Knit Alaska Reading List!

I am getting all kinds of excited for our trip to Alaska this summer... and I wanted to share a few of the books I've been reading! (Ok, one of them I read the preview and couldn't quite get into... but that doesn't mean you won't!)

Reading:

• Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival by Velma Wallis- I just found this while googling books about Alaska... and bought it. It is based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley. I started this last night and might have stayed up a little later than I was supposed to reading it!

• Snow Child by Eowyn Ivy- When I saw the cover of this book it was utterly familiar to me, I never read it, but I think it was on my bookshelf for a few years. I am so glad I stumbled upon it again. It is based on an old Russian Fairy Tale about an elderly husband and wife who didn't have children and one day build a child out of snow that comes to life. It is set in Alaska, and the prose is just stunning! I highly suggest reading (or listening to) it when you have time!

Already Read:

• The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah- I have read most of Kristin Hannah's other books and enjoyed them immensely, this one might be my favorite. It is set in Alaska and is written from the perspective of a adolescent girl growing up in a violent and dysfunctional family who escapes to Alaska in hopes of finding a solution. Her story is challenging to read and it evokes the rugged nature of the land beautifully.
• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer- (from Amazon) In a compelling book that evokes the writings of Thoreau, Muir, and Jack London, Krakauer recounts the haunting and tragic mystery of 22-year-old Chris McCandless who disappeared in April 1992 into the Alaskan wilderness in search of a raw, transcendent experience. His emaciated corpse was discovered four months later. (also a movie)

Tried to Read:

• Alaska: A Novel by James A. Michener- In true James Michener style this book starts, oh, a billion years ago with Alaska's history and builds from there... I lost interest around the Woolly Mammoths... don't judge me! BUT, I just found out it is on audible and is 57 hours long... just think of all the knitting I'll get done! (Plus, I can fast forward over the manmoths if necessary!)

Any other suggestions? Maybe a movie or two that must be watched? Or more books to read? Our trip is 100 days away so there is time!!!

Suggestions from Facebook and Instagram! Thanks Y'all... this has become a great resource!

• If You Lived Here, I'd Know your Name Tales from Smalltown Alaska by Heather Lende- Set in Haines Alaska... I'm adding this to my list!
• Good Time Girls of the Alaska-Yukon Gold Rush: Secret History of the Far North by Morgan, Lael
• Looking for Alaska by Peter Jenkins- Looking for Alaska is Peter's account of eighteen months spent traveling over twenty thousand miles in tiny bush planes, on snow machines and snowshoes, in fishing boats and kayaks, on the Alaska Marine Highway and the Haul Road, searching for what defines Alaska. Hearing the amazing stories of many real Alaskans--from Barrow to Craig, Seward to Deering, and everywhere in between--Peter gets to know this place in the way that only he can. His resulting portrait is a rare and unforgettable depiction of a dangerous and beautiful land and all the people that call it home.(from Amazon)
• To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivy- Since I adored Snow Child I have to read this too!
• Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon
• Coming into the Country by John McPhee- the reviews on this piece are stunning! 
• Tisha by Robert Specht 
• Kate Shugak mystery series by Dana Stabenow- I'm starting with the first one... 

p.s. I didn't bring up Call of the Wild and White Fang by Jack London or the Julie of the Wolves series by ... these are classics, which I know I read when I was MUCH younger. I probably should read them again, I'm sure my perspective on them would be different!