Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (March 4, 2016)
3C THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016 BOOKS WHAT ARE THEY READING? T he Daily Astorian invites people to submit titles of books they are read- ing and share a few thoughts about the work. This week, U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, the Beaverton Democrat in her second term in Congress, shares some of her favorites. To submit, send to news@dailyastorian.com T raveling back and forth between Washing- ton, D.C., and Oregon frequently means lots of time away from my family, but trad- ing book recommendations is one way we stay connected. My husband and two adult children are all avid readers so we have some great discussions. Reading has always been important to me as a way to press pause and recharge, but also to learn about new issues and perspectives. My colleagues in the U.S. House are another source of book rec- ommendations. Because of our work, many of the GLVFXVVLRQV UHYROYH DURXQG QRQ¿FWLRQ ERRNV ² topics that relate to the policies we are working on, or the country’s history. In my reading, I like to EDODQFH¿FWLRQDQGQRQ¿FWLRQ ‘Boys in the Boat’ One of my favorites in the last year is “The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.” This QRQ¿FWLRQ DFFRXQW IRFXVHV RQ WKH $PHUL- can Olympic rowing team. Led by Joe Rantz, an LQVSLULQJ\RXQJPDQIURPWKH3DFL¿F1RUWKZHVW the nine-member University of Washington row- ing team struggled through the Great Depression and propelled themselves past Nazi Germany’s team to win Olympic glory. The book reads like DQ DGYHQWXUH QRYHO WHOOLQJ 5DQW]¶ VWRU\ RI ¿JKW- Submitted Photo LQJWKURXJKH[WUHPHSRYHUW\²VWDUWLQJZKHQKH U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., reads to children at Adelante Mujeres, a nonprofit that serves Latina women in Forest Grove. ZDVDEDQGRQHGE\KLVRZQSDUHQWVDVDFKLOG²WR becoming a national hero. ‘Birth of the Pill’ At a Planned Parenthood event recently I learned about Jonathan Eig’s “The Birth of the Pill: How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution.” Reproductive justice is important to my constituents and women across the country, and this book shares the suspenseful story about how the birth control pill was invented, weaving together history and science with biogra- phy. What emerges is a vivid picture of one of the PRVWFXOWXUDOO\VLJQL¿FDQWLQQRYDWLRQVRIWKHODVW century, which continues to allow women to con- trol their own destinies through preventing both unwanted pregnancies and dangerous back-alley abortions. “The Birth of the Pill” “The Mare” “The Boys in the Boat” ‘The Mare’ Novels offer in-depth stories and lessons about Reading has always been important life and love. I truly enjoyed “The Mare,” by Mary Gaitskill, who happens to have been a high school to me as a way to press pause and classmate of mine. The story is about a young girl from Brooklyn who falls in love with horses, and recharge, but also to learn about people from starkly different backgrounds work- new issues and perspectives. LQJ ² DQG VRPHWLPHV VWUXJJOLQJ ² WR EXLOG bridges with each other. Gaitskill’s excellent sto- rytelling and vividly-drawn characters make the ria made an appearance on the New York Times but I admit that the frequent travel means book an exceptionally compelling tale. EHVWVHOOHUVOLVW²DVZHOODVRQ3RZHOO¶V7RS)LYH that I’ve purchased several digital editions. ranking. My son is currently writing a novel, so Holding a real book in my hands brings me ‘Astoria’ I always have a lot of books on my reading list. WKDWZLOOEHDWWKHWRSRIP\OLVWZKHQLW¶V¿QLVKHG back to how I fell in love with reading as a At the top currently is “Astoria: John Jacob Astor (I don’t expect to be able to provide an unbiased young girl (I loved every single Nancy Drew book), and reminds me of reading to my chil- DQG7KRPDV-HIIHUVRQ¶V/RVW3DFL¿F(PSLUH´,W¶V review, though). dren when they were young. Plus it’s much always wonderful when books by local authors better to share a real book with friends and Prefers paper or about local subjects make national waves, and Peter Stark’s account of the founding of Asto- My preference is still to read in paper, family. Submitted Photo Bonamici at the Seaside High School library. River pilots: Narrow parts of the river can cause problems Continued from Page 1C 600 feet wide. If another ship is traveling the opposite direc- tion at the same time, that does not leave much space. “We don’t have a whole lot of room from here up to Portland,” Gill said. “A lot of places we are going, we only have 2 feet underneath.” A ship is required to have at least 2 feet of clearance or it must anchor and wait for high water. “We have to look at our routes and make sure we have enough water,” Gill said. “We would hit spots where we ‘We don’t have a whole lot of room from here up to Portland. A lot of places we are going, we only have 2 feet underneath.’ inland past Portland, they encounter many recreational boats in the Hood River area. One river pilot told Gill about a time a windsurfer was caught aboard a barge travel- Rick Gill ing through Hood River. president of the Columbia River Pilots, an association of professional mariners “Ships have the right-of- way. You can’t get in the way don’t have our 2 feet, and we trouble. The people aboard the side of the ship. Every- of a ship,” Gill said. “There wait.” the boat jumped off into the WKLQJZRXOGEH¿QH*LOOVDLG are ways we can get around, water. Lucky, Gill said, he If people jump out, they could but sometimes we can’t.” River pilots come from was able to guide the ship in get caught under the ship. Stay aboard “It doesn’t happen very a tugboat background. A The narrow parts of the the other direction. In those situations, he said, often,” Gill said. “A lot of requirement of the job is river can cause problems with it’s better for people to say times with slower speeds not working as a tugboat pilot recreational watercraft. Gill recalls a time when he aboard. The boat would catch much will happen. That’s a for at least two years on the Columbia River. Once hired, was guiding a ship as it came the water being pushed up by good thing.” For the ships that travel a person must complete two toward a boat with engine the ship and ride it out along and a half years of training before becoming a river pilot. Fatigue, fog and bad weather Along with narrow chan- nels and recreational water- craft, river pilots battle fatigue, fog and bad weather. The job does comes with some variety. River pilots have guided submarines, cruise ships and cranes. Looking back at his career on the river, Gill jokes, he has less stress docking a large ship in a port than he does is sending an email. “It’s a good job,” he said. 3 W AY S TO GE T Y O U R CO PY TOD AY ! OR DER ON LIN E w w w .DiscoverO urCoast.com /order S TOP BY ON E OF OU R 3 LOCATION S A storia • 949 Exchange St. Seaside • 1555 N . Roosevelt Dr. Long Beach • 205 Bolstad A ve. E. #2 o r CALL HOLLY LAR K IN S at 503-325-3211, x227 Em ail: hlarkins@ dailyastorian.com
