National parks. Murder. Mystery. What do these have in common? Books - read once, read many times...what do books have to do with national parks, murder and mystery?
Much.
I'm currently re-reading my collection of mysteries by author Nevada Barr...the series that stars her character Anna Pigeon. Anna is a ranger with the U.S. National Park Service. What's so cool is that Nevada, like her heroine Anna, worked as a ranger with the U.S. National Park Service. From her biography on her website: "...The Anna Pigeon series, featuring a female park ranger as the protagonist, started when she married her love of writing with her love of the wilderness, the summer she worked in west Texas. The first book, Track of the Cat, was brought to light in 1993 and won both the Agatha and Anthony awards for best first mystery. The series was well received and A Superior Death, loosely based on Nevada's experiences as a boat patrol ranger on Isle Royale in Lake Superior, was published in 1994. In 1995 Ill Wind came out. It was set in Mesa Verde, Colorado where Nevada worked as a law enforcement ranger for two seasons...."
The photo above is one I took in the Muir Woods National Monument [park] in Marin County [US]. I could totally imagine Anna Pigeon patrolling the wilderness that is out of the reach of the people walking the curated paths of this popular tourist destination.
This one to the right is of part of my bookcase which contains my Anna Pigeon collection [not complete as you can see...the rest are on my Nook reader]. You can also see part of my collection by author Tony Hillerman.
I collect the books and I re-read the books. Over the years I've discovered that when you read a book for the second and even third times [or 9th or 10th times as with the Lord of the Rings books or the collection of Sherlock Holmes] you pick up stuff you missed the first time. If you let several years go between readings it's like enjoying them for the first time...kind of like getting re-acquainted with a friend you haven't seen in years.
Today I'm re-reading Nevada's Anna Pigeon adventure, "Firestorm." Ms. Barr is a good writer...a very good wordsmith. She crafts scenes that have power and brings the reader's emotions into the story. Her attention to detail and description is something I appreciate...I can see what I read, feel what Anna feels...I could almost feel the terror of the approaching firestorm. Here's a little taste, first paragraph of chapter four [page 45 in my copy of the novel]:
"...Never had Anna seen anything so beautiful. Raw, naked power blooming in red and orange and black. Tornadoes of pure fire shrieking through the treetops, an enraged elemental beast slaking a hunger so old only stones and gods remembered..."
I began reading about the out-of-control fire while eating my morning oatmeal and couldn't stop until I knew Anna was safe. When I could finally set the book aside, my tea was cold and the oatmeal bowl required soaking before being put in the dishwasher. Such is the power of the written word.
To date there has not been a motion picture made of an Anna Pigeon story and I'm here to say...to holler...it's time! It'd even be very cool to have a tv series. Hello? Any Hollywood people listening?
What book are you re-reading right now?
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