International Mountain Day takes place on December 11. The world has some spectacular peaks, but right here in the Pacific Northwest, we can claim quite a few majestic elevations of our own.
Whenever I am out and about, I get a thrill spotting one of our local mountains. I didn’t grow up in particularly flat regions—and I was used to seeing mountains wherever we lived—but the mountains of Washington and Oregon are in a category of their own. And I love that, on clear days, Mount Hood and/or Mount Saint Helens greet me as I make my way home.
The hills are definitely alive around the world, and I think paying tribute to Earth’s rocky giants through the magic of books is an excellent way to spend some quality reading time. The library has a wide range of mountain-themed reads, so be sure to mount an expedition through the collection. I’ve included a couple of children’s books on today’s reading list, so I hope that all ages can find something to “peak” their interest.
- “Exceptional Mountains: A Cultural History of the Pacific Northwest Volcanoes” by O. Alan Weltzien.
- “How to Make a Mountain: In Just 9 Simple Steps and Only 100 Million Years!” written by Amy Huntington, illustrated by Nancy Lemon. (children’s nonfiction)
- “Mount Rainier: Notes & Images from Our Iconic Mountain” by John Harlin III.
- “The Mountains are Calling: Year-Round Adventures in the Olympics and West Cascades” by Nancy Blakey.
- “Mountains of the World” written and illustrated by Dieter Braun. (children’s nonfiction)
- “On Mount Hood: A Biography of Oregon’s Perilous Peak” by Jon Bell.
New at the Library
Fiction
- “Christmas Scarf Murder” by Carlene O’Connor.
- “The Frederick Sisters are Living the Dream” by Jeannie Zusy.
- “Three Assassins” by Kotaro Isaka.
Nonfiction
- “Debunked: Deconstructing Influential Conspiracy Theories” by Casey Lytle.
- “Inside Bridgerton” by Shonda Rhimes.
- “Sit, Stay, Heal: What Dogs Can Teach Us About Living Well” by Renee Alsarraf.
Children
- “Minecraft Epic Inventions: Builds to Spark Your Imagination” by Thomas McBrien.
- “Swift and Hawk: Cyberspies” by Logan Macx.
- “The Worst Teddy Ever” written and illustrated by Marcelo Verdad.
This is just a small sampling of the many new titles added each week to the Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries collection. Find more in our catalog, or call 360-906-5000 to reserve titles or find additional listings.
Jan Johnston, Collection Manager
Fort Vancouver Regional Libraries
You can email Jan at readingforfun@fvrl.org.
