Scrumptious reads

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, January 2020; written by Rebecca Brown.

Word Nerd confession: Sometimes I read a book that is so scrumptious that I get goosebumps when I describe it to people.

“One Day: The Extraordinary Story of an Ordinary 24 Hours in America,” by two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Gene Weingarten, is exactly one of those.

Simply, Weingarten used Dec. 28, 1986 (a randomly selected date in our not-so-distant history) as a launching-off point to shine his bright investigative beam on the best and worst of humanity. We are quickly reminded that every day is uniquely extraordinary, often due to ripples we can’t fully comprehend until much later.

A former Washington Post section editor, Weingarten was no stranger to using this method of randomly selected material. In the introduction, he describes once asking five of his writers to each pound a nail into a phone book and to profile whomever the nail hit. Awesomeness resulted. Another time, he sent four of his reporters to the four corners of the city – north, south, east, west – and challenged them to return with a good Christmas yarn.

“‘If you don’t find one,’ I said, ‘you may as well not return,’” Weingarten writes. That style of reporting – the kind that requires digging beyond the obvious story and going down a news rabbit hole (that leads to another hole and then still another) – is poignantly, sharply shared in “One Day.”

The book reads as a series of essays. The story of Cara Knott brought me to alligator tears, and the tenacity of Michael Green will make you deeply appreciate the luxury of good health. Weingarten tenderly tucks in little breadcrumbs from life in the mid-1980s that will have you likewise nodding in remembrance. However, younger readers will also enjoy the different intensity of life before smartphones and reliable internet.

Another book I just finished is “Where the Crawdads Sing,” by Delia Owens. I reluctantly jumped on this bestselling juggernaut’s bandwagon after two people in two days insisted I must read it. “Crawdads” is not my usual cup of tea, but I’m so glad I picked it up.

You’ll follow Kya Clark, who demonstrates grit as “The Marsh Girl” in the swamps of North Carolina. She repeatedly faces rejection on all levels of her hardscrabble life – from her family, other kids and the gawsy townspeople who mostly refuse to lend a hand. Yet Kya’s brilliant triumph through her natural surroundings will leave you breathless, and force you to question assumptions about the people you think you know.

Although “Crawdads” wraps up a bit too tidily in its final chapter, the language alone makes it worth reading. Strung together like sparkly gems, the words are so beautiful in places that you’ll need to whisper them aloud from time to time.

Even better: Listen to the audiobook, which is how I finished the book. Narrated by Cassandra Campbell, it is a joy to hear her nuanced range of expression and accent. Her fluid switch between characters made me wish I could see her recitation firsthand!

Both “One Day” and “Where the Crawdads Sing” are on the new book shelves at the Ketchikan Public Library. Although closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, the library reopens Tuesday and has “Make Snow People,” a Family Fun activity that day from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Check out our website for many more events this week!