Chuckanut Radio Hour featuring Leif Enger- I Cheerfully Refuse

Join Village Books in wishing national bestseller Leif Enger bon voyage before he joins Village Books' own Kelly Evert and Paul Hanson on a seabond book-club adventure of a lifetime with the Schooner Zodiac Books A'Sail Cruise!

Doors open and music begins at 6:30pm. Recording starts at 7:00pm.

Interviewer: Susan Marie Conrad

Musical Guest: Bob Paltrow

Spaces are limited and REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED to secure your spot so don't delay.

I Cheerfully Refuse is the tale of a bereaved and pursued musician embarking under sail on a sentient Lake Superior in search of his departed, deeply beloved, bookselling wife. Rainy, an endearing bear of an Orphean narrator, seeks refuge in the harbors, fogs, and remote islands of the inland sea. Encountering lunatic storms and rising corpses from the warming depths, Rainy finds on land an increasingly desperate and illiterate people, a malignant billionaire ruling class, crumbled infrastructure, and a lawless society. Amidst the Gulliver-like challenges of life at sea and no safe landings, Rainy is lifted by physical beauty, surprising humor, generous strangers, and an unexpected companion in a young girl who comes aboard. And as his innate guileless nature begins to make an inadvertent rebel of him, Rainy's private quest for the love of his life grows into something wider and wilder, sweeping up friends and foes alike in his strengthening wake.

"The transcendent latest from Enger (Peace Like a River) is at once adystopian love story, a nautical adventure, and a meditation on loss,kindness, and natural beauty . . . This captivating narrative brimswith hope."— Publishers Weekly, starred review

Leif Enger grew up in Osakis, Minnesota, and worked as a reporter for Minnesota Public Radio before writing his bestselling debut novel Peace Like a River, which won the Booksense Award for Fiction and was named one of the Year's Best Books by Time Magazine and the LA Times. His second novel, So Brave, Young, and Handsome, was also a national bestseller. It was a Midwest Booksellers Honor Book, and won the High Plains Book Award for Fiction. His third novel, Virgil Wander, was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and was named a best book of the year by Amazon, Library Journal, Bookpage and the Chicago Public Library. He lives with his wife Robin in Duluth, MN.

Susan Marie Conrad is a long-distance adventure kayaker, Explorers Club National Fellow, and certified dark chocolate addict. She prefers her boats long and skinny, her journeys slow and salty, and her gear slightly damp. She's written three books about paddling thousands of miles through the Inside Passage—because once clearly wasn't enough—and is currently working on her fourth. When she's not floating off the map, you might find her snuggled up with her tabby cat, Moxie, and an exceedingly good book.

Singer-songwriter Bob Paltrow is a classically trained pianist, producer, and multimedia artist from Bellingham Washington dedicated to building community through music and art. Paltrow performs originals and covers on keyboards and guitar, including songs from his 2022 6-song EP "Broken Promise Land," and an upcoming, as-yet-untitled 12-song album of all new orginal material with his band Cats Like Us. Co-produced and recorded by Cats Like Us drummer Stone Jones. Paltrow's repertoire and influences span many genres including folk, jazz, rock, punk, hip-hop, reggae, funk, soul, blues and country. Bob has played piano for audiences for over 50 years, and written over 300 original songs. Paltrow was the illustrator for author/publisher/folk artist Tracy Spring Tracy Spring's children's book "Love Doesn't Care Who You Love." Based on her song of the same title, Tracy and Paltrow held their book release and mini-concert performing original songs, includng the title song at Village Books in 2024. Bob has a Bachelor of Arts & Sciences from the University of Arizona with a visual arts emphasis, and a minor in Art History with an emphasis on modern 20th-century.

-

The Chuckanut Radio Hour, a recipient of Bellingham's prestigious Mayor's Arts Award, is a radio variety show that began in January 2007. Each Chuckanut Radio Hour includes guest authors, musicians, performance poet Kevin Murphy, and episodes of "As the Ham Turns" serial radio comedy, performed by the Chuckanut Radio Players that include Les Campbell, Robert Muzzy, Tonja Meyers, Sarah, Hawley, Mish Kriz, Lucas Naylor, Cindy Whiston, and Jeff Brawsley. Not to mention groaner jokes by hosts Paul Hanson, Kelly Evert, and announcer Rich Donnelly. The Chuckanut Radio Hour's first guest was Erik Larson and has since included Tom Robbins, Maria Semple, Christopher McDougall, Erica Bauermeister, Sasha LaPointe, Cheryl Strayed, Simon Winchester, and Garrison Keillor, among many others. With so many episodes under our belts, there's more guests than we can list! You can listen to previously recorded programs Sundays at 7pm on Community Powered KMRE 88.3, or anywhere you listen to podcasts!

Sponsored by 12th Street Shoes and the Salish Current.

*Online registration closes two hours prior to the event. Tickets may be available at the door.

*Feel free to call Village Books and Paper Dreams for further assistance at 360-671-2626!*