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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
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topics that relate to the policies we are working on,
or the country’s history. In my reading, I like to
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‘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
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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
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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.
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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.
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