Another 'strong woman' book today ... Kay Fanning was a journalist who moved to Alaska in the early '50's. She and her husband bought a small newspaper that ran in competition with a much bigger, more established paper ... and made it successful! Kay Fanning's Alaska Story: Memoir of a Pulitzer Prize-Winning Newspaper on America's Northern Frontier, by Kay Fanning, with Katherine Field Stephen is this story. Most of it came from journals, etc. Ms. Fanning kept, and rather than have someone try and finish her story after her death, people who knew her were asked to make contributions instead. This was a great idea! Think of trying to put out the news when communications were 'iffy' at best, and often failed due to bad weather. A bit dry in places, but overall a most interesting read.

It is so nice to have "connections" !! In this case, it allowed me access to a book I'd not seen before, but which looked interesting: Built in Washington: 12,000 Years of Pacific Northwest Archaeological Sites and Historic Buildings. It was written by the Staff of the Washington State Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation and is rather stuffy sometimes, but the pictures are amazing! (There are wonderful finds at the local Archives). :-)

I love it when I find an 'overlap' book! Gods, ghosts, and black dogs: the fascinating folklore and mythology of dogs, by Stanley Coren fits both with dog books and Canadian books as the author is a Professor Emeritus from the University of British Columbia. This is a great collection of dog stories from ancient to modern times as to just how much dogs mean to us. The blurb on the back has the best description: "facts, history, humour (it is Canadian, remember) and mystery blend together ...." they do indeed!

Reading Hermit With Dog