Parnassus Pics Here are some more of our favorite reads. We also feature books by local Ketchikan authors and artists, such as Dave Rubin, Ray Troll, and Evon Zerbetz. Check out the BookSense Bestsellers list for other popular titles.

Booksense

Parnassus Books has signed copies of books by Nancy White Carlstrom, including her well loved Jesse Bear series.

Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen.

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, drifters, and misfits. It is a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression, making one-night stands in town after endless town. A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that he meets Marlena, the beautiful young star of the equestrian act, who is married to August, the charismatic but twisted animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems untrainable until he discovers a way to reach her. Water for Elephants is illuminated by a wonderful sense of time and place, telling a story of a love between two people that overcomes incredible odds in a world in which even love is a luxury that few can afford. (Algonquin Books, 2006, $23.95) Top^

Bird Songs of Alaska by Leonard Peyton.

This 2-CD set is the most complete compilation of Alaskan bird sound recordings ever assembled. Bird Songs of Alaska features breeding vocalizations of shorebirds, Alaska-specific dialects, and songs and calls of spectacular Asian rarities. Many vocalizations on this compilation are not available on any other audio field guide. Includes recordings from Denali National Park, Tongass National Forest, the Aleutian Islands, and other Alaskan locales. Listen to Northern Hawk Owl  (2-CD set, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, $29.95)Top^

The Golden Spruce: A true Story of Myth, Madness and Greed by John Vaillant.

When a shattered kayak and camping gear are found on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Northwest, they reignite a mystery surrounding a shocking act of protest. Five months earlier, logger-turned-environmentalist Grant Hadwin plunged naked into a river in British Columbia’s Queen Charlotte Islands, towing a chainsaw. When his night’s work was done, a unique Sitka spruce, 165 feet tall and covered with luminous golden needles, teetered on its stump. Two days later it fell. As vividly as Jon Krakauer put readers on Everest, John Vaillant takes us into the heart of North America’s last great tree forest. (W.W. Norton, 2006, $14.95 paperback)

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