‘Forgetting Room’ Voyage Of Author’s Self-Discovery
Nick Bantock is conducting a one-man-stand against computer games.
Not that he has anything against such 20th-century diversions. For all I know, the Puget Sound author may love to play them himself.
But based on his books, which are loving blends of mystery, art and storytelling, Bantock is to modern publishing what Rand and Robyn Miller are to computers.
The Spokane-based Millers, you may recall, are the co-creators of “Myst” and the new game “Riven.” They, too, have entered publishing (they put out a book complement to “Myst”).
But Bantock creates more than just books, if less than computer images. His “Griffin and Sabine” trilogy was a literary/artistic trip into mystery and self-awareness. And now Bantock has returned with a whole new world to explore that he calls “The Forgetting Room” (HarperCollins, 105 pages, $22).
The theme is similar to Bantock’s past work. A young man named Armon Hurt visits the house of his deceased grandfather, who bequeathed him the property.
“Financially it was the windfall my bookbinding workshop needed,” Armon writes, “but the idea of selling him grandfather’s house troubled me deeply. I decided to fly to Spain to see the property before I put it on the market.”
Thus begins a nine-day adventure, for Armon and those of us who follow him through his voyage of self-discovery.
As author/artist/fantasist Bantock writes, “‘The Forgetting Room’ is a locked place. A memory and an exit.”
And a thrill.
Later for Baker
Vernon Baker and Spokesman-Review writer Ken Olsen, co-authors of Baker’s memoir “Lasting Valor,” have postponed their Oct. 20 reading of the book at Auntie’s Bookstore.
Due to publishing problems, the reading has been rescheduled for Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. For further information on the Baker reading or about any Auntie’s literary event, call 838-0206.
Just for kids
If you’re looking for a way to introduce your children to the magic of storytelling, you might take in the weekly story times at the Children’s Corner Bookshop.
Every Wednesday at 11 a.m., storyteller Jacquie Baucom performs 30-minute story times for preschoolers.
The Children’s Corner Bookshop is located at 714 W. Main on the Skywalk. For further information, call 624-4820.
Just for seniors
Virginia White continues her efforts to teach writing through the Seniors Program at the Institute for Extended Learning. White will hold a self-publishing workshop from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27, at the Hillyard Senior Center, 4110 N. Cook.
The workshop, which costs $5, will feature a panel discussion moderated by White that will concentrate on writing for publication. For registration information, call 533-3370.
On the shelves
“The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier” (Sasquatch, 288 pages, $23.95) by Bruce Barcott. How do you write the biography of a mountain. That’s what Seattle writer Barcott has done here, blending natural and cultural history to give a portrait of Washington’s most famous peak.
“We want to know mountains… but they’ve got no story,” wrote Kirkus Reviews. “We throw ourselves onto them and make the stories happen. Barcott knows his mountain, and his story is enthralling, respectful, bitingly witty and wise.”
“The Cabin on Sawmill Creek: A Western Walden” (Caxton Printers, 228 pages) by Mary Jo Churchwell. This memoir concerns California refugees Stew and Mary Jo Churchwell and their attempt to forge life in a cabin on a tiny stream high in the Idaho Rockies.
As the press information says, “This book is required reading for those who dream of dropping out and moving to the mountains ‘to live off the land.”’ For ordering information, call (800) 657-6465.
, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: THE READER BOARD Jean Darby Cline, author of “Silencing the Voices,” will read from her book at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Auntie’s Bookstore. Ed McLanahan, author of “Congress of Wonders,” will read from his book at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the University of Idaho. Ladd Hamilton, author of “Snowbound,” will read from his book at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Auntie’s Bookstore. Roland Cheek, author of “Learning to Talk Bear,” will read from his book at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Auntie’s Bookstore. On Saturday from noon to 3 p.m., Cheek will sign copies of his book at the Coeur d’Alene Book & Game Co. in the Silver Lake Mall, 200 W. Hanley. Dan Larsen, author of “The Perfect Yankee,” will sign copies of his book from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the Coeur d’Alene Hastings store, 101 Best Ave. Peter Dodds, author of “Outer Search/Inner Journey,” will read from his self-help book at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Auntie’s Bookstore.