Here’s the video of the virtual reading for the Colorado Book Awards for general non-fiction and history.
You can catch me at:
- About Lean and Strong, and reading at 20:08
- How Colorado influenced my writing at 1:01:39
- The question that kicked off Lean and Strong at 1:06:35
- My process in narrowing the subject matter down at 1:12:00
You’ll totally enjoy watching the whole thing. I was so impressed with the other authors’ readings.
In General Non-Fiction —
I loved hearing Sasha Geffen’s reading, it was so beautifully written. Also, I just freaking love music history. Also also, pop music de-binary-ing gender is such a rad topic. Her reading about Prince was amazing. I mean, first, it’s Prince. But, while I’d always seen Prince as an icon, as a star, as musical genius, I hadn’t ever really considered how he was an icon for those who were non-binary. How important he was. Sasha’s writing is poetic and powerful, I can’t wait to read the whole thing. I was really surprised and delighted hearing about how Caregiving Done Differently, by Loretta and Nancy, is sort of philosophically similar – how it’s about confronting the hard things that no one talks about and about meeting people where they are at. Their approach is just so human, so wonderful, and so clearly derived from having been in there in real life. This is a book that will really make a difference for caregivers.
In History —
Jeri Norgren’s book about the naming of the 14er’s sounds soooooooo interesting. I loved hearing all of the alternate names, and the different considerations that they had for each name. Before I moved to Colorado, I never had even heard the term “14er” (it means 14,000 foot peak), and they have such a presence here in Colorado, visually, as an activity, and as markers history. I love local history like that. Similarly, I loved Randi Samuelson-Brown’s book about the “Bad Old Days.” First, what an amazing freaking title about the unsavory stories of Colorado’s days gone by. I love how she looked not only in old newspapers, but also collected oral history! She’s literally preserving the stories of Colorado that have been handed down in families, the really, really fun stuff. I’m super hyped to read her book too!
Links to authors and books:
General Nonfiction
Lean & Strong: Eating Skills, Psychology, and Workouts by Josh Hillis (On Target Publications)
Caregiving Done Differently: A Commonsense Approach for Families, Caregivers, and Seniors by Loretta J. Gilbert and Nancy E. Walker (The Common Sense Approach
Glitter Up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary by Sasha Geffen (The University of Texas Press)
History
Colorado’s Highest: The History of Naming the 14,000-Foot Peaks written by Jeri Norgren, photography by John Fielder (John Fielder Publishing)
Yanks Behind the Lines: How the Commission for Relief in Belgium Saved Millions from Starvation during World War I by Jeffrey B. Miller (Rowman & Littlefield)
The Bad Old Days of Colorado: Untold Stories of the Wild West by Randi Samuelson-Brown (Two Dot/Rowman & Littlefield)
So proud of you Josh!