Plants that We Eat: Nauriat Niginaqtaut

By Anore Jones (University of Alaska Press, $24.95)

The blurb: Drawing on centuries of knowledge that have kept the Inupiat people healthy, the book uses photographs and descriptions to teach newcomers to the north how to recognize which plants are safe to eat. Organized by seasons, from spring greens through summer berries to autumn roots, the book also features an appendix identifying poisonous plants.

Excerpt: "Avaiyuk is the pale yellow center of wild celery. It never has a top. It grows beside the celery that has a stalk, and it grows before the stalk comes up. The first leaves are dark green and woody. Inside those, we pick the core and put it in oil to eat. It is too wet to keep long -- it gets mushy. You can peel the young stem to eat in oil, but don't eat the leaves from the stem plant. Just eat the avaiyuk leaves."

Cold Flashes: Literary Snapshots of Alaska

Edited by Michael Engelhard (Snowy Owl Books, $21.95)

The blurb: Comprised of multiple authors and photographers, this collection features brief short stories of both fiction and nonfiction as well as black and white photography, all depicting images and stories from across Alaska.

Excerpt: "One September day at the end of hunting season, a creamy hunk, about the size of a soccer ball and wrapped in a plastic bag, was plopped onto the kitchen table. My husband chuckled as he hefted the blood-smeared package. 'You wanted fat, you got fat!' "

Cirque: A Literary Journal for the North Pacific Rim, Vol. 1 Issue 2

Edited by Mike Burwell (Chipmunk Press, $24)

The blurb: An Anchorage-based literary journal published twice a year, Cirque showcases photography, art, fiction and nonfiction by artists and authors from all across the Pacific Rim region.

Excerpt:

"What you smelled working its way

up the stairs was wood smoke

from cooking fires soaked through

and through their hand-woven clothes,

work sweat, baby sweat,

and something somehow sweet,

maybe some mix of breast milk,

cane chicha, and diabetes breath."