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A copy of Jay Hammond's "Diapering The Devil: A Lesson for Oil Rich Nations" is held outside the Peninsula Clarion office on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Off the Shelf: Unfinished Hammond manuscript is biting origin story of Alaska Permanent Fund

When, in 2020, I considered moving to Alaska, there was no shortage of online forums, Reddit threads and…

A copy of Judy Johnson’s “Alaskan Pioneer Girl” rests in the snow on Sunday, December 24, 2023 near Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Off the Shelf: Small town girl weaves tales of home

Local memoir is an engaging window into what life on the central peninsula looked like in the second…

A copy of William L. Iġġiaġruk Hensley’s “Fifty Miles from Tomorrow” is held outside the Peninsula Clarion building on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Off the Shelf: A powerful record of Alaska Native advocacy

In “Fifty Miles From Tomorrow,” William L. Hensley divulges a lifetime worth of insight into both his childhood…

A copy of Sherry Simpson’s “The Way Winter Comes” is held in the Peninsula Clarion offices on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Off the Shelf: Inhabited by winter

Juneau writer spins haunting tales of Alaska’s darkest season in 1998 short story collection

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Off the Shelf: Alaska rom-com is a not-so-guilty pleasure

From the start, the story has the same allure of a Hallmark Christmas movie

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Off the Shelf: Majestic landscape marred by narrow perspective

John Muir’s classic “Travels in Alaska” juxtaposes beauty with a writer’s disconcerting bias

A copy of “If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name” is held on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023, near Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

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Off the Shelf: Haines obituary writer charms in slice-of-life collection

Heather Lende’s “If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name” is as much about Lende as it is…

Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion “Two Old Women,” published in 1992, is a traditional Athabascan legend as told by author Velma Wallis.

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Off the Shelf: Athabascan legend enchants, informs

The two women, shocked that they’ve been left behind by their family and friends, resolve that they will…

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Off the Shelf: ‘The bard of the Yukon’ lures with ghostly song

Jaunty tales and folksy rhymes bring the far north to life in Robert Service’s poetry

Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion A copy of “The Great Alone” sits on a desk in the Peninsula Clarion offices on Thursday in Kenai.

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Off the Shelf: ‘The Great Alone’ tells beautiful, tragic tale set on the Kenai Peninsula

Isolation, in all its forms, is a central theme of the book

A copy of Charlie Stephens' "Passion Over Pain" rests in grass on Wednesday, July 12, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

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Off the Shelf: ‘Passion’ begets fulfillment in personal story by local author

When I talked to retired teacher and local author Charlie Stephens about his book, “Passion Over Pain,” in…

Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion A copy of Samanta Schweblin’s “Fever Dream” sits on a desk in the Peninsula Clarion building on Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska.

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Off the Shelf: Horror novella rethinks presentation of environmental disasters

“Fever Dream” begs the question of what is the most effective way to communicate the implications of environmental…

Brown bear, Ursus arctos, on the Alaska Peninsula in 2021. Photo provided by Derek Stonorov.

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Homer author to give talk on bears

Homer community resident Derek Stonorov is an Alaska brown bear expert. He started to watch and study the…