Poor Richard’s Books suggests these titles that are absolute gifts

Each week as part of SunLit — The Sun’s literature section — we feature staff recommendations from book stores across Colorado. This week, the staff from Poor Richard’s Books & Gifts in Colorado Springs recommends a meditation on a snail, a Longmire mystery and some river-running nonfiction.

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From the publisher: In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature, Elisabeth Tova Bailey shares an inspiring and intimate story of her encounter with a Neohelix albolabris — a common woodland snail.

While an illness keeps her bedridden, Bailey watches a wild snail that has taken up residence on her nightstand. As a result, she discovers the solace and sense of wonder that this mysterious creature brings and comes to a greater understanding of her own place in the world.

From Jeffery Payne, assistant general manager: “I could have never guessed what would get me through this past year – a woodland snail and its offspring…”

It is unfortunate that sometimes it takes a turn of events to make us slow down and appreciate the small things in life. In this case the small thing is a snail. The author’s health strangely spirals downward quickly and she’s suddenly confined to bed. To her and our surprise, she is given comfort and patience through a tiny interloper on her bedside table. On her long journey to heal and understand what has happened to her body, we revel in her keen observations of the tiny creature, its world, and her growing realization of what is important.

It’s very challenging to define what genre this charming read is. Memoir? Nature Writing? Malacology Studies? Deeply poetic and lyrical, this unassuming humble book is an absolute treasure.

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From the publisher: Sheriff Walt Longmire and Dog are called on a routine search and rescue to Wyoming’s Big­horn Mountains, where Walt finds himself on a rock outcropping remembering when his father told him about the first time he saw a man die. In the late ’40s, Bill Sutherland was shot but the investigation was stymied because no mem­ber of the elk camp — where he was found — was carrying the caliber rifle that killed the state accountant. When Dog discovers the miss­ing weapon, the sheriff of Absaroka County is plunged headfirst into a cold case.

From Jeffery Payne, assistant general manager: Walt Longmire has had more than his share of personal demons and in the latest book in the great series by Craig Johnson, those demons and some forgotten memories touch a bit close to home and family.

Johnson’s lucid storytelling somehow improves with each new book. His ability to capture the pure essence of the Wyoming landscape and the charming cast of characters is always a delight to read.  There are several subplots going on in this book, but Johnson deftly explores each tangent easily. I tried my best to not finish the book in one sitting, but I failed.

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From the publisher: In the summer of 1938, botanists Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter set off to run the Colorado River, accompanied by an ambitious and entrepreneurial expedition leader, a zoologist, and two amateur boatmen. With its churning waters and treacherous boulders, the Colorado was famed as the most dangerous river in the world. Journalists and veteran river runners boldly proclaimed that the motley crew would never make it out alive. But for Clover and Jotter, the expedition held a tantalizing appeal: no one had yet surveyed the plant life of the Grand Canyon, and they were determined to be the first.

Through the vibrant letters and diaries of the two women, science journalist Melissa L. Sevigny traces their daring forty-three-day journey down the river, during which they meticulously cataloged the thorny plants that thrived in the Grand Canyon’s secret nooks and crannies.

From Jeffery Payne, assistant general manager: “Brave the Wild River” is less about what Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter did in exploring and discovering the plant life along the Colorado River thant how they did it.

Anyone who has had the opportunity to experience the Grand Canyon, up close and personal, not just viewing from the southern rim of the vast chasm, knows the absolute force of nature it holds. Shoving their way into its harsh, brittle, and seemingly barren immenseness, two strong-willed botanists turned explorers cast off the conventions and attitudes of 1930’s to profile and catalog the richness of the canyon.

This well-written book is more than about botany, adventure, and the wilds of the southwest; it shows the struggle of gender inequity that many have faced and continue to face. The phrase, “nevertheless, she persisted” comes to mind when reading this one.