Oregon Books

This family history chronicles the journey of a Nebraska extended family (seven adults, one child) as they trek from dust-embraced mid-western farms to the rich Willamette valley. With three cars, there is always some automotive difficulty to be faced, and these hardy souls camp out by the roadside (it's summer) and cook up meals from the home-canned victuals they've brought with them. The child, Gesina, is pictured frowning on the first page and continues to whine about the fact that she will not be able to go to fifth grade with her friends. Each character contributes texture as the story unrolls, but the blended voices of the adults are what sticks with the reader. Moving is never easy, but when you have nowhere to go back to and must move on, with very limited funds at hand (less than $[...] in the pockets of each family). Along the way, the women learnto drive the cantankerous cars down treacherous mountain inclines. Near the end of the tale, ever-grumpy Gesina, takes ill and spends feverish days in the car, building suspense and engaging the reader. The "good old days" were full of not-so-good days, but a lot of pluck and courage.

This book was a wonderful read that had me so engrossed I expected to look out my window and see the dust blowing in hurricane patterns on the scorched pavement. A great story of a family's tough decision to head west and the perils they faced on the journey there. Braden expertly captures the emotions of the difficult journey.

If you are in the Gorge with kids...then this guide is the BEST!! It's written by actual Hood River moms, and they really know how to keep the kids entertained on a visit to the Gorge. There are lots of kid-friendly hikes and places to see...but also this book goes the extra mile by providing directions to ice cream shops and playgrounds and the like.

Great guide to get the kids exploring and active during the summer months. A must have for people new to the area to familiarize them with all the gorge has to offer.

As I read these two sister's enthusiastic descriptions of a number of national parks, I found myself forgetting that they were only kids. I'm a habitual reader of travel guides (otherwise known as the armchair traveler), so I feel qualified to say that this one is very refreshing. In fact, if you're thinking of travelling with your kids to any national park, you should pick up this book so you can see what it's like from their point of view. I particularly enjoyed the interviews with park rangers who treated their thoughtful questions very seriously and added a needed perspective on many parks. I'm impressed that two young kids were able to put together such a professional book -- I can only imagine what their next project will be!

In the Kids' Guide To The National Parks Of California And Oregon, 12 year old Jenna Sullivan and her 14 year old sister Laura effectively collaborate to write a thoroughly "kid friendly" guidebook to the spectacular parklands of California and Oregon. These include Redwood National Park; Yosemite National Park; Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks; Pinnacles National Monument; Point Reyes National Seashore; Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lava Beds National Monument; and Crater Lake National Park. These descriptive text covers the geology, vegetation, and wildlife of the parks, along with the young authors' insights into natural resource issues like air pollution, acid rain, fire ecology, wildlife habitat, plant ecology, and resource management. Very highly recommended for any family planning to visit these west coast parklands, the Kids' Guide To The National Parks Of California And Oregon is enhanced with an introduction, a conclusion, an index, author bios, and four color plates.

A delightful young heroine and realism on the westward journey. A clean, delightful read for myself, my children, and grandchildren!

Retta Barre is truely an engaging character. She is 12 yrs. old the summer her family leaves Ohio to travel the Oregon Trail. The days are long and boring for Retta,but that doesn't last for long once she meets up with the indian Two Bears and his family.....the adventures begin. Retta finds herself in in fixes that she knows God is leading her through. This is a fun little series.

Don't miss the rest of the books in this series:

Book 2. The Buffalo's Last Stand
Book 3. The Plain Prairie Princess

This book is quite an eye opener. As a long time choice supporter, this book takes an objective and insightful look at the inner workings of an abortion clinic. This book doesn't sugar coat anything, it lays it all out there, from the doctors, patients, clinic employees and the procedures that are performed there and the counseling that also occurs. I work for the nation's largest provider of abortions, but as an administrative worker I have never seen this side of the business. This book really underscores whatever position you have on this issue. It truly did reinforce my beliefs despite the details and sometimes uncomfortably descriptive language. It made me realize what abortion truly is and how I am proud that I live in a country where women are free to chose, and to control their reproductive rights. This book is a great read, wonderfully written, and very informative. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to be informed and to gain knowledge about freedom of choice and abortion in this country. This microcosm of a story, truly illustrates the national debate in full light. A great book.

It's nuts that this book isn't reviewed or better known. Shame on Atlantic Press for not marketing it better. Peter Korn has written a page-turner about the people who worked at Lovejoy Surgicenter in Portland, and the protesters outside the doors, in the mid-1990s. That was a time when clinics were being blown up and doctors shot. So there's tension - you come to care about the people inside the clinic, and don't want to see them hurt. Even more compelling are the stories of the girls and women who come in. People who don't believe that abortion should be legal seem to think that abortion providers work to convince women to have abortions. In fact, at Lovejoy, in any case, the staff worked to help women make the choice that would be best for them. A third of the patients chose to give their babies up for adoption or to keep their babies.
For all those who think they know better than those women, this book might shake that certainty. Between the schizophrenics, the drug addicts, the high school girl with an abusive boyfriend and a mother and grandmother who had their own first babies at her age, 17 - Lovejoy gives a glimpse into the realities behind the rhetoric. Great book.

I ordered this book for my daughter who lives in Oregon and is living in an older house with an existing lawn with trees and shrubs. She tells me now that she knows exactly what do to as the months goes by to care for her plants and the lawn. She is especially happy about the information on lawn care. I am very happy that I ordered this book for her and she is too!

I would strongly suggest Mary Robson's two books on gardening for Oregon and Washington, both Month-By-Month Gardening in Washington & Oregon: What To Do Each Month To Have A Beautiful Garden All Year (Month-By-Month Gardening in Washington & Oregon)Washington & Oregon Gardener's Guide
In her books she considers the inputs that will be required by the gardener, easy of growing, water use, design considerations, they are both good guides for beginning and advanced gardeners.

has majority of trails in the area; gives detailed instructions

A tad dated (hint for a revisied edition!), this is the most authoratative description of Bend's mountain biking trail system. After four years of living and mountain biking in the Bend area, I still have a couple trails that Scott has written about that I haven't completed. This book along with the Bend area Adventure map (available at any local bike shop) are indispensible when enjoying the amazing and endless mountain bike trails of central Oregon.

In Russell County, Oregon, forty-two years old grandma Jane Serrano lived a fairy tale life until her beloved spouse of over twenty years died. Her three daughters worry about Jane, but the older two reside out of state and the nineteen year old youngest Bianca has frustrated Jane who studies the book Making Peace with Your Adult Child. Jane works at Thornton Books and hosts the Murder of the Month Book Club.

Bianca, a club member, insists that Russell County DA Gil Fortune killed his wife Vanessa though the police insist it was an unfortunate accident when she fell into the Crooked River Gorge. Bianca bases her belief on her Wendell, a club member who is a dog more interested in the food than the books. He barked at Gil just like that classic mystery novel Prove It, Puppy!. The teen sells the idea to the other members (Minnie the senior citizen, Ty the teen and Alex the female cynic) that they need to investigate the crime while Jane ponders how to escape from these lunatics. As the amateur sleuths make inquiries the culprit plans to kill anyone who learns the truth.

MURDER OF THE MONTH is a terrific amateur sleuth that lightly satirizes the sub-genre and animal detective tales. The story line blends the right amount of serious family conflict with an engaging investigation by a group who follow the book (albeit a puppy detective fiction). Jane is the wonderful center that keeps the main plot together as she considers murdering her youngest offspring and trying to stop the club members from behaving stupidly. Hopefully the audience will have more inquiries by this snoop of the month club.

Harriet Klausner

Murder of the Month is the kind of book you think about at work and then can't wait to get home so that you can read just a little bit more. (Or maybe you've tucked it into your purse hoping for heavy traffic on the way home..prime reading time).

The book's protagonist, Jane, unravels the clues of a crime while at the same time sharing her everyday life frustrations regarding the colorful characters in her mystery book group. Each character in the book group is well-developed enough for us as readers to get exasperated with them, as Jane does. But our preconceived notions about each character are challenged right along with Jane's as the plot unfolds piece by piece.

Elizabeth Main writes in a warm and inviting style. Her undeniable wit and excellent writing ability clearly come through the pages of this book; she somehow manages to write in a way and combines humor, suspense, and a sense of irony (dogs that solve crimes in their spare time???) while allowing the reader to completely sympathize with her main character. The premise is so clever (a book group that solves a mystery, each with their own favorite type of mystery novel) is so clever that it begs for more...a series perhaps??? Yes please!!!

This is a must-read, but be forewarned. If you are the kind of reader who reads the last few minutes of your day before going to sleep, this one will keep you up....maybe just a few more pages....

This is a well-written book. Izzy shares deep personal experiences of her life, that tell of very deep lows as well as exhilarating highs. It is very easy to relate her experiences to similarities in your own life. Some of the depths she reached were different circumstances than mine, but the feelings were similar and they led to destructive results. The intriguing story has you feeling that you personally know her family and friends, and they become your family.

Izzy has always been a loving, caring, warm, helpful, overly busy person. When these qualities are not reciprocated they can, and often do, lead to a depression of one form or another. Hers came out in alcoholism. One does not have to be an alcoholic to appreciate and receive help from this book. It does help to be open and seeking whatever it takes to better one's own life. She made it through all these hard experiences; so why can't I do the same?

The author, Isabel Covalt, grew up on a hardscrabble farm during the great depression. She entered nursing school, but was booted out for the sin of getting married.

She and her husband established a successful chain of restaurants. When he died suddenly, she became captain of the ship.

She then successfully fought the billionaire Hunt brothers, when they tried to put her out of business with a groundless lawsuit.

Meanwhile, she was struggling with alcoholism, a disease which nearly brought her down.

The story of her life is an inspiration for us all. And before you're done, you'll be calling her Izzy.

Unlike any other food and wine book, NORTHWEST Food and Wine, is the most current book on the foods and wines of Washington State and Oregon. It is an easy-to-read interesting compilation of the latest in food and wine trends from the great Pacific Northwest.

I've been looking for a cookbook that has wine pairings with food that won't break my budget and yet complement my choice of wines. The recipes are simple and tasty. Many cookbooks in the market today tend to be needlessly complicated or just plain out of reach to the average consumer. The Taggerts did a wonderful job of making this subject accessible but not condescending. It is just right for the budding wine enthusiast who love to cook. I've liked it so much that I'm giving a copy to a friend.