Saturday, December 31, 2011

Adventure book recommendations

In my January Mankato Magazine column, I wrote about my favorite outdoor adventure books. I included Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild and Into Thin Air, Wilfred Thesiger's Arabian Sands, and Paul Schurke and Will Steger's North to the Pole.

What are your favorite outdoor adventure books?

Friday, December 30, 2011

Writing resolutions

My awesome, successful writer friend Kirstin Cronn-Mills inspired me to come up with my own list of writing resolutions for 2012. The pressure is on!

Writing resolution #1: Do something writing-related every day. This doesn’t necessarily have to mean writing. It can involve reading a blog post, reading writing tips, reading in general, connecting with a writer via Twitter/LinkedIn, finding an agent/publisher to add to my list, scribbling an idea on an index card. Keep a daily journal to track these things.

Writing resolution #2: Write things down! Often I think of ideas in my head and I let them live there. Sometimes I capture them, but other times they’re lost to the wind. Start scribbling things down, especially as they relate to new ideas for books/essays.

Writing resolution #3: Read about creativity, inspiration, intention. I already have tackled a couple of books in this realm: How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci, by Michael Gelb, and Write It Down, Make It Happen, by Henriette Anne Klauser. If anyone has any other recommendations, please let me know!

Wish me luck!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

A best books of 2011 list we can all appreciate

Thank you, National Book Critics Circle, for posting a "best of the small presses" list for 2011. Small presses is where it's happening. It's a joy to see beautiful writing get wider recognition.

View the list here.

Have you read any? Which ones do you want to read? I'll go with Bonnie Nadzam's LAMB. Sounds like an intriguing story, and Nadzam went to Carleton College in Northfield. And since I'm a narrative nonfiction fan, I'm putting LAST DAY ON EARTH by David Vann on the list.

Monday, December 5, 2011

Update to December Mankato Magazine column

My latest gig is writing an outdoors column in the winter months for Mankato Magazine. (Columns not available online; the magazine comes with some subscriptions to The Free Press or can be bought at Barnes and Noble). In December, I wrote about the sometimes odd shoes that outdoor enthusiasts collect. I ended the column with a wish for Bontrager cycling shoes, and I'm happy to report I received them for my birthday! Well, they were a birthday present to myself, along with this:


Her name is QR. Isn't she pretty?