Anchorage Daily News

The Big Both Ways

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By John Straley (Alaska Northwest Books, $25.95)

The blurb: "It's 1935. Slip Wilson walks off his job at a logging camps after a gruesome accident kills a co-worker. On his way to Seattle he helps a woman get her car out of a ditch. ... The woman, Ellie Hobbs ... has a dead body in the trunk of her car and she's on the run. So begins the action that will take Slip, Ellie, her neice and her noisy yellow bird on a heart-stopping adventure up the Inside Passage from Puget Sound to Alaska."

Excerpt: "Even though she had never traded sex for money, she was nothing now but a whore with a bloody nose. It was a hard fact to accept ... but there it was. ... She had his broken watch in her hand, its intricate guts at a standstill, the second hand trembling between two painted tick marks on the face. It was only then that she started to cry. ... She was thinking that he might as well keep it, for however stupid it seemed, even in a world gone mad a broken watch could still be right twice a day."

Appearance: See Straley sign copies of his book at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Title Wave Books, 1360 W. Northern Lights Blvd.; and at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 200 E. Northern Lights Blvd., and 4 p.m. Wednesday at Fireside Books, 720 S. Alaska St. in Palmer.

Papa and Daddy and Babies in Alaska

By Gary Beuschel (Moose Kiss Press, $14.95)

The blurb: "Gary Beuschel and his partner, John Kruse, live in San Francisco. Their twin daughters were born via surrogacy in Anchorage, Alaska, more than three months premature, weighing less than 2 pounds each. ... This is the story of one couple's quest for children and how they cope when things go terribly wrong."

Excerpt: "John had always wanted to have children. From the time he was 7, he baby-sat for his cousins, and at Easter he made up baskets and organized Easter egg hunts for his siblings. ... When I was 7, my mom tells me, I told her that I never wanted children. ... I refused even to hold a baby, such was my aversion. My convictions started to crumble, though, in the late '80s, when I was in my early 30s and my best friend from college, Tom Smith, asked me to be godfather to his daughter, Lisa, and I happily agreed."

Good Beer Guide West Coast USA:

Including Las Vegas, Alaska and Hawaii

By Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham (Campaign for Real Ale Ltd., $27.95)

The blurb: "(The Guide) is a lively, comprehensive and entertaining tour that unveils some of the most exhilarating beers, breweries and bars on the planet. It is the definitive, totally independent guide to understanding and discovering the heart of America's thriving craft beer scene and an essential companion for any beer drinker visiting West Coast America or seeking out America ... for all discerning beer enthusiasts and barflies everywhere. "

Excerpt: "There are more breweries and brewpubs in Anchorage than anywhere else in Alaska, so you're never far from a good pint. Many breweries and brewpubs have come and gone since the craft beer wave crested in the late '80s. In a sort of Darwinian 'survival of the fittest,' what remains are excellent establishments with Gibraltar-solid ales and lagers."

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