Here are more local history books, some new, some older that I'm finally reading.

For a delightful nostalgic journey read Drive-ins, Drive-ups, and Drive-thrus: the History of Drive-in Movie Theaters and Drive-in Food Places in Whatcom County, by Wes Gennaway and Kent Holsather. I miss drive-in theaters, or at least I think I do ;-) The best time I saw Star Wars (the original) was at the old Moonlight ... in a thunderstorm during the final battle scene ... with John Williams wonderful music ... ! A final proof reading would have been nice. Any of you remember Virginia's Cafe with the lighted mural of Mt. Shuksan?

Music of all types thrives here, musicians get their start here, so look for lots of familiar names in Music in Washington: Seattle and Beyond by Peter Blecha. Yet another in the Images of America Series there are, of course, lots of wonderful pictures. (And everyone is so young!) ;-) This would go nicely with The Drums Would Roll (May 24, 2014) and, especially, Puget Sounds (April 29, 2014).

The first time I read The Good Rain: Across Time and Terrain in the Pacific Northwest, by Timothy Egan, I just could not get into it. Good friend Char said "give it another chance" and handed me a copy. Taking her advice, I did just that, and she was right, it is a good book. Still, I'm not sure I liked it as well as others did. Egan did his homework, he always does, and he has a nice style, but there was much that was sad and depressing (at least to me): the way we treated the land; the animals; the native peoples that had been here for thousands of years. I did enjoy learning about the history of some of the apples and cherries grown in Washington. :-) This fits in very nicely with the book below though ...

For a nice overview of Washington history, read It Happened In Washington (second edition) by James A. Crutchfield. From the mudslide in (what became) Ozette in 1480 to the discovery of the skeleton known as Kennewick Man in 1996, this collection of historic events was a great read. It overlaps nicely with several of the books here as well as others on local history from past posts.

Reading Hermit With Dog