Tiny Haines, Alaska, ninety miles north of Juneau, is accessible mainly by water or air--and only when the weather is good. There's no traffic ligh...
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Mar 06, 2008
Suzanne
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I just loved this book! It is fun. A Prairie Home Companion for Alaska with all the nuances and eccentricities of character that make reading so enjoyable. Each chapter is a story unto itself, so this lends itself to those readers traveling on business, or those frazzled moms and dads, who need to pick up some reading before bedtime that will make them laugh, smile and relax. I hope the author continues with her writing for those of us on "mainland".
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Sep 28, 2011
Sheila
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On vacation in Alaska, and visiting the tiny town of Haines, I realized some places are just kinder to their local authors. In fact, maybe they’re just kinder to everyone—Haines is such a small town that everyone surely knows everyone else. And every store that sells anything sells books by local authors, including Heather Lende’s If you lived here, I’d know your name. After seeing that glorious moose gazing out from the cover often enough, I could no longer resist.
Heather Lende is an More...
Heather Lende is an More...
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Jun 03, 2011
Rebecca
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Kind of interesting. Entertaining, for sure even though I didn't agree with everything the author talked about, which is fine, for autobiography, sort of.
Women lives in the middle of nowhere Alaska, has a bunch of kids and writes for the local paper, the obits, so a lot of the book had to do with death and some relation to it. Lots of supporting charecters that I couldn't connect at all and couldn't keep straight from one chapter to the next. But that didn't matter too much. Each chapt More...
Women lives in the middle of nowhere Alaska, has a bunch of kids and writes for the local paper, the obits, so a lot of the book had to do with death and some relation to it. Lots of supporting charecters that I couldn't connect at all and couldn't keep straight from one chapter to the next. But that didn't matter too much. Each chapt More...
Apr 25, 2011
Book Concierge
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This work of non-fiction, is subtitled: “News from Small-Town Alaska.” Lende is an NPR commentator who lives in Haines, Alaska and also writes the obituaries for the local paper.
Each chapter begins with Duly Noted - snippets of news about the residents and happenings in Haines. These serve to set up a sort of theme or connecting idea for the stories that will follow in that chapter. Each chapter spotlights at least one of the residents of Haines who has died and how that person’s li More...
Each chapter begins with Duly Noted - snippets of news about the residents and happenings in Haines. These serve to set up a sort of theme or connecting idea for the stories that will follow in that chapter. Each chapter spotlights at least one of the residents of Haines who has died and how that person’s li More...
Jan 28, 2011
Kim
rated it:
Growing up in a small town, Pandora Ohio, I had to read this. Pandora had 1000 or less people living there when I did and everyone knew your name, EVERYONE just as the title states.
Heather Lende writes a memoir about her and the lives of others in Haines, Alaska. Even though there is no story line, her observations had me connecting with the people of Haines and what everyday life is like living there. Anybody that lives or has lived in a small town will relate to this book. In addit More...
Heather Lende writes a memoir about her and the lives of others in Haines, Alaska. Even though there is no story line, her observations had me connecting with the people of Haines and what everyday life is like living there. Anybody that lives or has lived in a small town will relate to this book. In addit More...
Sep 08, 2010
Memizuki
rated it: 
Of course I liked this book. This a book to my heart, like most non-fiction books that I like. The books is great, like many authors that I have read that speak to small town America. The difference is that this is small town America in Alaska. Alaska on its own is a strange place and to speak to small town Alaska is even better.
Heather Lende speaks about her life in Haines, Alaska. She speaks in a clear easy read style that comes from her work in the newspaper world. Haines is Alas More...
Heather Lende speaks about her life in Haines, Alaska. She speaks in a clear easy read style that comes from her work in the newspaper world. Haines is Alas More...
Nov 12, 2009
Mandi
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Her essays make me want to move to Alaska, or at least a really rural town surrounded by natural beauty. She is realistic about it though and depicts the good with the bad (like all the political division). She shares very openly about herself and that made for very honest stories as well.
This is an excellent book to read when you need a book you can read, set down, and return to at a random time. Each chapter is its own independent essay and so you don't have to remember the de More...
This is an excellent book to read when you need a book you can read, set down, and return to at a random time. Each chapter is its own independent essay and so you don't have to remember the de More...
Dec 16, 2009
Previous
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On a road trip to Alaska along the famous Alaska Highway, I had the chance to visit Haines, Alaska. I didn’t take the 100 mile detour that day. After reading Heather Lende’s book about life in Haines, I wish that I had. I have visited other small Alaskan towns like it though. I still see in my mind the steep forested mountains that come all the way down to the water. I hear the stories of the people of those towns that seem to have been living there forever, but most came from someplace else. Th
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May 09, 2008
Toni
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I thoroughly enjoyed this little book! The author is a contributor to NPR's Morning Edition. She writes about life (and death) in Haines, Alaska, a small town a long ways from anywhere. She writes the obits for the town newspaper, but relates with great humor the quirks and antics of the characters who live there. Lende also writes with sensitivity joys and tragedies of living in a close and isolated community.
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Nov 15, 2011
Erin
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Having been to Haines, Alaska I was very excited to read this book. Alaska is one of the most beautiful places I have ever had the privilege to travel to. I enjoyed experiencing it again in the pages of this book. The author shares the beauty, the ruggedness, and the harsh nature that is Alaska. To live in Alaska, she explains, you have to be made a little differently. There is a uniqueness to the environment of Alaska and a uniqueness to the type of person that can survive and thrive there. Man
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Apr 09, 2009
Louise
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A story of family, community, life and death in Alaska!! A pretty decent novel.
From dust jacket:
Tiny Haines, Alaska, is ninety miles north of Juneau, accessible mainly by water or air - and only when the weather is good. There's no traffic light and no mail delivery; people can vanish without a trace and funerals are community affairs. Heather Lende posts both the obituaries and the social column for her local newspaper. If anyone knows the goings-on in this close-knit t More...
From dust jacket:
Tiny Haines, Alaska, is ninety miles north of Juneau, accessible mainly by water or air - and only when the weather is good. There's no traffic light and no mail delivery; people can vanish without a trace and funerals are community affairs. Heather Lende posts both the obituaries and the social column for her local newspaper. If anyone knows the goings-on in this close-knit t More...
Feb 04, 2009
Michele
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jan 01, 2012
Dnicebear
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A thoughtful gift from my Alaska-loving son, who zeroed in here on my yearnings for small town life. Ms Lende's work as a professional writer work includes crafting obituaries of folks who die in Haines, so she has great insight into names and relationships and events in her community. A quote from p. 97 sums up what is so engaging in each chapter: "A life spent working and living in a small town with people I may disagree with has taught me a lot about humility and forgiveness. And whe
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Jan 24, 2011
Patty
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I read this several years ago and enjoyed it, but Lende's writing was even better the second time. I had remembered the general gist of the book, but had forgotten the more poignant stories. I think this is a wonderful slice of life. Lende tells her stories well enough that the reader can see the particularities of Haines, but realize that all of our lives no matter where we live have similarities to Haines.
I don't want to give away the stories, but if you like reading non-fiction t More...
I don't want to give away the stories, but if you like reading non-fiction t More...
Jan 11, 2009
Peter
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This book just proves that everyone who lives in Alaska is insane. I don't care whether you're the governor or an NPR commentator. I started this book expecting some down-home small-town wisdom of the Keillor variety (although, as most people would agree, Keillor has been off his game for years now and his show probably jumped the shark back in '87) but instead I received an in-depth look into the psyche of a people who practically invented "cabin fever". On the basis of this book a
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Jan 10, 2011
Jaci
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Great stories and a quick read. Haines, Alaska, has never had a better advocate. And The Book of Common Prayer is also included...superb!
p.8: "Being an obituary writer means I think a lot about loss, more more about love. Writing the obituaries of so many people I've known makes me acutely aware of death, but in a good way .... Most of all, though, writing about the dead helps me celebrate the living--my neighbors, friends, husband, and five children--and this place, which some wou More...
p.8: "Being an obituary writer means I think a lot about loss, more more about love. Writing the obituaries of so many people I've known makes me acutely aware of death, but in a good way .... Most of all, though, writing about the dead helps me celebrate the living--my neighbors, friends, husband, and five children--and this place, which some wou More...
Nov 13, 2010
Tracy
rated it:
Despite our philosophical differences on some topics, I felt I'd found a kindred spirit in Heather Lende. I hope she reads Goodreads reviews of her books, simply so I can thank her for writing this one. I read both of her books (Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs) this summer, and I've since recommended them to several people. In fact, I typed up the essay about the death of Good Dog Carl and e-mailed it to my brother, who had lost his canine companion of 13 years -- I was in tears rea
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Mar 05, 2011
Ashley
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This book is a wonderful collection of short stories about life in small town Alaska. I was worried being a TOTAL softy that a book written by the town obituary writer was going to drown me in tears or leave me feeling exceptionally depressed, but thankfully her stories were much more about the beauty of life than the pain of death.
Lende does a masterful job of weaving past and present into her stories of small town life. I don't have any desire to live in an isolated small town in More...
Lende does a masterful job of weaving past and present into her stories of small town life. I don't have any desire to live in an isolated small town in More...
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Apr 07, 2009
Jessica
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I loved this book! It is a series of short autobiographical essays about different topics and people in Alaska. The author is a contributor to NPR and also writes obituaries for her tiny community in Haines, Alaska. I absolutely loved the blueberry picking story, the hunting/bear adventures, and the story about her dog. It does not seem like something I would like normally, but for whatever reason her reflections really touched me. It seems to touch on all the things in life that are really
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May 21, 2011
Shereekjohnson
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Perhaps only someone who has lived in a small town can truly appreciate this book. It is an easy one to read in small bites. Lende writes obituaries for a local newspaper in Alaska. With the death of her beloved dog, Carl, she comes to understand the loss felt by those she has interviewed following a loved one's death. She quotes the last line from Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Dirge Without Music" to describe her feelings:
Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gen More...
Down, down, down into the darkness of the grave
Gen More...
Jun 12, 2011
Mark
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I loved this book. Having just returned from Alaska I wanted to read more about that amazing state. This book captures the spirit of people living in small-town Alaska and celebrates their place in life.
While reading the book I was reminded of the television show, Northern Exposure. I was also reminded of the kind of place I'd like to live.
Yes, this is a book about Alaska, but it is more about how we can all be so different yet can still work together to create a communi More...
While reading the book I was reminded of the television show, Northern Exposure. I was also reminded of the kind of place I'd like to live.
Yes, this is a book about Alaska, but it is more about how we can all be so different yet can still work together to create a communi More...
Mar 06, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
This book was not what I'd expected, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'd anticipated reading a quirky tale of small-town life, with lots of local color and shades of "Northern Exposure". Yes, "If You Lived Here..." does have it share of unique characters, but it's really a much more heart-felt meditation on life, death, family and community than a funny tale of quaint people. Heather Lende is a commentator for NPR as well as the obituary writer for the local paper in
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Jan 22, 2011
AdultNonFiction
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Teton County Library Call No: 979.82 LENDE
Mark A's rating: 4 stars
On a road trip to Alaska along the famous Alaska Highway, I had the chance to visit Haines, Alaska. I didn’t take the 100 mile detour that day. After reading Heather Lende’s book about life in Haines, I wish that I had. I have visited other small Alaskan towns like it though. I still see in my mind the steep forested mountains that come all the way down to the water. I hear the stories of the people of those town More...
Mark A's rating: 4 stars
On a road trip to Alaska along the famous Alaska Highway, I had the chance to visit Haines, Alaska. I didn’t take the 100 mile detour that day. After reading Heather Lende’s book about life in Haines, I wish that I had. I have visited other small Alaskan towns like it though. I still see in my mind the steep forested mountains that come all the way down to the water. I hear the stories of the people of those town More...
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Jun 24, 2010
Sandy
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I wanted to like this book. As I read it, though, the word that overwhelmed everything else was smug. "We're better than everyone else, because we live far, far away from medical care. We're better than everyone else, because we all take care of each other."
Fine, except that the actual stories she tells belie the smug attitude. Ugly chauvinistic treatment of the girls at the high school, apparently not considered a problem by many of the adults in the community. Rampant More...
Fine, except that the actual stories she tells belie the smug attitude. Ugly chauvinistic treatment of the girls at the high school, apparently not considered a problem by many of the adults in the community. Rampant More...
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Jul 08, 2009
Jessica
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Whenever I read books that are primarily about locations, I end up with a stong desire to go there. (see previous desires to visit New Zealand, and Wales). This book, however quaint, didn't want to make me visit Alaska. Despite being part of the great 50 states of the United States, it sounds like those folks in Haines Alaska might as well live on another planet. I can't imagine skiing to work, living anywhere without electricity where it is so cold, or having to take a ferry/airplane seve More...
Oct 23, 2010
Kelly
rated it:
I would like to travel to Alaska so this book interested me. It might not interest you if you don't care anthing about the area or the people. The author writes about her life in a small community which has no hospital, no major stores. It is a place where everyone pretty well knows everyone else, where tradition and community are very important. This is the first book Lende has written. The second is Take Care of the Garden and the Dogs. I enjoy that was just as much.
Oct 01, 2010
Amy
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Heather Lende's descriptions of Alaska make it sound like the most beautiful place on earth. And that's where the pleasure in this book ends...every chapter is filled basically with death. I understand that Lende is an obituary writer for her tiny local paper, and this job must consume most of her time, but still. Her efforts to shed light on some of life's lighter moments (weddings, births, etc.) end up sounding cheesy and cliche. Overall, the book wasn't bad enough to stop reading in the m
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May 05, 2009
Julia
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I'm now re-reading this for the 5th time. I love it! I heard the author read an excerpt on NPR and had to get it. I gave it to a friend to read before he went to the same small town and he said it was spot-on. This book is non-fiction and is written by Heather Lende. She moved to a small town in Alaska with her college sweetheart/husband right after graduating. Her descriptions of the relationships, but most especially of the surrounding environment and its affects on the lives of the people in
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Dec 30, 2011
Sue
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This is a book of essays on life in a small town in Alaska by Heather Lende, who moved there with her husband in their 20s. The stories cover the small-town goings-on and characters such as a one-legged lady gold miner, a quiet loner who lives behind the post office, and many deaths since Lende writes obituaries for the paper. Many of the deaths are tragic accidents while fishing, boating, or hunting. Her style is conversational and not hard to follow, although she does jump around a bit from
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Jul 07, 2010
Carrie
rated it:
Really enjoyed this book! Small town Haines, Alaska-- life, beauty, harshness, livelihood, community. Reminded me of Northern Exposure TV show (which I loved). The author writes for NPR, Christian Science Monitor and writes obituaries in the small town newspaper. So, the focus on death was kinda depressing, but the stories of her large family and the local people were great! I think she has a new book out that I am excited to read too!
