Let's get started with suggestions for our next book talk in 2011. List your suggestions here with perhaps a bit of a summary and your reasons for suggesting the book.
Deadline for suggestions will be the end of April 2010.
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At our last book talk, we discussed the possibility of using Alaska books for our next book talk. Here are a few suggestions:
ReplyDelete"Tisha: The story of a Young Teacher in the Alaska Wilderness" as told to Robert Specht. The story of young teacher, Anne Hobbs Purdy. Set in 1927 Alaska. True story but highly fictionalized.
"One Man’s Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey" by Same Keith from the journals and photographs of Richard Proenneke. A classic in Alaskan literature – “He found a place, built a cabin, and stayed to become part of the country.”
Something by Nancy Lord such as "Fishcamp: Life on an Alaskan Shore" or "Green Alaska: Dreams from the Far North," or another of her books.
"Beyond the Killing Tree: A Journey of Discovery" by Stephen Reynolds. Life story of a game warden in Alaska, some of which takes place in the Kenai Fjords.
"Libby: The Sketches, Letters & Journal of Libby Beaman, Recorded in the Pribilof Islands 1879-1880" as presented by her Grand daughter, Betty John.
"Shadows on the Koyukuk: An Alaska Native’s Life Along the River" by Sidney Huntington as told to Jim Rearden.
The above books are nonfiction. Below are some fiction books.
"Tatiana" by Dorothy M. Jones. Tatiana is an Aleut woman who must deal with the changes to her people’s way of life and to their home, especially when World War II breaks out and her whole village is “evaculated” to southeast Alaska.
"Ashana: An epic story based on the life of a proud native Alaskan woman" by E.P. Roesch. It is the 1790’s, and the old ways of Alayeska are perishing, crushed by a collision of cultures. Russian fur traders are claiming the rich Alaskan wilderness for imperial Russia, and forcing the proud Native Americans into slavery. Beautiful Ashana, torn from her young husband to be the mistress and servant of the captain of invaders, turns for help to the ancient spirits who have always guided her people.
"Fog on the Mountain" by Frederica de Laguna. Wallace Howard, a young ethnologist in the field, becomes involved in a surprising murder mystery in the Alaskan back country. Written by a famous Alaska archaeologist.
These are just a few to consider. Please post some of your ideas.
A few more possible books:
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"Ordinary Wolves" by Seth Cantner -- about a boy growing up in the Alaska wilderness. Cutuk Hawcly, with his siblings and father,lives a day's sled-drive from the nearest Inupiaq village, their link to the outside world.
NONFICTION
"North to the Future: The Alaska Story, 1959-2009" by Dermot Cole. Many of us have lived through some of these years. It's interesting to get a historical perspective of what was going on all around us.
"Birth and Rebirth on an Alaskan Island: The Life of an Alutiiq Healer" by JoanneB. Mulcahy.
"Fridgid Embrace: Politics, Economics, and Environment in Alaska" by Stephen Haycox. A fascinating history. The last 4 chapters cover Prudhoe Bay and ANCSA, how oil changed Alaska, The Exxon-Valdez debacle, the Tongass Forest and ELF, and the Alaska dividend. Some real interesting current history.
This will end my suggestion list. I'll be in touch with Patty at the end of April. She'll have some suggestions, too. So...if any of you have ideas, either call Patty or me or list them here.
I would like to suggest Velma Wallis's book Raising Ourselves. An eye opening account of Native Alaskan life during the last century as experienced by one family.
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