A HELPING HAND
Local literary press Scablands Books, founded by author Sharma Shields (pictured) and home to a pretty incredible collection of Inland Northwest literary talent, had to cancel their annual in-person fundraiser due to the delta variant being a total asshole. But you can help the press chug along, including the printing of their new tome, Evergreen: Grim Tales and Verses from the Gloomy Northwest. Head to donorbox.org/scablands-donation and get in on the cool autographed goodies you get for supporting a great cause. (DAN NAILEN)
CHOICES NOT MADE
Mix the metaphor of the fig tree in The Bell Jar, where the viewer wastes away looking up at all the possible life paths (figs) they could possibly take, with the mind-bending thought experiment of Schrödinger's cat, and you'd get pretty close to Blake Crouch's book Dark Matter. Full of multiverse twists centered on the idea of "What if you could live the life you always dreamed of," the book keeps you guessing at just what might happen until the very end. It offers a lesson in loving the life you've made rather than pining for what you could have had, while offering a fascinating look at the consequences when you can't let go of the past. (SAMANTHA WOHLFEIL)
THIS WEEK'S PLAYLIST
There's noteworthy new music arriving in stores and online Sept. 10. To wit:
KACEY MUSGRAVES, Star-Crossed. Hard to follow up a classic, but Musgraves is uniquely skilled.
SLEIGH BELLS, Texis. I dare you to not get a surge of adrenaline listening to their first album in five years.
ANDREW W.K., God Is Partying. If anyone could know that God is partying, it would be Andrew W.K. (DAN NAILEN)
