Ekahni Books

I just have to share with you all our good fortune in being the bookseller chosen to sell Brian Doyle’s new book, “Mink River” at the Manzanita Writer’s Series in January.  He will be coming to the Hoffman Center on January 15th at 7:00 p.m. And I am thrilled!  First of all, “Mink River” is a truly great book.  I loved it, and I am often leery of first novels by an author, no matter how established they are in other areas.  Brian has written at least ten other non-fiction books that I know of, though… so I shouldn’t have had any doubts.  Nonetheless, I will say that I was still pleasantly surprised by “Mink River”.  But, even more importantly than that, Brian is a sweetheart of a guy and is also a wonderfully entertaining speaker.  I think that everyone who attends is going to have a fantastic evening.

I thought that you all might like to know more about Brian, so I am posting a link to a podcast from OPB here on our website so you all can listen to his recent “Think Out Loud” radio interview.  It is a great interview that touches on everything from parenthood to his reaction to 9/11 (three of his friends were murdered on that fateful day), not to mention his life and his writing.  Feel free to click over and give it a listen:  http://www.opb.org/thinkoutloud/shows/northwest-passages-brian-doyle/

I suspect that everyone who lives on the Oregon Coast will recognize the town of Neawanaka.  I imagine we will all think it’s based directly on wherever we live.  It captures the feel of life here so well.  It feels so realistic.  It’s hard to believe that it isn’t your hometown he is talking about.  Brian does a fantastic job of weaving character pieces together to create a rich tapestry of the hilarious, sad, jealous and crazy ways that life really is sometimes.  But don’t just take my word for it.  Some other wonderful people have had some great things to say about Brian’s book.  Take David James Duncan, the author of “The River Why” and “The Brothers K”.  He wrote about Brian’s book: “In its sights, setting, insinuations, flora and fauna, his tale is quintessential North Coast, but in its sensibility and lilt this story is as Irish as tin whistles — and the pairing is an unprecedented delight….I’ve read no Northwest novel remotely like it and enjoyed few novels more.”  That’s fairly high praise from Mr. Duncan, given that he is somewhat of a Pacific Northwest legend in his own right.  But, I find that I can’t disagree.  The book is all that and more.  I love everything about this book… even the cover image, which will make a lot more sense once you have read it, too.

I hope that you all get to join us for the Manzanita Writers Series… it’s going to be a really wonderful evening.  So come on out and listen to a reading by a great guy with your friends and neighbors.  And don’t forget the Open Mic night afterwards where you can listen to local folks trying out their writing before a live audience.  After all, it’s winter… what else do you have to do?