Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

I've been on a binge, reading everything Robert MacFarlane has written (at least, that I can get from the library), mostly as audio books. This one's just out and I was lucky not to be too far down the queue.    Title : Is a River Alive? Author : Robert Macfarlane. Read by the author.  Publication Info: Highbridge Audio, 2025, 11 hours. Hardcover 2025, W.W. Norton, 384 pages. Source: Library  Publisher's Blurb: The renowned nature writer and author of the best-selling author of Underland delivers a revelatory book that transforms how we look at the natural world—and life itself. Hailed as “a naturalist who can unfurl a sentence with the breathless ease of a master angler” (Holly Morris, New York Times ), Robert Macfarlane brings his glittering style to a profound work of travel writing, reporting, and natural history. Is a River Alive? is a joyous exploration into an ancient, urgent idea: that rivers are living beings who should be recognized as such in imagina...

Continuing to work my way through the photos from the trip. It looks like I'll be sharing them for several more weeks! Here's the link to post #1   and post #2 of the 2-week trip.      Day 4 (Sept. 14): Trollaskagi Peninsula, Gothafoss, Lake Myvatn  I wish I'd kept track of my daily driving mileage. It was a lot lower than you'd think for the amount of time it took, thanks in part to my propensity for the road less traveled.  As usual, there was at least some sun in the morning, after our wild night of wind and rain, and I headed north for the Trollaskagi Peninsula and the little town of Hófsas. My guidebooks raved about the ocean-side community swimming pool there, and I was feeling due for a swim as a change from hiking and driving. Morning light on the Austari-Herathsvotn estuary. Alas, when I got to Hófsas, the pool was temporarily closed and drained. Since the guidebook indicates it is open all winter, I must have just gotten unlucky. All was not ...

Busy day today, with the monthly IWSG posting--and I am honored to be a co-host!--and a Great Escapes tour post for Mollie Hunt's latest Crazy Cat Lady Mystery,  Cold Case Cat !  Let's do the IWSG first. Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds! Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to the IWSG page and display the badge in your post. And ...

I 'm posting today with t he fantastic Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays blog hop hosted by Greg Pattridge of Always in the Middle . Check out Greg's blog for a list of additional middle grade reviews.     Title: Chirp Author: Kate Messner Publication Info: Audible Audio, 2020, 5 hours. Hardcover published by Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2020, 227 pages. Source: Library Publisher's Blurb (Goodreads) :  When Mia moves to Vermont the summer after seventh grade, she's recovering from the broken arm she got falling off a balance beam. And packed away in the moving boxes under her clothes and gymnastics trophies is a secret she'd rather forget. Mia's change in scenery brings day camp, new friends, and time with her beloved grandmother. But Gram is convinced someone is trying to destroy her cricket farm. Is it sabotage or is Gram's thinking impaired from the stroke she suffered months ago? Mia and her friends set out to investigate, but can they unco...

Also, happy Halloween! I kind of decided this year to ignore the whole thing, but hope you all have fun! Here's the link to post #1 of the 2-week trip.  Day 3 (Sept. 13): Snaefellsness Peninsula Visiting Iceland in September has some advantages over a summer trip: fewer other tourists, darkness that means you may see the Northern Lights, and lower prices for many things. But there's no denying that the weather is a great deal less stable than it might be in July or August, and it takes more luck than I had to have good weather all the time. I learned fast to take advantage of sun when I had it, so that sometimes I did things that weren't on my plan in order to do something interesting while the weather was good. Other things got skipped because the weather was wet and windy. My third day in the campervan turned up sunny and "breezy" after the windy night. I was already learning that wind is what you get. I drove into Snaefellsjokull National Park and immediately ...

I'm doing mini-reviews here of a couple of books I read recently about women explorers. I picked up an actual paper copy of  Off the Beaten Track  last fall when I was visiting Banff National Park.  A Woman in the Polar Night  was a library book, one of those that pops up in the "if you're looking at this book, you might like these books" lists.   Title: A woman in the Polar Night Author: Christiane Ritter. Translate by Jane Degras, read by Rebecca Gallagher Publication Info: Tantor Media, 2024. 7 hours. First published in German in 1938. Source: Library Publisher's Blurb (Goodreads): This rediscovered classic memoir tells the incredible tale of a woman defying society's expectations to find freedom and peace in the adventure of a lifetime. In 1934, the painter Christiane Ritter leaves her comfortable life in Austria and travels to the remote Arctic island of Spitsbergen, to spend a year there with her husband. She thinks it will be a relaxing trip, a c...

If you enjoyed my hike through Iceland's Highlands on the Laugavegur trail ( here , here , and here ), wait till you see all the places I took my rental campervan! Day One: Gullfoss, Geysir, Brúarfoss   I started my day early (painfully so, after my late dinner and evening out with the hikers the night before), catching the bus back to the airport for pickup by the campervan people. Of course, I had visions of picking it up and being on my way by mid-morning. In fact, it was nearly 1:00 before I had the van, had bought groceries, and was on my way. Since I liked my van and thought I got good service and a decent price from Happy Campers, they can have this bit of advertising :)  It was a Nissan NV200 or something of that sort, for those who know such things. I got the "EX" package which is an older van (2017-19) and manual transmission, which saved me about $20/day. Sometimes being old isn't all bad--I learned to drive on a stick shift, so this was no problem for me. ...