A Schoolteacher in Old Alaska: The Story of Hannah Breece

I just finished this book, edited by Jane Jacobs. Hannah Breece taught in remote villages in the early 1900s in Alaska (okay, all of AK was remote then, and most of it still is now). She compiled her memoir from letters she wrote, so she left out a lot of details that would have been fascinating in a book but would have worried her family and friends at the time.



As a memoir, it's not very well put together, lacking a strong narrative flow, but the tidbits of information she shares are really interesting. She is quite determined to civilize the natives and keep alcohol out of Alaska, and some of her 'proper' ideas on things make for amusing reading when considered 100 years after the fact.



It's a good read with an enlightening look at early Alaska, and Breece's editor, her great-niece, did a great job of filling in as many blanks as she could.

Slow Death by Rubber Duck, by Rick Smith & Bruce Lourie

I'm also reading "Slow Death by Rubber Duck", co-authored by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie. It's about how the toxic chemistry of everyday life affects our health and how the living of daily life creates a toxic soup inside each of us!
If you are concerned about the level of toxins in your body and want to understand the hidden threats already in your home, this book is a good read. You'll never look at a rubber duck in the same way again!!

Lost in the Sand, by Shanna Ahmad

Right now I'm reading "Lost In The Sand" by Shanna Ahmad. The story is 90% fact but written in novel form. It's about a Kurdish woman's survival in the land of chemical experiments and genocide in the deserts of Iraq. The story is written about Najat and what was happening to the Kurdish people during the Sadam rule. I'm only part way through the book, but it's the kind of book you really don't want to put down.
Najat's village was bombed with chemicals when she was a young girl and everyone in the village died except she and a young boy. They had been up in the valley tending the boy's sheep. She was taken in by a family in another town who raised her and she attended university in Bagdad. While there she was noticed by Sa'adoun Alwan who was a high up memeber of the Ba'ath Party and he decided he wanted to marry her so he pretty much forced her family to agree to the marriage...the alternative most likey being death for the whole family! During her time in University, she was smuggling information out of Bagdad to her home in Sarkan which was passed on to someone who was trying to get information out to the West. Her purpose was to still try and help in any way she could even in her forced marriage. I'll know the rest of the story soon!
I was buying another book in Wall Mart the other day and I mentioned "Lost in the Sand" and the girl at the checkout got all excited about the book and told me the author, Shanna Ahmad actually lives in Penticton and works at a Shopper's Drugs. She said Shanna has been to their high school and told them about the book. This was confirmed by the man who owns "The Dusty Cover" book store in Osoyoos as well. So, maybe some day I'll get to meet this lady and get my book autographed. The book sells for about $40 but it has a copyright of 2007, so I'm sure one could order it from a library.

Crazy for the Storm - Norman Ollestad

Crazy for the Storm - A memoir of survival by Norman Ollestad (note -there are some swear words in this story)
" On February 19, 1979 I was in a plane crash with my father, his girlfriend Sandra, and the pilot of our chartered Cessna, Sandra was 30 years old. My dad was 42. I was 11. Just after sunrise, we slammed into a rugged 8,600 foot mountain engulfed in a blizzard. By the end of our nine-hour ordeal, I was the only survivor."
WOW! I really enjoyed this book. It kept me reading and I had a hard time putting it down to get other things done.
A very clearly written story from Norm as a 11 year olds perspective of how he got to the top of the mountain, ( he goes back to explained about his father and life up to the plane crash) and how he got to the bottom of the mountain ( he hears his father telling him not to give up and keeps pushing him on)
It also goes into the next years of his life of him coming to terms with his father's death.
Even though his dad pushed him to always do his best and at time Norm didn't' want to do the things his dad asked him to do, in the end this maybe have been his saving grace to pull though the crash and later in becoming an adult.
Some of the terminology is a bit over my head when he describes surfing and skiing because I don't do that, but I still go the feel of what he was trying to explain.

If you like to read a gripping story with a 'story book' ending this is a good one.

I am currently reading Remembering Blue, by Connie May Fowler. I enjoyed reading these of hers: Before Women Had Wings and River of Hidden Dreams.

Recently I read and enjoyed The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein. It had a good plot, a family love story and was interesting because it was written from the family dog's viewpoint. I'm going to mail it to Lindi.

Homestead, by Rosina Lippi was good. I sometimes got lost in the family connections. It's about different ones in a tiny Alpine village, spanning several generations.

I listened to Dawn, by Elie Wiesel, and then read the other 2 of the trilogy, Night and Day. I also read The Forgotten. Some of it is pretty gruesome, as he survived a concentration camp during WWII as a young boy.

The Dowry, a novel of Ireland, by Walter Keady was an interesting and funny story.

I listened to and enjoyed The Other by David Guterson. It's setting in WA added to the interest. It's about the friendship of 2 young boys, one from a poor family and one from a rich family and their outcomes.

For Women Only

I just finished reading "For Women Only" by Shaunti Feldhahn. - and I will be reading it again!  This is a non fiction book.  It is a few things that women need to know about the inner lives of men!  A quick read ( that is why I am reading it again)  It covers some topics that we just don't get about the men in our lives.  Shaunti did a national survey and personaly interviewed men and came up with the info for this book. 
I liked it because it was quick to read, very straight forward, and easy to understand, gives the 'problem' and then gives a 'solution'.
There is a bit of a Christian slant to this book but it only helped to make her points better.
It gave me a whole different way to look at my relation ship with the important men in my life and how the things I do and say may effect them in ways that I am not even aware of. I would say this is a book to read at any stage of your life, weather it's just getting into a relationship with a man, or even if you have been married for years and have always wondered about some of the 'funny' things that your man does...  It's kind of like a lightbulb moment book.

Don't Bother Unless You Like Werewolfs

I recently listened to Liar by Justine Larbalestier. I was a couple of hours into it when the main character turned out to be a werewolf. I was so annoyed, not being a huge fan of books involving make-believe creatures.

The problem is, I had enjoyed the book up to that point, and was quite aways into it, so I kept listening--but I kept being annoyed. Being so far into the book by the time Micah revealed herself to be a werewolf, it was that much harder for me to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the read. I suppose this is a lesson to me to read book descriptions better.

Liar is a young adult book, and if you enjoy the genre it would be a good read--but be forewarned that Micah is not a human narrator.