Definitely topping the list of gift books this season is Unlikely Friendships, 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom. This is a delightful collection of stories of animals that find friendship outside of their own species. The accompanying photographs are simply amazing. Our stock on this is pretty good at the moment, but hurry, they’re going fast!
We have just received a new book that we’ve been waiting for for months – Hand Printing from Nature by Laura Donnelly Bethmann.
Here, you’ll discover how to use found natural materials – such as leaves, flowers, feathers, vegetables, fruits, shells, weeds, and wood grain – to print on any surface, from paper and fabric to ceramics, wood, and walls. Simple step-by-step instructions coupled with beautiful photos make it easy and fun to learn the basic techniques.
You’ll save 20% off the cover price of the books featured here when purchased by October 31st! More featured books are located here.
Waterfalls of the Northwest
Waterfalls of the Pacific Northwest: 200+ Waterfalls throughout Oregon & Washington
David L. Anderson
Discover more than 200 waterfalls throughout Oregon and Washington’s most scenic, unique, and diverse landscapes.
Overview chapters on Pacific Northwest climate, geology, photography, and basic hiking tips prepare readers for their treks to the falls, while each of the falls’ descriptions includes directions for how to get there; the USGS topographic map quad; hike distance; falls’ source, height, and volume; and suggestions for the best time of year to visit. Regional maps showing the locations of each of the falls are also included. Distances range from easy walks of a few hundred yards to strenuous 10-mile hikes, to accommodate any level of hiking ability.
Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest:
Timber Press Field Guide
Steve Trudell and Joe Ammirati
This compact, beautifully illustrated guide presents descriptions and photographs of 460 of the region’s most conspicuous, distinctive, and ecologically important mushrooms. The geographic range covered by the book includes Oregon, Washington, southern British Columbia, Idaho, and westernmost Montana, with an emphasis on the heart of mushroom country: the low- to mid-elevation forest habitats of western Oregon and Washington. In addition to profiles on individual species, Mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest also includes a general discussion and definition of fungi; information on where to find mushrooms and guidelines on collecting them; an overview of fungus ecology; and a discussion on mushroom poisoning and how to avoid it.
Brian’s notes:
A SUPREMELY BAD IDEA: THREE MAD BIRDERS AND THEIR QUEST TO SEE IT ALL is cleverly written and is a fun read even if you have no interest in birds. Besides, there’s something about the bird on the cover that dares you just to open it up.
A Supremely Bad Idea
A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See It All
Luke Dempsey
It began innocently enough, when two eccentric guests at Luke Dempsey’s weekend home pointed out a small bird flitting through his garden. Dempsey, entranced, found himself falling head over heels. Before he knew it, he and his friends were off on an epic birding journey down the backroads of America, in search of the country’s rarest and most beautiful birds. A Supremely Bad Idea is the hilarious story of their trip.
Brian’s notes:
The other one I’ve just started is WISDOM OF THE LAST FARMER: HARVESTING LEGACIES FROM THE LAND. This one I picked up and started reading a passage at random. And then had to keep reading to the end of the chapter. This one is sure to resonate with anyone who has ever been a farmer, who has ever attempted to live by their values, or who has ever eaten a perfect peach.
Wisdom of the Last Farmer
Wisdom of the Last Farmer: Harvesting Legacies from the Land
David Mas Masumoto
In his gorgeous, lyrical prose, Masumoto conjures the realities of farming life while weaving in the history of American agriculture over the past century, encapsulating universal themes of work along with wisdom that could be gleaned only from the earth. By the end of the workday, he understands the feeling of accomplishment when you’ve done your best…and discovers that it’s when he lets go – of both his father and control of nature – that wisdom manifests itself. And, when Masumoto’s daughter intends to return to the family farm, hope is found in the generations. In the quiet eloquence of WISDOM OF THE LAST FARMER, you will see how your own destiny is involved in the future of your food, the land, and the farm.
Masumoto – an organic farmer working the land in California’s Central Valley – farms stories as he farms peaches. In this impassioned memoir of revitalization and redemption, he finds the natural connections between generation and succession, fathers and children, booms and declines as he tells the story of his family and their farm.