Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Reading this book was part of my on-going quest to educate myself about all things trans, and was recommended by a reader of this blog, I believe. Title: The Argonauts Author: Maggie Nelson. Read by the author. Publication info: Blackstone Audio, 2015, length 4:40. Original Greywolf Publishing, 2015, 160 pages. Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: An intrepid voyage out to the frontiers of the latest thinking about love, language, and family. Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts is a genre-bending memoir, a work of "autotheory" offering fresh, fierce, and timely thinking about desire, identity, and the limitations and possibilities of love and language. At its center is a romance: the story of the author's relationship with the artist Harry Dodge. This story, which includes Nelson's account of falling in love with Dodge, who is fluidly gendered, as well as her journey to and through a pregnancy, is an intimate portrayal of the complexities and joys of (queer

In keeping with the lag between when I do a trip and when I have the photos ready to share, this Friday post is late. If we're lucky, it's still Friday. Back in October, I flew back to Maine for my more or less annual visit to a good friend and the autumn color. I nailed it for fun times with friends; the color was less inspiring. We may have missed the peak by a week, but it also just wasn't a very good year for it.  The bulk of my visit was spent in a wonderful cabin on Webb Lake, near Mt. Blue State Park (we stayed there last year, too). The weather was a bit unsettled, but there was still opportunities for nice hikes, and dawn and dusk on the lake were worth it all by themselves. One of dozens of sunrise shots from the dock. One thing I like about spring and fall trips: I don't actually have to get up early to see the sunrise. Over in the State Park we found a tranquil forest and modest color.     We also found running and falling water. And we were practically dive

I've known at least since our trip to Patagonia in 2020 about Doug Tompkins and the preservation of huge chunks of that land. This book offers a fuller story.   Title: A Wild Idea Author: Jonathan Franklin. Read by George Newbern Publisher: Harper Audio, 2021. 10.5 hours. Original Hardback by Harper One, 2021, 384 pages. Publisher's Blurb: In 1991, Doug Tompkins left his luxury life in San Francisco and flew 6,500 miles south to a shack in Patagonia that his friends nicknamed Hobbit House. Mounted on wooden skids that allowed oxen to drag it through the cow fields, Hobbit House had for refrigerator a metal box chilled from the icy cold winds off the glacier. Rainwater dripped from a rooftop barrel into the rustic kitchen. Earlier tenants include a sheepherder with little more than his dogs and a rifle. Instead of the Golden Gate Bridge, Tompkins now stared at Volcano Michinmahuida, blanketed in snow and prowled by mountain lions the size of small tigers. Shielded by wi

Today I'm joining in with a newly-discovered blog hop with loads of reviews of Middle Grade fiction (books for roughly ages 8-12): Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays, hosted by Greg Pattrige of Always in the Middle . This book isn't new, but it's one of many by a favorite writer that aren't at the library, so I picked up the ebook a while ago and finally read it over the holidays.   Title: Strays Like Us Author: Richard Peck Publisher: original hardback, Dial 1998, 160 pages. Kindle edition 162 pages. Source: Purchased Kindle ebook Publisher's Blurb: Molly Moberly knows she doesn't belong in this small Missouri town with her great-aunt Fay. It's just a temporary arrangement--until her mother gets out of the hospital. But then Molly meets Will, a fellow stray, and begins to realize she's not the only one on the outside. In fact, it seems like the town's full of strays--only some end up where they belong sooner than others. Richard Peck has created a

While I realize I owe you all several more trip reports from fall activities, and a whole bunch of lovely fall color, I'm just not organized enough to do that this week. So what you get today... is a bunch of random photos I just kind of like. Don't look for any sense or any theme here!   Last light of the old year. Giving "neighborhood watch" a new meaning. In Chico, CA's Bidwell Park, reminders that the Upper Park is wildlands. I love pikas, and am sad to think how much climate change is shrinking their habitat. My happy place--halfway down the Grand Canyon Indian Paintbrush   Thanks for stopping by!   ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2024  As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated. Don't miss a post-- Follow us !  

It's the first Wednesday of the month--of the year!--and time for the IWSG post.       Why? The IWSG is here to share and encourage, to offer a place for authors to admit their insecurities and offer help and support to each other. How? The official IWSG posting day is the first Wednesday of every month. Hop around the list and see who has worries, triumphs, and news to share.  Every month we have an optional question to spark discussion.  Our motto:  Let’s rock the neurotic writing world! Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG. The awesome co-hosts for the January 3 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Olga Godim, Diedre Knight, and Natalie Aguirre! Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with somethin

  The third week of September this year I had a few days to spend as I pleased somewhere between Idaho and Colorado. I pleased to spend them backpacking the Alice Lake-Toxaway Lake loop in the Sawtooths, with a digression to add more scenery and an extra night (the basic loop is a pretty easy 2-night loop, but since I had 3 nights available...). Day One: Pettit Lake TH to Twin Lakes Unlike the previous backpack trip , this time I wanted an early start. Partly because it was a fairly long way in to my target for the night, but mostly because the trailhead parking fills up early and I didn't want to have to park a quarter mile down the road in the overflow. Since I'd spent the night in dispersed camping less than a mile from the TH, I was able to make my early start, though I ended up spreading a wet tent and fly around inside the car to dry while I was away! Most of my (clockwise) route is on here. There is a trail up from Toxaway to the Edna Lake trail that I took going up.