Give the gift of reading this holiday season while also supporting these local authors:
For the kids
My Dog Has Six Friends: The Life and Times of Appenzell by Dan Warren tells the story of Appenzell, “Zella” for short, a Bernese mountain dog born in a kennel but meant for a life in the outdoors. A Truckee/Tahoe resident of 35 years, Warren shares the lessons to be learned from our furry friends. In this modern climate of collecting friends on social media, children can take away from Zella’s story that it’s the quality, not quantity, of friends that counts. And adults will find that there is much to be learned by the people — and animals — in our lives. (Independently published)
Lake Tahoe + Four Cousins = Adventure and Lake Tahoe + Four Cousins = A Winter Adventure by Rebecca Holloman are based on stories the author used to tell her young grandchildren at bedtime. The tales were always evolving and becoming more detailed until one day, Holloman thought it was time to get it down on paper. The first tells the story of four cousins living on the North Shore of Lake Tahoe with their yellow lab, Razzle Dazzle, and features a number of local landmarks. The second shares the tale of a very snowy winter, during which the cousins survive a blizzard, escape a tree well, and find a new puppy. Holloman’s own love of Lake Tahoe began as a child and continued through adulthood. At 70, she knew it was where she was meant to live and has now been a permanent resident for six years. The books feature the illustrations of Terri Sopp Rae and can be found at the North Tahoe Visitor Center in Tahoe City or amazon.com. (Independently published)
For the grown-ups
A Bold Gamble at Lake Tahoe by Reno-based writer Dorsea Banning is set for release on Dec. 6. This true-crime nonfiction work shares the story of how the owners of a small, lakeside hotel among the trees in Incline Village sought to bring gambling onto the premises. When they couldn’t find a financial backer, Jimmy Hoffa’s Teamsters pension fund wormed its way in, ushering in a legacy of crime, shady characters, and mounting lawsuits, which plagued the inn that would go on to become the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa, and Casino. Banning is a gambling history and true crime writer whose blog, It Really Happened!, features 19th and 20th-century casino-related stories. (Houdini Publishing)
The 70th anniversary edition of Squaw Valley & Alpine Meadows: Tales from Two Valleys by Eddy Starr Ancinas shares the history of two neighboring valleys that have long-captured the imaginations of skiers and mountain explorers, and speaks to the future of the two ski areas with separate identities that have united to become one. Hear the stories of Wayne Poulsen, John Reily, and Alex Cushing as they battle avalanches, fires, floods, public opinion, and the whims of mountain weather, all the while learning what the future may have in-store. Longtime local and skier Ancinas was a guide for the 1960 Olympics and is vice-president of the board of directors for the Sierra Nevada Olympic Wintersports Museum, scheduled to be built in 2022 at the entrance to Squaw Valley.
Check out Savvy Stacks here and full interview with local author (featured in Savvy Stacks) June Sylvester Saraceno here.
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