Reading the North

By Henry Winkler (Insight Editions, $21.95)

The blurb: A collection of humorous anecdotes and observations while fly-fishing, written by the actor who played the Fonz on "Happy Days."

Excerpt: "This wondrous book in your hands is a dream I thought would never happen, and it is the result of my late-blooming passions for fly-fishing and nature photography. I have the enthusiasm of a convert because nature and I did not mingle much in my childhood. I grew up in the great indoors of New York City, which included our family apartment at Sevety-Eighth and Broadway. My only hikes were to the bus stop or subway, with occasional forays into Riverside Park, where my first Schwinn bike was stolen."

Cooking Alaska's Wild Halibut: Tried and True Recipes From Alaska's Best Seafood Cooks

By Kathy Doogan, illustrated by Ray Troll (Alaska Cook Book Co., $13.95)

The blurb: A collection of recipes, including dishes like halibut cheeks with bacon and shallot relish, easy halibut posole and smoked halibut club sandwiches.

Excerpt: "For simplicity and easy cooking, buy halibut fillets, steaks or cheeks of the same thickness. The key to succulent halibut is to know when it's done -- overcooked fish, just like meat, can be dry and tough. Halibut is done when you can easily pull the flakes of flesh apart with a fork, or when the meat is opaque all the way through. When in doubt, it is better to remove the fish from heat a bit before it is done; residual heat will continue to cook it a few minutes longer."

Denali Journal

By Tom Walker (Thomas Nelson, $14.99)

The blurb: In this 20th anniversary edition, the journal offers a contemporary look at Denali National Park and Preserve with a natural history narrative.

Excerpt: "In the darkness, at the hour of false dawn, silhouettes of distant mountain peaks separate from the night as the faint light snuffs out the stars and recaptures the sky. Blue washes the horizon, revealing a landscape of snow-drowned thickets, forest, muskeg, and meandering river surrounded by the crenellated summits.

"From the cabin window I can look across the Nenana River and into the park. Soon the light will be strong enough for me to see through the spotting scope the herd of caribou wandering the ridge above Triple Lakes, their many trails spreading through the snow like fissures in ice."

-- Compiled by Matt Sullivan, Anchorage Daily News