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Reading Rescue, April 2010:
The Library is a Great Place to Wander
 By
Christine Miller
When Spring comes, the air changes and everything seems
new again. We can shake off cabin fever and head outdoors...take a hike,
find a new hobby, or discover a new interest. The library is a great
place to wander. Check out some new books and some new-to-you titles,
too!
“We can never have enough of nature” ~
Thoreau
New at Penn Area Library!
The Walk. Evans, Richard Paul (2010). New York:
Simon & Schuster. 289 pp. McNaughton Collection.
In his new book, Richard Paul Evans (The Christmas
Box, The Gift) takes us on a journey of heartbreak, healing
and discovery. A work of Diary Fiction, this is an account of Alan
Christoffersen, an ordinary man living a successful life as an
advertising executive, who finds himself in disturbing and unfamiliar
territory -- in his circumstances, and with himself -- when life hands
him some unimaginable twists and turns. In a moment of inspiration, Alan
remembers a time in his youth when he fantasized about walking across
America, and believes that "there's a primordial section of the human
psyche that is still nomadic and still yearns to roam free." This
sentiment, the author points out, is apparent in our culture throughout
generations expressed in the literature of Thoreau, Steinbeck, and
Kerouac. "Deep in our hearts everyone wants to walk free."
A quick read, you'll find yourself drawn in at the
beginning so much so that you won't want to put the book down, and
you'll be glued to it until you find out what happens next. I was
literally in tears more than once. Read this travelogue/love story and
you'll want to get out and hike, or just get out and see some of the
wonders around you. Readers will enjoy and identify with the moments of
grace the author describes, and the magic that exists even in dark
times. (Also available in audio CD.)
American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau.
McKibben, Bill (Editor) and Al Gore (Foreword) (2008). New York: Library
of America. 974 pp., with chronology and index. 333.72 AME.
In The Walk, Evans references two of America's
most prominent environmental writers -- Henry David Thoreau and John
Steinbeck. In American Earth, McKibben (The End of Nature)
has gathered their essays and stories, along with others, into a
significant anthology of the best of American naturalist and
environmental writing. Included are: Walt Whitman -- an American poet
with great affection for the natural world; John Muir -- founder of the
Sierra Club and recognized for preserving Yosemite; Rachel Carson --
author of Silent Spring, a marine biologist and nature writer who
grew up in Springdale, PA, graduated from The Pennsylvania College for
Women (Chatham University), and is known as the founder of the
contemporary environmental movement; and others who inspire in us an
awareness of the beauty and the healing power of nature. As McKibben
points out, "each advance in environmental practice in our nation's
history was preceded by a great book". Originally published on Earth
Day, here is a grouping of thought-provoking essays, memoirs and poetry
with 80 pages of color illustrations included.
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the
Appalachian Trail. Bryson, Bill (1998). New York: Broadway Books.
274 pp., with suggested readings. 917.404 BRY.
For some real-life adventure, try this classic work of
travel literature by Bill Bryson (In a Sunburned Country, I'm
a Stranger Here Myself). This personal account of his challenging
and life altering trek on the more than 2,100 miles of trail is as
informative as it is hilarious. You'll laugh out loud. Surprised and
happy in the end to know that he made it!
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