Dan White

All of us have fond memories of those backcountry delicacies we love to hate the most: space-age freeze dried ice cream in a bag, sulfurous logs of “summer sausage,” Squeeze Cheez and boiling cauldrons of Hot Tang. Very soon, I will give you the ultimate list of backcountry camping “treats” from today and yesteryear. If any of you have suggestions for this list, please send them to cactus.eaters@yahoo.com as soon as you can. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

I have several close friends who have joined the Witness Protection Program just to escape their awful book groups. That’s why the Booksmith’s new “Found in Translation” reading group is such a welcome new development. “It’s like a book club but without the commitment,” says Constance of the Booksmith. “Think of it as a swinger’s club for books.” But that’s not the only reason why the Booksmith’s reading group — which kicks off tomorrow with Senselessness by Horacio Castellanos Moya — is a nice change of pace. The reading group is also unusual in the sense that it features contemporary translated literature. Christin Evans, co-owner of the Booksmith, explains that the group emphasizes “a certain category of books that get overshadowed, amazing writers who are published in translation and don’t get a lot of publicity from American publishers.” Moya — the first featured author — was born in Honduras, grew…

I’m starting a new feature, profiling neighborhood bookstores and some of the interesting, unusual book discussion groups and events that they are organizing this year. The idea is to emphasize the fact that bookstores — and books — are cheap, sustainable forms of entertainment and enrichment in these utterly wretched economic times. The first featured bookstore in the series will be The Booksmith in San Francisco. Stay tuned. And if you are the owner — or an employee of — a neighborhood bookstore that is putting on an interesting, unusual event, anywhere in America or in the world at large, shoot me an email at some point and I’ll try to get you into the ‘cheap thrills’ column at some point. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Things are tough all over. Everyone is downscaling, even drug-dealing scalawags. Today, while walking towards my watercolor class, I saw a desperate Haight Ashbury pusher, frantically attempting to sell a single pill!! He was standing there, fidgeting, near Golden Gate Park, failing to stir up any interest from passersby. “Pill for sale!” he exclaimed. “Pill! Pill! Pill!” http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

I get tons of messages into this blog from readers doing all kinds of interesting things: writing and publishing books, working on farms, starting their own businesses, traveling all over the world, etc. I’m hoping to (eventually) put together a quick little “digest column” in which I will put the spotlight on you, the readers. If you want to take part in this, send me a little bio and a brief, colorful description of what you are up to. If I get a sufficient number of participants, I will put this column together at some point next month. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Many thanks for yesterday’s email avalanche. Will make sure to get back to all of you as soon as I can! http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Family and friends: (I know you check this blog pretty regularly.) send me an email and call me when you see this. We have great news. (I’m sure you all know what it is by now, but the Big Day has arrived!) http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

It’s official; On April 18th, I will lead a hike through Santa Cruz’s beautiful Pogonip meadow, with stops for memoir and nature-writing exercises, in a special “Hike and Write” event sponsored by Bookshop Santa Cruz.A bunch of you contacted me in advance about this. If you would like to join me, make sure to register in advance through Bookshop Santa Cruz. There are a limited number of spaces. When you are registering, Bookshop will give you all the additional information you need, including the specific time and directions to the meeting place. Looking forward to meeting and walking with you (and, of course, seeing and hearing your writing) http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

A few months back, we talked about the importance of bringing a high-quality leak-proof pen with smear-proof, water-resistant ink and a good journal with thick, absorbent paper for travel writers. In fact, you might even consider bringing a pencil instead of a pen because pencil lead won’t run, and you can even write in pouring rain. Well, here’s my latest piece of advice: make sure to store all your travel notes in a very safe place, even if you won’t be using them for a long while. I learned this lesson the hard way when I stored two notebooks containing Pacific Crest Trail notes about Oregon and Washington. Absentmindedly, I decided to store them in a leaky shed out in Santa Cruz during the El Nino storm year — and the water dripped all over them!!! Now, dozens of pages of trail notes about Oregon and Washington are covered with…

Today I want to congratulate my friends Brian Eule and Miranda Weiss, two talented non-fiction writers whose books will be available imminently. Brian Eule just received a starred Kirkus review for his book, Match Day, , an in-depth look at the lives of three medical couples. Miranda Weiss is an excellent nature writer whose book, Tide, Feather, Snow,, is an intimate portrait of Alaska. This story of survival and adaptation includes an unforgettable scene about the skinning of a sea otter. The writer Edward Hoagland described her book as “a lovely, feathery book indeed—a labor of love and a pleasure to read.” Get these books — and see Brian and Miranda in person when they head out on the road very soon. http://cactuseaters.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default