In So Many Words

As spring comes to a close, so does the Spring Reading Thing from Callapidder Days. Katrina has posed several questions as suggestions for a wrap-up post, and I decided it would be fun to just answer all of them! So here goes…

*Did you finish reading all the books on your spring reading list? If not, why not?
I read 14 of the 20 fiction books on my list, and 3 of the 5 nonfiction books. The other fiction books just didn’t grab my attention for one reason or another, and the 2 remaining nonfiction are still sitting on my shelf waiting their turn!

*Did you stick to your original goals or did you change your list as you went along?
I was pretty good about sticking to my planned fiction list, only adding in 3 additional novels. I did read 5 other nonfiction books, most of which were review copies that I had been sent. So I am pretty happy with myself overall.

Ironically, even though the list of what I actually read differs from my original plan, I did end up reading 25 books, which is the original number of books I had listed.

*What was your favorite book that you read this spring? Least favorite? Why?
Although there were several books that gave me a lot of enjoyment or food for thought, my favorite by far was The Uncharted Path: My Journey with Late-Diagnosed Autism by Rachel B. Cohen-Rottenberg. This book is a compelling memoir of an amazing woman who was diagnosed with Asperger’s at the age of 50 and shares her story before and since that time.

My least favorite would be The Treasured One by David & Leigh Eddings. I have just started reading some science fiction and fantasy again this year, but wasn’t as fond of this writing duo as I was when I was younger. I did finish the book, but do not plan to read the rest of the series.

*Did you discover a new author or genre this spring? Did you love them? Not love them?
One thing that was new for me this spring was reading books by authors I was already familiar with through their blogs. In addition to reading the memoir by Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg, who blogs at Journeys with Autism, I also read a novel by D.S. Walker from dswalkerauthor and a essay collection by Big Daddy from Big Daddy Autism. It was fascinating to enter a book already having a connection with the author, and I found that added a lot to the experience.

*Did you learn something new because of Spring Reading Thing 2011 – something about reading, about yourself, or about a topic you read about?
I learned that I’m not the only one who is not a big fan of Rose Wilder Lane. I used to feel a bit guilty about not loving her as much as I did her mother or the other members of her family, but it helps to know that I’m not alone in my opinions.

*What was your favorite thing about the challenge?
Actually getting to some of the books that I had put on my TBR list and not taken the time to track down at the library or elsewhere.

For those of you who are interested in the final results, here are my updated book lists:

MY ORIGINAL LIST

Fiction

READ
Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy
The Damascus Way (Acts of Faith Book 3) by Davis Bunn & Janette Oke
Lydia’s Charm by Wanda E. Brunstetter
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Treasured One (Dreamers Book 2) by David & Leigh Eddings
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
Deep Down True by Juliette Fay
The Fire Rose (The Elemental Masters Fairy Tales) by Mercedes Lackey
Phoenix and Ashes (Elemental Masters, Book 3) by Mercedes Lackey
Changelings (Twins of Petaybee Book 1) by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
A Scattered Life by Karen McQuestion
Just Jane (Ladies of History Series #2) by Nancy Moser
Washington’s Lady (Ladies of History Series #3) by Nancy Moser
Delightfully Different by DS Walker

DID NOT FINISH/REMOVED FROM LIST
The Promises She Keeps by Erin Healy
Star of the Morning (Nine Kingdoms Book 1) by Lynn Kurland
The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner
Amy Inspired by Bethany Pierce
Crystal Gorge (Dreamers Book 3) by David & Leigh Eddings
The Younger Gods (Dreamers Book 4) by David & Leigh Eddings

Non-Fiction

READ
The Uncharted Path by Rachel B. Cohen-Rottenberg
Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships by Temple Grandin and Sean Barron
The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure

STILL ON TO BE READ LIST
Lost at School by Ross Greene
Pretending to Be Normal by Diane Holliday Willey

ALSO READ

Fiction

Daughters-In-Law by Joanna Trollope
Treachery in Death by J.D. Robb
Sarah’s Choice by Wanda E. Brunstetter

Non-Fiction

The Child with Autism at Home & in the Community by Kathy Labosh and LaNita Miller
Starting Sensory Therapy by Bonnie Arnwine
Big Daddy’s Tales From the Lighter Side of Raising a Kid With Autism by F. Lewis Stark
Times Tables the Fun Way! by Judy Liautaud and Dave Rodriguez
The Ultimate Guide to Sensory Processing Disorder by Roya Ostovar, Ph.D.

Can you believe spring is two-thirds gone already? Just so I can keep myself on track, I thought I would post an update on my current reading challenge – the Spring Reading Thing from Callipidder Days.

At one month in, I had read 10 fiction titles and no non-fiction ones, and I had crossed 3 fiction titles off the list altogether. I am pleased to say I have now made a bit of progress on the non-fiction list, although I still have a ways to go before the end of the season.

As of right now, I have read 13 fiction titles and 1 1/2 non-fiction, and I have 3 fiction and 3 1/2 non-fiction left on my list. I am still quite a ways down on the list at the library for Minding Frankie, so unless it becomes available quite soon, I probably won’t read it in time for the challenge, and in all truthfulness, I probably won’t finish all the non-fiction on my list, but that’s okay.

Fiction

Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy
The Damascus Way (Acts of Faith Book 3) by Davis Bunn & Janette Oke – READ
Lydia’s Charm by Wanda E. Brunstetter – READ
Room by Emma Donoghue – READ
The Treasured One (Dreamers Book 2) by David & Leigh Eddings – READ
Crystal Gorge (Dreamers Book 3) by David & Leigh Eddings
The Younger Gods (Dreamers Book 4) by David & Leigh Eddings
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards – READ
Deep Down True by Juliette Fay – READ
The Promises She Keeps by Erin Healy – DNF
Star of the Morning (Nine Kingdoms Book 1) by Lynn Kurland – DNF
The Fire Rose (The Elemental Masters Fairy Tales) by Mercedes Lackey – READ
Phoenix and Ashes (Elemental Masters, Book 3) by Mercedes Lackey – READ
Changelings (Twins of Petaybee Book 1) by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough – READ
A Scattered Life by Karen McQuestion – READ
The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner – DNF
Just Jane (Ladies of History Series #2) by Nancy Moser – READ
Washington’s Lady (Ladies of History Series #3) by Nancy Moser – READ
Amy Inspired by Bethany Pierce – DNF
Delightfully Different by DS Walker – READ

Non-Fiction

The Uncharted Path by Rachel B. Cohen-Rottenberg – READ
The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure
Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships by Temple Grandin and Sean Barron – HALFWAY THROUGH
Lost at School by Ross Greene
Pretending to Be Normal by Diane Holliday Willey

What are you reading this spring?

Katrina asked the other day how we were doing on the Spring Reading Thing challenge, and I was a bit nervous to look. But actually, I have made some decent progress on my list. Although I haven’t read any of the 5 nonfiction titles, I have finished 11 of the 20 fiction titles, as well as crossing off 2 fiction titles that I decided not to read.

Updated 4/30/11 – Oops! I just realized I didn’t end up finishing The Shape of Mercy, just couldn’t get into it during the time I had it out from the library. So I’ve actually read 10 fiction titles and crossed off 3.

Fiction

Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy
The Damascus Way (Acts of Faith Book 3) by Davis Bunn & Janette Oke – READ
Lydia’s Charm by Wanda E. Brunstetter – READ
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Treasured One (Dreamers Book 2) by David & Leigh Eddings
Crystal Gorge (Dreamers Book 3) by David & Leigh Eddings
The Younger Gods (Dreamers Book 4) by David & Leigh Eddings
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards – READ
Deep Down True by Juliette Fay – READ
The Promises She Keeps by Erin Healy
Star of the Morning (Nine Kingdoms Book 1) by Lynn Kurland – DNF
The Fire Rose (The Elemental Masters Fairy Tales) by Mercedes Lackey – READ
Phoenix and Ashes (Elemental Masters, Book 3) by Mercedes Lackey – READ
Changelings (Twins of Petaybee Book 1) by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough – READ
A Scattered Life by Karen McQuestion
The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner – DNF
Just Jane (Ladies of History Series #2) by Nancy Moser – READ
Washington’s Lady (Ladies of History Series #3) by Nancy Moser – READ
Amy Inspired by Bethany Pierce – DNF
Delightfully Different by DS Walker – READ

Non-Fiction

The Uncharted Path by Rachel B. Cohen-Rottenberg
The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure
Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships by Temple Grandin and Sean Barron
Lost at School by Ross Greene
Pretending to Be Normal by Diane Holliday Willey

Looks like I need to get started on some nonfiction pretty soon!

I am SOOO glad that Katrina at Callapidder Days decided to once again host her Spring Reading Thing challenge this year. My reading really dropped off last fall and I had a hard time getting interested in any books at all, but it has taken off again this year, so I am excited to join in with this reading challenge.

Actually, this is a very fun, low-pressure reading challenge, so you don’t have to be am uber-reader to participate. All you really have to do is decide what you are planning to read, post the list on your blog, link up to Katrina’s blog, and then let everyone know in June how you did.

I usually like to use these challenges as a way to catch up on my TBR list, and this time is no exception. I went through my list to see what I could actually get at my local library and added the books I got for Christmas and haven’t started yet.

I came up with 20 fiction titles and 5 non-fiction, which seems like a pretty good mix. And for once I’m not putting any “should” reads on this list – these are all books I am really looking forward to reading.

Fiction

Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy
The Damascus Way (Acts of Faith Book 3) by Davis Bunn & Janette Oke
Lydia’s Charm by Wanda E. Brunstetter
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Treasured One (Dreamers Book 2) by David & Leigh Eddings
Crystal Gorge (Dreamers Book 3) by David & Leigh Eddings
The Younger Gods (Dreamers Book 4) by David & Leigh Eddings
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
Deep Down True by Juliette Fay
The Promises She Keeps by Erin Healy
Star of the Morning (Nine Kingdoms Book 1) by Lynn Kurland
The Fire Rose (The Elemental Masters Fairy Tales) by Mercedes Lackey
Phoenix and Ashes (Elemental Masters, Book 3) by Mercedes Lackey
Changelings (Twins of Petaybee Book 1) by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
A Scattered Life by Karen McQuestion
The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner
Just Jane (Ladies of History Series #2) by Nancy Moser
Washington’s Lady (Ladies of History Series #3) by Nancy Moser
Amy Inspired by Bethany Pierce
Delightfully Different by DS Walker

Non-Fiction

The Uncharted Path by Rachel B. Cohen-Rottenberg
The Wilder Life by Wendy McClure
Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships by Temple Grandin and Sean Barron
Lost at School by Ross Greene
Pretending to Be Normal by Diane Holliday Willey

I am really looking forward to seeing how I did come June. Also, I have been posting mini reviews this year each time I finish five more books, and I will continue doing that through this challenge.

I don’t know if it’s because spring is coming or if I’m just glad to be over the horrible cold I came down with recently, but I am finding all kinds of blogging stuff to get involved with lately. So I thought I would share them with all of you in case you are feeling the same way.

First things first, the March edition of Best of the Best is now up over at Help! S-O-S for Parents. This month’s topic is on Family Life (siblings, marriage, single parenting, vacations, finances, etc.) as it relates to invisible special needs. My post on Figuring Out What *I* Need is a very personal take on the theme at the moment, and I am pleased to be included in the carnival.

Also, the April edition of the carnival is going to be the Best of the Best Biggest Blogger Book Review and Giveaway. Contact Danette for details on participating and keep your eyes open for some amazing book reviews and giveaways on her site as well as a bunch of others, including mine!

Next, for all of you readers out there, Katrina at Callapidder Days is once again hosting her Spring Reading Thing. This reading challenge has a very simple and straightforward goal – “sharing some reading goals with all the other participants and doing it in a way that works for you.”

You can read all of the details at her Coming [VERY] Soon post if you would like to join in, and you can check back here on Sunday for my own reading goals.

Of course, I can’t talk about reading without mentioning the What’s On Your Nightstand? monthly linkup over at 5 Minutes for Books. I started joining in on this one again in January after a long break and have really enjoyed sharing what I’m reading and getting ideas from other people.

This one takes place on the 4th Tuesday of each month, so it’s coming up next week. I’d love to hear what you’ve been reading – I’m always looking for suggestions!

Last, but definitely not least, April 1st-8th is the absolute can’t miss blogging event, the 5 Minutes for Mom Ultimate Blog Party 2011!!

Trust me when I say you don’t want to miss this one–there will tons of bloggers to visit, lots of awesome prizes to win and much fun to be had by all. This is one party that just gets better and better every year.

Also, it sounds like they are going to split up the link lists a bit more so it will be easier to find certain categories of blogs, which will be great since the participation seems to grow exponentially.

Hope to see you at the party!

Okay, I know this is a day early, but for this month’s Nightstand post, I wanted to share about the rest of the novels on my original Spring Reading Thing list. I still haven’t made any progress on the nonfiction books I planned to read, unfortunately, but there’s still time.

A Hundred Years of Happiness: A Fable of Life After War by Nicole Seitz

This is a brilliant story with a modern day fable woven throughout, and it completely pulls you in to the mystery of what really happened forty years before in Vietnam and how it is affecting two daughters now.

I don’t really want to give away any of the story, but just wanted to say that this is definitely worth the read.

The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson

When I was done reading this book, I looked for more and was surprised to learn that this is actually Johnson’s first novel. The Sweet By and By is a compelling story of the friendships among five women from different generations–two who are living out their last days in a nursing home, their nurse, her daughter, and a hairdresser.

Each of the characters has been through different struggles and sorrows in her life. As the relationships between the women develop, you see the real power of friendship as they share what they have learned with each other.

Love Starts With Elle by Rachel Hauck

As in much of Christian fiction, this book involves a young woman, Elle, who falls in love with someone who is not a good match for her and later meets someone else with whom she makes a real connection.

But Love Starts With Elle has a lot more to do with her growing relationship with the Lord than with her romantic future or even her career. She joins an older woman from her church in prayer every morning and learns how to be intimate with God and hear His voice, and from that foundation she is able to make the right decisions in the other areas of her life.

A few other books I’ve read recently are:
The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble – I recently after I got this home from the library that I had read it before, but ended up reading it again because I didn’t really remember a lot of the details.
Healing Stones by Nancy Rue & Stephen Arterburn – This is actually the book that came before Healing Waters, which I wrote about in my last Spring Reading Thing update.
Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos – Although I usually get most of the books I read from the library, I actually bought this one because I enjoyed Love Walked In so much.

Visit 5 Minutes for Books for more What’s On Your Nightstand? and Callapidder Days for more Spring Reading Thing 2009.

Over three weeks into the Spring Reading Thing 2009 and I haven’t made any progress on the books I really need to be reading (i.e. the non-fiction ones that have been sitting around either on my shelf or on my list for a long time). I am going to start working on those this week and hopefully will have a better report next time.

In the meantime, I have reviewed some of the novels I have read lately (some of them were from before I put up my first post, but they were finished after March 20th, which was the official start date!). I added rating stars, but please don’t think two stars is horrible, because if it was that bad, I would have stopped reading it or not even tried to rate it.

Healing Waters by Nancy Rue & Stephen Arterburn     ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This book is labeled as a Sullivan Crisp novel, so I wasn’t sure if I would be too out of the loop, not having read any other books with this main character. As far as I can tell, it did not detract from the story, and I am definitely going to seek out some of the other books to read more.

I’m not going to even try to give a one-sentence blurb; this is such a complex book with an intriguing amount of depth in both the relationships and the ideas. Ultimately, it is about the relationship between God and faith and suffering, and I highly recommend it.

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler     ★ ★ ★ ★

I really enjoyed this novel about a single woman from current-day Los Angeles wakes up in the body of a woman living during the time of Jane Austen.

As fun as it is to watch her navigate the strange customs and interpersonal relationships, there is also a sense of mystery about who she really is and how she and this other woman are connected. (And I didn’t have the annoying sense that I so often have with these types of books that the author is trying to mimic Austen’s turn of phrase.)

The God Cookie by Geoffrey Wood     ★ ★ ★ ★

I wasn’t too sure about this one in the first couple of chapters, but I definitely got into in as it went along. I was afraid it was going to be another “Heart Reader,” which was fine but more about the message than the characters, so I was very pleasantly surprised by the depth of the relationships created during the course of the story.

Here’s a paragraph that really stood out to me:

When everything all in a moment comes together, surprisingly perfect, it doesn’t prove there’s a loving God; but if there is, isn’t it perfect when all in a moment, God proves how surprisingly he loves? It was like magic, but so much of magic is about misdirection, whereas so much of redemption is straightforward and ordinary, piercing true and lit with surprise.

And I love the “Extra Bit” – very clever!

Lessons in Heartbreak by Cathy Kelly     ★ ★ ★

This story starts out with Izzie, an Irish girl living and working in New York, and weaves in and out with what is happening back in her hometown in Ireland as her grandmother, Lily, comes to the end of her life.

While you are learning about what is going on in the current day, you are also learning about Lily’s history as a nurse during World War II and how her experiences have shaped the present. Definitely a satisfying read.

Every Now and Then by Karen Kingsbury     ★ ★ ★

I love Karen Kingsbury’s books. The 9/11 series books, of which this is one, doesn’t draw me as much as the Baxter family ones, but they are still quite good. Having read the previous stories where the main characters are healing and moving on from the tragedies they experienced, I really felt the contrast with this main character, Alex Brady, who is still hard and withdrawn so many years later.

He has thrown himself into fighting the bad guys, but later is confronted by his friend Clay with the truth about Jesus’ sacrifice in these words:

“Christ didn’t die so we could go out and win the fight against evil in the world.” … He pressed his open hand to the place over his heart. “He died so we might win the fight against evil here. Within us.”

Scrapping Plans by Rebeca Seitz     ★ ★

How can anyone resist a fun, light book about sisters and friends and romance and faith that also includes scrapbooking? This is part of her Sisters, Ink. series. Even though they aren’t earth-shattering novels, there is something about them that keeps drawing me back to read more.

Dangerous Heart by Tracey Bateman     ★ ★

Light, historical, romantic Christian fiction – what more can I say. Well, I guess I will say, this is a good book to have along when you want to have something to read but know you aren’t going to be able to focus on a really involved story.

Also, it’s the last in a trilogy, so you may want to look for the first two if you like this type of book (although it’s certainly not required to follow along).

Luke’s Story: By Faith Alone by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins     ★ ★

I have generally avoided their books, feeling that I was traumatized enough in high school by the rapture movies shown in youth group, and not wanting to get caught up in all of that again. At the church I attend now, our pastor says that when he is asked whether he is a pre-millenialist or post-millenialist, he claims to be a pan-millenialist: “It will all pan out in the end.” That works for me, as I have other fish to fry theologically at the moment.

Anyway, I was intrigued when I saw they were writing novelizations of the lives of the gospel writers. Evidently, John and Mark have already been published, so I will likely read those as well. I did enjoy this book overall, although at points it got a bit too didactic and too much straight from scripture (especially since they include the entire book of Luke at the end of the book).

I’ll post more as the challenge continues, and you can see what I am supposed to be reading at my Spring Reading Thing post. You can also check out other people’s lists and reviews at Callapidder Days.

Well, a fair number of my tasks from last week are still on my list.

I had to have a tooth extracted this week (yuck!), and I was already committed to helping with the local ASA Walk/Run last weekend (great turnout!), so my routines fell by the wayside for a couple of days. Luckily, I have been keeping up with them enough that the house is not a total disaster.

I am also adding my goals from the Read Together challenge to my list for the next few weeks. Hopefully, I can make some progress on knocking some things off the list this week!

My To Do List:

DAILY (I expanded on my routines on my other blog in case you want details.) –

Morning routine.

Evening routine.

Blogging routine.

WEEKLY –

Check for library books that are due or on hold.

Check alternate email accounts.

Go through ASD HOPE pending items.

Look through post ideas and start one new post from them.

ASD HOPE –

Update evaluation form for Empowerment Workshops and add topic survey.

Email flyer to professional contacts for distribution/posting.

Print flyer and take to library to be posted. (We are completely out of printer paper, and I really can’t add one more errand to my schedule, so this is just not going to happen!)

BLOGGING -

Mail out books to giveaway winners.

Write about progress on Spring Reading Thing Challenge.

Write Try This Tuesday for next week.

Update links on the rest of the posts imported from Blogger.

READ TOGETHER CHALLENGE –

Read with Michael three mornings a week.

Start reading Little House books at bedtime.

Go to library with Michael once a week.

MISCELLANEOUS -

Follow up that STAP paperwork was submitted.

Review IEP and other team communication to prep for new IEP.

Make table cards and name tags for Mother-to-Mother Luncheon.

Make photo book (yes, this was supposed to be my SIL’s Christmas present, but in my defense I am waiting on my DH to make time to help!).

Buy cat carrier.

Get car washed.

For more To-Do Tuesday, visit Crazy Adventures in Parenting.

Well, I missed the beginning of the Spring Reading Thing 2009 start date by a few days two weeks, but that’s okay because I have until June 20th to read everything on my list.

I actually wasn’t sure what to put on my list, mainly because I read constantly. For example, I listed all the books I currently have out of the library, all chosen very quickly since I only had about 15 minutes the last time I was there.

However, they are due in two weeks; I will have no trouble reading them all by then; and I’m sure there will be many more consumed read between now and June 20th. While I could keep adding to the list as the season progresses, I’m not sure that would do anything but make me embarrassed about how much time I spend reading.

Randomly Chosen Books from the Library:

• A Hundred Years of Happiness: A Fable of Life After War by Nicole Seitz
• Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler
• Dangerous Heart by Tracey Bateman
• Every Now & Then by Karen Kingsbury
• Healing Waters by Nancy N. Rue and Stephen Arterburn
• Lessons in Heartbreak by Cathy Kelly
• Love Starts with Elle by Rachel Hauck
• Luke’s Story: By Faith Alone by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins
• Scrapping Plans by Rebeca Seitz
• The God Cookie by Geoffrey Wood
• The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson

So then I started thinking that to really challenge myself, I should make a list of books that I have started but not finished or have felt that I should read but been avoiding. So that list is much shorter but will definitely give me a sense of accomplishment when it is completed.

My Challenge List:

To join in on the challenge or see what others are reading, visit Callapidder Days.

If you are love to read, there are a couple of great challenges going on this spring. I’m planning to do them both but still need to get my list together for the first one, since it started last Friday.

Spring Reading Thing 2009

Spring Reading Thing 2009 from Callapidder Days (March 20th -June 20th). This challenge basically involves making a list of the books you plan to read this spring and then reporting back at the end on how you did. You can include reviews of the books, but you don’t have to. I’m sure reading everyone’s lists and reviews will end up making my to-read list even longer, but, hey, there’s nothing wrong with that!

Read Together 2009

Read Together 2009 from Snapshot (April). For this one, set a goal for reading with your kids. It can be reading aloud, reading the same book and then talking about it, reading as a family, whatever you choose, and then posting at the end about how it went. The goal is to connect more with your children through reading.

31 Days to Build a Better Blog

Even though I don’t blog to make money, I enjoy reading Problogger for the great information and ideas Darren provides. I was really intrigued as I was scrolling through my blog reader and saw this image.

Each day in April, Darren will be posting one way to make your blog better. It will include both a teaching component and a practical component, i.e. homework. You can also register your email for notifications and extra content.

Scribbit Newsletter

And speaking of signing up for things, did you see that Michelle at Scribbit is now offering an email newsletter? It will include lots of extra stuff like:
* Sneak peaks into upcoming giveaways
* Online coupons from sponsors
* Recipes and crafts
* Insider blogging tips
* More fun things to do in Alaska

You can sign up for the Scribbit newsletter here.

So, you tell me, what other cool things am I missing out on?