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28 Authors, 28 Variations on a List: Day 6. Garth Stein

Garth Stein (center), 17, his sister, Corey, 19, and Santa, age unknown

Our guest list-maker today on 28 Authors, 28 Variations on a List is Garth Stein, whose novel The Art of Racing in the Rain has been on the Pacific NW Bestseller List since its publication in 2008. Today is not just Day 6 of our December list-fest but Stein’s birthday. Wish him a happy 29th!

Stein writes: “I am looking forward to a calm Christmas in Seattle, as opposed to last year’s frenetic family gathering in NYC for which 18″ of snow arrived uninvited. I don’t care how big your apartment in NYC is: with my family and a foot and a half of snow, it’s too small! I am enjoying the seasonal cynicism of my teenagers, as well as their compassionate Christmas feelings toward their younger brother, Dashiell, who is 4-1/2 years old and is in the sweet spot of Christmas joy. (He keeps asking how come Santa looks different every time he sees him.) My own Christmas gift seems to be coming true: I am putting the finishing touches on my new novel, A Sudden Light, and look forward to its publication in 2012. And I am very much looking forward to not writing on Christmas Day! (Oh, I am *so* looking forward to not writing on Christmas Day!).”

Here’s his list, with links to his local store, Queen Anne Books.

Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981-2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany by Stephen Sondheim. Did I ever tell you I used to work for a Broadway producer? Well I did! Philip Langner of The Theatre Guild. And one of my perks was to go see lots of shows, usually in preview. That’s where I saw Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters in Sunday in the Park with George, way back when . . . This compilation of lyrics and stories goes to all my theater-loving friends.

The Exegesis of Philip K. Dick, edited by Pamela Jackson and Jonathan Lethem. Philip K. Dick rocks. He was also a crazy genius. I mean, you’d have to be to write the stuff he wrote. This is a selection of his notes, journals and writings put together with great care by the editors. I know that some purists don’t believe Dick’s private thoughts should be read by others. Still. I’m not a purist, so I want to read them. Sorry, Mr. Dick, but you are a fascinating man . . .

Stein, age 8

Hotel Angeline, A Novel in 36 Voices by Jennie Shortridge et al. This was my idea: Get 36 authors together to write a novel in six days. In front of a live audience. And simulcast on the Internet. We did it! Seattle7Writers, a non-profit literary organization co-founded by me and six other NW authors, put it all together, and Open Road published the book. Fifty percent of all proceeds are donated to literacy programs. You can bet many of my relatives will find this in their stockings!

Historical Atlas of Washington and Oregon by Derek Hayes. My new book begins in 1874 in Kansas City, moves to Portland, Gray’s Harbor and then up to Seattle, so I’ve looked through a lot of books with old photographs and maps of the Northwest recently. This is actually one of the coolest books I’ve seen. For anyone who loves maps and history, this is just a fun book to page through, and it’s a fascinating book to read, for those who want to immerse themselves in the Northwest.

The Red Book by C.G. Jung, Sonu Shamdasani, Mark Kyburz, and John Peck. Every now and then you’ve got to bring out the Howitzer. This book is big, and it’s expensive, I know. But sometimes you have to give your father-in-law something that will take his breath away, and if this is your year for that, give him The Red Book. It’s stunning. Amazing. Fascinating. Creepy. Beautifully rendered and put together. And it’s an exacting facsimile and translation of the original, which is snuggled in a vault in Switzerland. Like with Philip K. Dick, there are purists out there who say Jung’s diaries are none of your business. You’ll have to make that call for yourself.

Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898 by Edwin G. Burrows and Mike Wallace. I gave this book to my father years ago. He laughed at me, and said he’d never read a book this thick. But then he opened it and he read the entire thing. Okay, he was from New York, so he had de facto interest. But it’s a really well written book that needs to be thick to tell it right. If you can’t afford to give a plane ticket to the City, give them this book!

Ultimate Speed Secrets: The Complete Guild to High-Performance Race Driving by Ross Bentley. All of Ross’s books of wisdom are finally in one edition. This one goes to all my race car-driving friends who could stand to shave a few tenths off of their lap times. Bentley, a local Seattle guy, is the Yoda of automotive racing. Follow his words, Grasshopper, and you find that the world slows down for you.

Day 5 - 28 Authors, Variations on a List

Day 5 of 28 Authors, 28 Variations on a List brings us a decidedly Western list from Echo, Oregon (pop. 700) author Pamela Steele, whose first novel, Greasewood Creek, was recently released by Counterpoint Press. Steele has been the recipient of Fishtrap and Jentel Arts fellowships. Paper Bird, her poetry collection, was published by Wordcraft of Oregon in 2007. Her favorite local store is The Bookloft in Enterprise, Oregon.

To my massage therapist who confided she’s homesick for the rainy side of Oregon: At This Distance by Bette Lynch Husted (Wordcraft of Oregon, 2010). Dearest Aspen, this poetry collection gives voice to the land and people of this place where you’ve arrived: eastern Oregon. Out here, our voices sometimes get lost in the noise and glare of those brightly-lit places west of the Cascades. Often, people passing through here comment on the expansiveness of the landscape, but the people who have lived here—really lived here—as Husted has, know something more: the depth of the land. See page 22, “Heartwood.” The first line goes: “We carry stories underneath the skin. These poems draw our stories to the surface, into the light.” Please stay.

To the Louisville poet and, lately, Facebook friend from graduate school who couldn’t understand why I wrote all those poems about fly fishing, for gosh sakes, or why I bothered, but briefly, with that ’72 Buick Le Sabre: The Car That Brought You Here Still Runs: Revisiting the Northwest Towns of Richard Hugo by Frances McCue (University of Washington Press, 2010). Joseph, this book is a fine companion to Hugo’s The Triggering Town. Remember? In grad school, we had to buy that book—the one I actually kept and still read, the one that urged me to go out to find poems rather than wait for them to arrive. In this one, McCue and photographer Mary Randlett have visited the towns—the final resting place(s) of engines— that triggered many of Hugo’s poems. McCue’s essays and anecdotes about Hugo, Randlett’s black and white photographs and Hugo’s own words create a sort of Lonely Planet Guide for road poets. Quick! Grab your notebook and that Lucinda Williams cd. Point your car west.

For my son, who has moved too far away: The Last Best Place: A Montana Anthology, edited by William Kittredge and Annick Smith (University of Montana Press, 1988). Mattie, this is the first book I checked out of the Wallowa Public Library when I got to Oregon all those years ago. While I waited for you and your sisters to get here, I read these stories and poems, and then I read them again, and a while ago, I found a used copy in a book store. Likely, I couldn’t afford it at the time, but I bought it anyway. Maybe I should’ve just stolen it from the library. This isn’t just a Montana book. It should be required reading for anyone planning to remain more than seven days anywhere West of, say, Fort Collins. Maybe you?

For a cowboy that I love: Where Rivers Change Direction by Mark Spragg (University of Utah Press, 1999). D., this is a collection of essays, but Spragg is one of my favorite fiction writers, too. Remember that Redford movie, An Unfinished Life? All Spragg. The essays in this collection honor people who work on the land, shape their lives around it rather than the other way around—people like you.

Spragg is a master of the sentence. There is a rhythm to these recollections of growing up on a Wyoming dude ranch (sound familiar?) that begs me to read them aloud, even when I’m alone—especially when I’m alone and struggling to scratch out something on paper myself. As I wrote my novel, I returned to this book many times to lose myself in its language—sort of the way I lose myself in your stories. With love.

To my Comp 121 student who wrote that incredible son-of-an-Irish-Catholic-sheep rancher story, and then another one—the same guy who claims he can’t possibly write a whole book: Architecture of the Novel: A Writer’s Handbook by Jane Vandenburgh (Counterpoint, 2010). Jim, full disclosure: The author was my workshop teacher. She taught me how to write a novel. It got published. You can write one, too. Just read this book.

Day 4 - 28 Authors, 28 Variations on a List

Day 4 here for 28 Authors, 28 Variations on a List, and we’ve got Laurie Frankel, who had the idea to pair some of her favorite books with other gift items, which makes us want to crowd under that umbrella with her and go shopping. Frankel lives in Seattle’s Central District with her husband, her three-year-old son, and her border collie. Her first novel, The Atlas of Love, was shortlisted for the 2011 Pacific Northwest Book Award. Her second novel, for the moment titled Goodbye For Now, has just sold to Doubleday as well as 19 foreign publishers. It will be published in the U.S. in August 2012. Like so many authors, it was hard for her to choose just one favorite NW bookstore, but when pressed she chose Queen Anne Books. She writes:

You know how cool restaurants these days are all about the cocktail pairing? We recommend the truffled deviled mint-infused duck egg salad in balsamic reduction on a curried coconut cracker to accompany your pesto vodka martini with its splash of pink champagne? That sort of thing. I’m kind of over it in restaurants, but I love the idea for books. Word Pairings. We recommend these books to go with your gifts. Or these gifts to go with your books, depending. Here are some Word Pairings for books I loved this fall:The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach. First of all, this book is totally deserving of all its hype. I loved every page. There is no one on my list but my three-year-old who wouldn’t love this book. It’s about baseball, love and literature. What’s not to like? Recommended pairings: baseball tickets, Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Moby Dick in Pictures by Matt Kish.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Another fall book deserving of its hype. Anyone you know over the age of, say, ten who doesn’t want to read The Art of Fielding will want to read The Night Circus. Between these two books, you’ve got your bases covered (see what I did there?). Magic turn-of-the-century circus, star-crossed lovers, mysterious duels, gorgeous scenery —this book is grand. Plus, fun recommended pairings: circus tickets, red scarf or other red garment or red jewelry, chocolate mice and fancy caramels.

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson. Because nothing says holiday cheer like dysfunctional family novel. This one has great characters, great flashbacks to totally absurd and intriguing live art events and a completely compelling story. Recommended pairings: parenting book (for your loved ones with a sense of humor), good indie film (I adored Beginners), captivating art book (I can’t wait to get my hands on Annie Leibovitz’s new Pilgrimage).

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta. I love Tom Perrotta. He is such a good storyteller. And the setup of this one is dynamite. What if one random, ordinary day millions of people around the world were just raptured into thin air? What would life in suburbia look like then? Who doesn’t want to know the answers to those questions? Plus, really great pairings: emergency survival kit, A Thousand Lives: The Untold Story of Hope, Deception, and Survival at Jonestown by Julia Scheeres, skydiving lessons (because, after all, any day might be the last before you get randomly raptured).

And for the three-year-old set: A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker and Kady MacDonald Denton. My son adores these books. I adore these books. There are four of them, but this is his favorite. Bear learns that sometimes routines get broken but it’s okay, and sometimes you have unexpected guests but that’s okay too—a fine message for all of us during the holiday season. Recommended pairings: tea set, Rob Elliott’s Laugh Out Loud Jokes for Kids, teddy bear or maybe teddy mouse.

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Day 3 of 28 Authors, 28 Variations on a List

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