Calling Bullshit: The Art of Skepticism in A Data-driven World by Carl T. Bergstrom and Jevin D. West Ahh, spring in Whatcom County! The stench of cow manure wafts over fields. Home gardeners load Subarus with giant bags of the stuff. Bullshit — to be both crass and obvious — is everywhere. Authors Carl T. Bergstrom … Read more
Rose Quartz: Poems by Sasha taqʷšblu LaPointe and I Sing the Salmon Home: Poems from Washington State edited by Rena Priest Just in time for National Poetry Month, there are two newly published poetry collections by writers with roots in Whatcom and Skagit counties. “Rose Quartz” is the debut poetry collection by Sasha taqʷšblu LaPointe, the author of “Red Paint: … Read more
Small Game by Blair Braverman Writer and dogsledder Blair Braverman has faced down nature on dozens of real-life adventures. After she became violently ill on an episode Naked and Afraid she wondered: what would have happened if the crew wasn’t there to pull me out? Small Game is Braverman’s answer to that question. In her debut novel, adventure guide … Read more
Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen The Bachelor meets Bigfoot in this wacky page-turner. The cast and crew of reality dating show The Catch travel to a remote island in the San Juans to film an episode on location. The four remaining contestants all want very different outcomes from their time on the show, and it’s not necessarily … Read more
Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention–and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari If you’ve ever Googled “how to get my brain to focus” or lamented your lost capacity for concentration, check out writer and journalist Johann Hari’s most recent book, “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply … Read more
Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk by Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe is the Whatcom READS 2024 book selection. Jess Walter, author of the 2023 featured title, The Cold Millions, announced the book and author during the March 3 author event at the Mount Baker Theatre. Winner of a 2023 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association award, Red … Read more
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka Reviewed by Emma Radosevich, collection development librarian, Whatcom County Library System At the community pool, obsessive lap swimmers adhere to a strict, unspoken social code. They stick to their lanes and keep an eye out for each other–especially Alice, who has been swimming laps here for 35 years. Her dementia doesn’t … Read more
111 Places in Seattle That You Must Not Miss by Harriet Baskas February and March can be challenging months here in the Pacific Northwest. Snow is on the ground as I write this, the temperature is freezing and it will be dark in a few hours. It’s a time when PNWers fantasize about trips to warmer … Read more
Whatcom READS season is in full swing, and now that you’ve had a chance to read Jess Walter’s novel “The Cold Millions,” you can dig deeper by availing yourself of library materials from public libraries and local higher-ed institutions. The Whatcom READS website links to a lengthy list of titles exploring topics mentioned in the book, such … Read more
You Are Not Broken: Stop “Should-ing” All Over your Sex Life by KJ Casperson Nestled between articles on China’s approach to COVID-19, Ukraine’s cyber-defense program and needle exchanges in New York City, the Dec. 3, 2022, edition of The Economist included a piece titled, “The wounds of silence.” The author compared modern discomfort about talking about … Read more