especially delved into remote places, often in the Arctic and northern climes, seeking to understand the people, plants, and animals who lived there. He was an adventurer and writer extraordinaire. This book is on my shelf of all-time favorites. Others are Homeground and Arctic Dreams.

Tracing Time by Craig Childs. I have repeatedly recommended Craig’s books, and this one is another special one. The author explores in the Southwest, finding rock art unknown to most people, even archaeologists. His wanderings yield precious stories. It is a book not to be missed if you have ever visited Utah and the Four Corners area. (A side note: Craig rarely states where he is, but I believe we saw some of the rock art he describes and that we featured in our book, The Magical Universe of the Ancients: A Desert Journal, www.bigwoodbooks.com .)

Stone Desert by Craig Childs. I am reading this book right now. It was his first and has been re-issued by Torrey House Press. It is unique in that his early journals from which the book derived are also printed in whole. This book, too, describes rock art and also his and friends’ ramblings in the desert Southwest in wintertime.

The Broken West by Mike Medberry. A book of essays by an Idaho writer about issues facing those of us who live in the West.

Touching the Void by Joe Simpson. This is a mountain climbing story I could not put down. Two climbers in Peru tackling an unclimbed peak in the Andes run into trouble. The courage and amazing spirit of both men are enough to inspire even the most home-bound person (me).

Fiction:

Horse by Geraldine Brooks. This novel mixes history with contemporary times and follows the life of a race horse, extraordinarily famous in its time, but only coming to importance at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. in modern times. I found it filled with fascinating characters, exciting horse races, contemporary research and rebuilding of bones.

Fellowship Point by Ann Elliott Dark. This story of two lifelong friends endeavoring to save a piece of land from development along the Maine coast in their old age (their 80s), is a book to savor. One is married, the other is not. Their lives touch and break, re-touch and re-break, as most friendships do. A small circle of characters come in and out of the two women’s lives, as do love and camaraderie, disappointment and ambition. I rarely re-read books and I am tempted to do so with this one.

The Secret in the Wall by Ann Parker, the latest in a series by the author. Set in San Francisco in the late 1800s, this story continues the adventures of Inez Stannert  and Antonia. Inez first came to my attention as the owner of a bar in Leadville, Colorado. She and her young ward run a music store. The history of San Francisco is almost as intriguing as the mystery plot involving Confederate soldiers, Alcatraz prison, detectives, and an ancient murder, or is it? The entire series is worth reading.

The Thursday Club Murders by R. Osman. There are now three of these. A group of elderly people in a retirement home form the club and solve mysteries. They sound a little boring, but the stories definitely are not. The characters are well-formed and the mysteries puzzling. Give these a try.

Other titles:  To Kill a Troubadour by Martin Walker; The Ghosts of Paris by Tara Moss. You Tell the Stories You Need to Believe by Rebecca Brown; Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel.

One of our neighbors:

News:

MINERS’ MOON won Bronze in the Mystery category of the Will Rogers Medallion Awards.
Craig Johnson of Longmire fame won Gold. I am in amazing company!

I spent a lot of November thinking about and then beginning to write a new mystery with the same characters. It will be a while before I get a real handle on it. I’ll keep you posted!