Books about southern Washington

April 20, 2009 1:22 PM

Please recommend some books about southern Washington state/northern Oregon?

My parents are moving to southern Washington and I'd like to get them some books written by authors who have lived around Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA. Can be non-fiction or fiction with a lot of local details but preferably something easy and fun to read.

posted by entropyiswinning to travel & transportation (15 comments total)

This might be a good place to start.

I don't know of any similar site for Washington authors, though if they like mysteries, this list might help.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:35 PM on April 20

Sorry, I meant to link directly to the authors page.
posted by rabbitrabbit at 1:36 PM on April 20

Fugitives and Refugees by Chuck Pahlaniuk.

Also, Twilight. /ducks for cover
posted by pdb at 1:52 PM on April 20

This would seem like obvious place to start but it's Chuck Palahniuk, so that might depend on your parents.
posted by tallus at 1:53 PM on April 20

The Ramona Quimby books by Beverly Cleary all take place in Portland. I remember there being at least a few local color elements, like Ramona being able to see Mount Hood some days.
posted by Dr. Grue at 2:09 PM on April 20

Almost anything by Tom Robbins is going to at least touch upon the Great Northwest - unfortunately, the one that best suits your question is one of his weaker efforts, but Another Roadside Attraction, his first big novel, takes place mostly in the Skagit Valley
posted by EatTheWeak at 2:21 PM on April 20 [1 favorite has favorites]

Wintergreen – Robert Michael Pyle – nonfiction about living and nature in the Willapa Hills west of Vancouver.

Lathe of Heaven - Ursula LeGuin – science fiction set in a future Portland.

Sometimes a Great Notion – Ken Kesey – about a rural Oregon logging family – not strictly Portland or Vancouver – but gives a great feel for the Northwest climate and way of life.

A fairly current movie – "Wendy and Lucy" is set in (an unnamed) Portland.
posted by malchick at 2:28 PM on April 20

Sometimes a Great Notion is a great book but I don't know if it's "easy and fun to read".

The Good Rain (disclaimer: haven't read it yet, but looks very interesting).

Living With Earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest
posted by neuron at 2:36 PM on April 20

Tom Robbins is pretty good, I think it's mostly Seattle though (could be wrong). Sometimes a Great Notion is 100% worth reading, but yes, not easy. Kesey was also around Eugene, not Portland (and writing about the Oregon coast), but I'd see that as a pretty minor quibble.
posted by devilsbrigade at 2:59 PM on April 20

Northwest mystery authors I really like:

Earl Emerson (mostly Seattle and North Bend, WA)
G.M. Ford (Seattle)
J.A. Jance (Seattle -- J.P. Beaumont series)
Philip Margolin (Portland)
Kate Wilhelm (Eugene, OR)
posted by rabbitrabbit at 3:10 PM on April 20

Seconding Sometimes A Great Notion (an Oregon essential)...also Beverly Cleary. Also Tin House is an independent publisher in Oregon and has some great compendiums of short stories. One of my favorites is "Do Me: Tales of Love and Sex from Tin House" most of which take place in pdx...
posted by Lutoslawski at 3:44 PM on April 20

Perhaps meant for a younger audience, but Linda Crew has written some lovely young adult fiction that is set in Oregon. I personally recommend both Fire on the Wind (historical) and Children of the River (Cambodian immigrants). Proof that Oregon is small: my roommate went to school with the author's children and swears she's a character in one of the other books.
posted by dormouse at 4:04 PM on April 20

Thirding Sometimes a Great Notion. It's an amazing book. Not the easiest to read, but it seems to really depict live in rural Oregon.
posted by elder18 at 5:16 PM on April 20

Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon Or Columbia River By Alexander Ross is good if you're a history buff.
posted by Tenuki at 10:15 PM on April 20

Thanks all, and for the record I will not be including Chuck Pahlaniuk books in a present to my parents. That might convince them not to move to Washington after all.
posted by entropyiswinning at 5:58 PM on April 21