Cast your vote for the 2022 One Book, One Valley community read.

Drag and drop or use the arrow buttons to place the books in order from your most preferred book to your least preferred. One Book, One Valley 2022 is planned for January 2022.

MOST PREFERRED

What a Fish Knows by Jonathan Balcombe

details

[Nonfiction, 288 pages] Do fishes think? Do they recognize us peering at them through the water’s surface? Balcombe upends our assumptions, portraying fishes not as unfeeling, dead-eyed feeding machines but as sentient, aware, social, and even Machiavellian―in other words, much like us. Teeming with exciting discoveries, Balcombe offers extraordinary insights into our relationships with fishes, inspiring a more enlightened view of our planet’s increasingly imperiled marine life.
Themes: native fishes; angling and fly-tying; ecology and stewardship; fish tubes and ladders at dam locks; human interactions with marine life.
Formats: Regular print; eBook; eAudio

▲
▼

The Emerald Mile by Kevin Fedarko

details

[Nonfiction, 415 pages] The thrilling true tale of the fastest boat ride ever, down the entire length of the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon, during the legendary flood of 1983. River adventurer Kenton Grua sets out to ride the flood in his small wooden boat like a hydraulic slingshot, while engineers scramble to prevent a catastrophic dam failure. Fedarko captures the drama of the American West, historic efforts at flood control, and the wild beauty of river exploration.
Themes: history of dams and hydropower; river ecology; rafting; local and regional waterways; natural science; exploration in the American West.
Formats: Regular print; Audiobook on CD; eBook; eAudio

▲
▼

The River by Peter Heller

details

[Fiction, 253 pages] Best friends Wynn and Jack set out for a Canadian canoe trip, anticipating leisurely days and stargazing nights. But a wildfire crosses the forest, adding unexpected urgency to the journey. One night, with fire advancing, they hear a man and woman arguing on the fog-shrouded riverbank; the next day, a man appears, paddling alone. Is this the same man? If so, where is the woman? From this charged beginning, Heller unspools a headlong, heart-pounding story of wilderness survival.
Themes: survival stories; watershed and river conservation; wildfires and ecology; camping and canoeing; related books by Heller.
Formats: Regular print; Large print; Audiobook on CD; eBook; eAudio

▲
▼

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai

details

[Fiction, 342 pages] Set against the backdrop of the Việt Nam War, a woman and her children flee their farm as a Communist government rises in the North. Family members set off down the Hồ Chí Minh Trail in a conflict that divides both country and family. Vivid, gripping, and steeped in the language and traditions of Việt Nam, this multigenerational novel is told from the perspective of the Vietnamese people themselves, revealing the true power of kindness and hope.
Themes: culture, art and language of Việt Nam; perspectives on war and recovery; genealogy and family research; intergenerational relationships.
Formats: Regular print; eBook; eAudio;

▲
▼
LEAST PREFERRED

 

One Book One Valley is made possible through the generous support of the Library Friends & Foundation.