Book review: Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country — by Pam Houston

W. W. Norton & Company I was lucky enough to hear Pam Houston read when she was on a book tour for “Contents May Have Shifted,” a novel she described as, when asked how much of it was autobiographical, 90% Pam. “Deep Creek,” her new memoir about the life she created on her 120-acre homestead in the mountains of Colorado, is 100% Pam. First published in January of last year, “Deep Creek” is now out in paperback, so feel free to fold over corners on pages you want to revisit. I found a lot of them. In learnin … (read more)

(Doubleday Books) It’s not uncommon to see the No.1 New York Times bestselling author of “Midwives” and “The Flight Attendant” cycling along Addison County roadways. A resident of Weybridge, Chris Bohjalian truly lives among us. Bohjalian’s novels are a p … (read more)

(Vintage) Hope Jahren, an award-winning geobiologist and writer, was tasked with teaching a class on climate change. Feeling like she had no business telling anybody anything about this subject, she resolutely sat down at her desk and began to research ch … (read more)

(Simon & Schuster) Prepare to enter the surreal landscape of the wildlife-crime underworld where you’ll meet notorious wild-bird trafficker and convicted egg thief Jeffrey Lendrum. You, like the author, may not have even considered that a lucrative black … (read more)

(Bellevue Literary Press) In Andrew Kirivak’s slim new novel, a father meticulously and lovingly teaches his only offspring, his wise young daughter, how to live on the land, how to mark the seasons, how to craft, how to survive. Their days are marked wit … (read more)

(Knopf Publishing Group) “Weather,” at its base, is a book about a university librarian, a mother, a wife and the sister of a brother struggling with addiction, but it soars far above that. How is it possible for Jenny Ofill, author of the critically accl … (read more)

(Scout Press) You’ll instantly fall in love with the narrator of this book, Zelda, and get completely caught up in her enthusiasm for everything Viking. She is also enthusiastic about rules and she finds a simple set of tenets to live by, like “strange pe … (read more)

(Riverhead Books) Two sisters were born to a mother who died young, a victim of the opioid addiction crisis, and their paths diverged. One excelled in school, then became a police officer, patrolling the decaying Philadelphia neighborhood where the girls … (read more)

(Harper) Peggy Orenstein, bestselling author of “Girls & Sex,” returns with a companion book, subtitled “Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity.” She spent over two years talking to young men between the ages of 16 a … (read more)

(Tin House Books) A memoir penned by a poet is pure delight to read, and this particular poet has penned an astonishing memoir. First the structure is unique: Koh translated letters, composed in Korean, that her mother sent to her over the course of the y … (read more)

(Flatiron Books) Hailed in the book world as the most anticipated book of 2020, “American Dirt” has already won accolades from multiple esteemed writers and critics: Stephen King, Tara Conklin, and more. Hannah Beckerman of The Guardian says “it is hard t … (read more)

(Grove Press) In a thoroughly readable, engaging and informative book, author Ada Calhoun delineates many of the extenuating factors — not excuses — for why middle-aged women are plagued with unmanageable insecurities. She interviewed women across the cou … (read more)

G. P. Putnam’s Sons It’s refreshing to start the new year with a new perspective. And it’s refreshing to start reading a fun, contemporary new novel and find at the end that you’ve walked a mile in someone else’s shoes. Caught between two important people … (read more)

(Trinity University Press) When Vermont writer Leath Tonino headed out west for college, a friend predicted, “the west will swallow you.” Luckily for us, Tonino hasn’t forgotten his Vermont roots, and in his writing, his strong sense of self and place has … (read more)

(Islandport Press) Vermont writer and wilderness professional Sam Brakeley (he’s an EMT, former ski patroller, search and rescue team member, trail builder, etc.) doesn’t actually ski with Henry Knox. In fact, it’s been almost 250 years since General Knox … (read more)