THE BOOK MARK | Local talent on display with PNBA award winners

The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) is a talented group of authors, booksellers, publishers and librarians who represent the interests of local authors and independent bookselling in our region. Each year, the membership recognizes excellence in writing from the Pacific Northwest with the PNBA awards, and the Class of 2015 is extraordinary: Pulitzer Prize winners, Kirkus best-of-the-year award winners and James Beard nominees. (The full list of nominees, the shortlist and the winners are all listed on PNBA’s website: www.pnba.org.)

Any one of these books would make a great gift as we head into the holiday season, so head to your independent local bookstore to celebrate and support our amazing local talent making waves all over the world.

“Whisky Tango Foxtrot”

By David Shafer

2015 PNBA Book Awards – Shortlist

When three lost 30-somethings come together to fight a vast conspiracy to own/control the information highway, what ensues is a dark, comedic story of the best kind. Personal information is controlled by a malevolent force that charges a very high price for access, and if you refuse to pay, it becomes nearly impossible to participate in the socio-economic system.

Shafer makes it surprisingly easy to get attached to his finely crafted archetypical characters, who are reminiscent of classic counterculture — the rich but lost slacker, the poor boy who made good, the jaded girl who works for a nonprofit — while keeping the story very now with an Internet-centric plot about shadow governments and secretive data harvesting.

This book finds its stride early and the plot keeps moving at a perfect clip, but ultimately, the strength of this novel is how well it forces the reader to consider the new world we live in and to be thankful for the “hacktivist” outlaws trying to keep the evil-doers from hijacking the information age.

“Whisky Tango Foxtrot” is a substantial, smart story that is worth every minute you will spend reading it.

“A Boat, A Whale & A Walrus”

By Renee Erickson

2015 PNBA Book Award winner

This incredible volume is an absolute must-have for Pacific Northwest kitchens.

Renee Erickson, owner of several treasured Seattle restaurants and a James Beard nominated chef, has gifted us with the best cookbook of the year. Really, it’s more than a cookbook; it is a celebration of the bounty and culinary brilliance found in our region, season by season, artisan by artisan, menu by menu (the Fourth-of-July crab fest menu and the Wood Oven Dinner menu are my favorites).

In addition to the inspired recipes, there are wonderful stories featuring Erickson’s amazing local suppliers.

Also included are helpful seasonal ingredient lists and mini-tutorials on her cooking methods, favorite kitchen tools and preferred brands.

It’s one of those cookbooks you can read for hours for the sheer beauty and joy of it. Get one for yourself and one for a friend.

“The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health”

By David R. Montgomery and Anne Bikle

Release date: Nov. 16, 2015

I loved this book.

Seattle authors David Montgomery, University of Washington professor of geomorphology and MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, and biologist and environmental planner Anne Bikle have written a clear, captivating narrative about the microbes that rule the natural world.

This fascinating research begins with their attempt to rehabilitate their depleted garden soil, then moves on to related topics about the critical role microorganisms play in agriculture, the human biome, health and disease.

Filled with illuminating, accessible science and delightfully relatable discussions, this one of the best books I’ve read this year.

JOANN MORENO is a community bookseller.