Brian Doyle, Oregon’s beloved author was our first author to visit the Langlois Library five years ago. It was such an exhilarating experience that our book club and the Friends of the Langlois Library decided to host an annual Oregon author event. Since then we’ve had Shannon Applegate, Molly Gloss, and Jane Kirkpatrick. Sadly, Brian died of brain cancer several years ago and his loss to Oregon’s community is unfathomable. After his visit, the book club members received the following post when we asked him what would be the best of Oregon authors. Recommendations for reading during this “ Shelter in Place” abound on social media and the net, to include blurbs from NPR, the Atlantic and many others. I am sure that you will appreciate his boundless enthusiasm and thought given to this missive. Also, check out the Coastal Libraries web site for Library2Go section. items.https://coastlinelibrarynetwork.org/

Admittedly, there is a long waiting list for the digital versions of current best sellers. You may have better luck trying Brian’s list.

Reading list:

Shapeform with Oregon.

Me personally I'd immediately say Ken Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion, perhaps the best Oregon novel, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Maybe one of the Don Berry novels? Certainly Ursula Le Guin's The Lathe of Heaven, set in Portland, a classic speculative fiction adventure, and certainly David Duncan's The Brothers K or The River Why, heck, maybe both ? you can say accurately of The River Whythat it's a young raw book and not as good as The Brothers Kwhich though much longer is much tighter, but you have to wonder at The River Whyselling briskly and blowing young minds all these years later, something great in that...

And certainly something by Stewart Holbrook, who I'd say, banging the old pint glass on the table, is the greatest Oregon writer of all. Terence O'Donnell's exquisite The Garden of the Brave in War, written in Oregon? Barry Lopez's Winter Count, maybe? Something by Sallie Tisdale? H.L. Davis's Honey in the Horn? William Kittredge's Hole in the Sky? Something by the late great gentleman Alvin Josephy? Homer Davenport? Joe Sacco, the artist and storyteller? Heck, does Washington Irving's Astoria count? James Beard? Kathleen Dean Moore? Robin Cody's Ricochet River, which was, as he says himself smiling, made into the worst feature film in the history of movies? Something by Beverly Cleary, certainly, and maybe Graham Salisbury, or Virginia Euwer Wolff, I mean the woman won the National Book award, for heavenssake. A William Stafford book, certainly. Kim Stafford's lovely Having Everything Right, maybe? Jean Auel? I mean, the woman has sold millions of those novels, and you have to admire and celebrate a storyteller who connected to millions of hearts. Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club? Katherine Dunn's Geek Love? Sam McKinney's great wet book Reach of Tide, Ring of History? And what of other poets, Hazel Hall, Clem Starck, Lawson Inada? And a novel I will never forget, Diana Abu-Jaber's Arabian Jazz...

Or even the Oregon section of Lewis & Clark's journals, you know? and Walt Morey's Gentle Ben, and John Quick's great odd coast memoir Fool's Hill, and Linus Pauling's The Nature of the Chemical Bond, which the deft scholar Tom Hager says is the single most influential science book published in the world in the twentieth century, which is a remarkable phrase, and and and... help. What do youthink? C'mon, blurt ‘em down, it'll be good for us to have this discussion, because books are fun and they make your mind hum, which is where joy lives.

Last but not least ? thanks for reading these notes. Your attentiveness was, is, a gift.