Brown, Rowling favorites among Smithsonian readers

If you’re looking for a good book recommendation (and who isn’t?), here’s what Smithsonian Magazine readers list as their favorites: Dan Brown and J.K. Rowling. Seriously. The magazine polled 1,200 of its readers in May to come up with favorites lists for books, movies and activities.

The list includes Brown’s page-turner novels “Angels & Demons” and “The Da Vinci Code,” Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, John Grisham’s “The Last Juror,” Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfiction book “Seabiscuit,” Mitch Albom’s “The Five People You Meet in Heaven,” Lynne Truss’ “Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation,” J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything.”

It’s good to know that Smithsonian readers aren’t any more elitist than those who read, say, People.

Poetry on Lake Pend Oreille

Sandpoint-based Lost Horse Press supports the literary arts in the Inland Northwest as well as any entity outside of Get Lit! — which is appropriate, since the press is owned by Christine Holbert, one of the people who helped organize Get Lit! in the first place.

Lost Horse’s latest event, which is co-sponsored by Full Spectrum Tours, is Saturday’s “Lit on the Lake.” It involves kayaking on Lake Pend Oreille to Fisherman’s Island, then sitting around a campfire listening to Spokane writer Tom Davis recite his poetry and tell some stories.

Cost is $99 plus tax ($84 plus tax if you provide your own kayak). For further information, call (208) 255-4410 or see www.losthorsepress.org.

Rick Steves knows the way

Seattle-based travel writer Rick Steves has a new book out that should be of particular interest to those with disabilities.

“Easy Access Europe 2004” (Avalon Traveling Publishing, 200 pages, $19.95) is subtitled “A Guide for Travelers With Limited Mobility,” which pretty much says it all. According to a press release, the book lists a number of Internet resources that include helpful information, features a six-page color access guide to London’s subway (commonly called The Tube) and is printed in large-print type.

“Rick and his co-author, Dr. Ken Plattner, understand that degrees of personal mobility vary tremendously from person to person,” publicist Ron Goddard wrote. “They’ve come up with various ways of letting travelers know what accessibility features to expect at each destination.”

To access Steves’ Web site, go to www.ricksteves.com.

Seattle writer rules PNWA

Ann Rule, Seattle’s favorite true-crime writer, has been chosen to deliver the keynote speech at the 49th Annual Pacific Northwest Writers Association Conference, which will be held July 15-18 at the Hilton Seattle Airport and Conference Center.

The conference, which features more than 50 workshops and panels and intense writing seminars, is pretty pricey, with registration at $450 for nonmembers (go to www.pnwa.org to download a registration form).

But you can attend just the dinner for $60. Tickets for both the dinner and the overall conference are still available. Either send in a registration form, or — according to PNWA — go and pay at the door.

For further information, call (425) 673-2665.

Choosing some good reads

We’re just about done with June, which means that members of The Spokesman-Review Book Club should have finished reading Ken Kesey’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Next up: Kim Barnes’ novel “Finding Caruso,” which I will write about next Sunday.

Coeur d’Alene’s Phoebe Hruska suggested that a good August read would be “Winterkill,” the novel by Portland author Craig Lesley. Seems like a good choice to me. As for September, well … that’s still up for discussion.

We’re open for nominations.

The reader board

“ Armand Larive (“After Sunday: A Theology of Work”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington (838-0206). Free and open to the public.