The Voice of Local Authors Comes to Your Neighborhood Library

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Good books are like vitamin capsules — packages of ideas to invigorate and enliven anyone who consumes them.

When combined with proper exercise (thought and discussion with others) as well as an overall healthy diet (taking care of your mind, body and spirit by getting your head out of the books occasionally to interact with others and put new ideas into productive practice), you have the potential for a life-improving tonic.

For 11 years now, the Timberland Regional Library has sought to widely distribute a single book to the people of its five counties. Called “Timberland Reads Together,” the idea has been for all of us to read the same book, then come together in a series of events centered around the book’s ideas and theme. 

Previous books have ranged from classics, like Edgar Allen Poe stories and “Fahrenheit 451,” to Washington-born books like “The Art of Racing in the Rain,” set in Seattle, and “The Highest Tide,” set in Olympia.

This year Timberland took a big step forward, creating its own book — an anthology of short stories by local authors organized around the theme of “optimism.” The library solicited and reviewed stories and artwork from 198 people, compiling the top stories into “Timberland Writes Together.” The softcover book is available to check out from any library branch or can be downloaded for free in various electronic book formats or PDF at www.trl.org.

Two of the 15 authors in the book are from Lewis County. The first is Edward Marcus, a composer and website developer living in Packwood.

Marcus’ story is called “What on Fleem.” It’s a playful tale set on an alien world, populated by tentacled creatures and our hero, Plajnikka Xarc, who is an apprentice editor at a science fiction magazine. He dozes away his days, reliving his occasional sporting exploits on the company’s hairball team while lamenting the lack of creativity in the endless stories about space travel that cross his desk. 

When he is visited by aliens himself, he experiences both unease and victory, capped by revelations about what lies beyond his own world in the inky blackness of space — and his own idea of what makes a good book.

The story made me chuckle out loud at the author’s winking, good-natured jabs at sci-fi standards and our own expectations. The humor reminds me of the great Douglas Adams, the British author of “The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” who knew a thing or two about cooking up science fiction with a dose of the absurd.

The second local author is Eve Hambruch, a former electrician and ski lift operator living in Glenoma. Hambruch is a member of Writing From Within, a writers’ group that meets in Morton.



Hambruch’s story, “Whiteout,” is set at a ski resort during a gusty winter storm. Its suspense builds as the protagonist ends her shift working the chair lift by skiing down the slopes in a blizzard. 

The tale takes a gothic turn as the protagonist embarks on the trip of her life. Without giving too much away, it’s fair to say I read parts of the story wishing I could cover my eyes with my hands, peeking through my fingers. 

I kept picturing the twists and turns of the White Pass Ski Area as I imagined myself within the plot of this Glenoma writer’s heart-thumping story.

By the last page I had to fight the desire to skip straight to the dramatic ending — but I’m glad I stayed strong and followed the story line by line to its unexpected conclusion.  

Both these local stories are great reads, and the authors will be speaking at some of our neighborhood libraries this month as part of this monthlong library discussion series (see sidebar). 

The new “Timberland Writes Together” book is worth your time. By helping us better connect with our neighbors, it’s a fine example of how literature — and an enterprising library system — can help make our lives a little more connected, creative and optimistic.

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Brian Mittge’s community column appears each Saturday in his hometown newspaper. He’s hoping for many more books curated by Timberland Regional Library. Drop him a line at brianmittge@hotmail.com.