Books

Retired political science professor Michele Shover researched 19th century Butte County for her latest book. In a classic episode, she joins Nancy for a conversation with the author of California Standoff: Miners, Indians and Farmers at War 1850-1865.

About Michele J. Shover:  First female political science faculty member and department chair (1977–83); expert in political and legal theory and American government.

Amy Goldman is a gardener, author-artist, and longtime advocate for seed saving, plant breeding, and heirloom fruits and vegetables. Her mission has for many years been to celebrate and catalog the magnificent diversity of standard, open-pollinated, heirloom varieties, and their conservation.

Her books include The Compleat Squash – A Passionate Growers Guide to Pumpkins, Squashes, and Gourds, and most recently The Melon, which will entice and educate, whether you are a passionate gardener, a locavore, or simply delight in the inherent beauty and evanescence of the fruits of the vine.

Take a trip down memory lane to Northern California. In Conversations with the Past: Vibrant Voices from Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta & Tehama Counties, experience first-hand accounts of life in the great northern areas of California as told through the memories of residents that call these counties home. 

 Josie Reifschneider-Smith and Ron Womack join Host Nancy Wiegman in a conversation about Northern California’s past.

The commonly accepted solution to weight loss is to eat less and exercise more. Not so says weight loss coach and author Michelle Hastie. Her approach may sound too good to be true. This week join Nancy for a conversation with the author of Have Your Cake and Be Happy, Too: A Joyful Approach to Weight Loss. Don't miss a classic rerun of Nancy's Bookshelf. 

Michelle Hastie is the author of “The Weight Loss Shift: Be More, Weigh Less” and a contributor to the women's studies bestseller, “Women Will Save the World.” A weight loss coach, Michelle helps chronic dieters surrender to their body wisdom in order to lose weight permanently.

Michael Tonetti has been practicing massage and Yoga for more than 50 years. He studied Structural Integration Massage at Heartwood College in 1982, and received Practitioner and Advanced Practitioner certificates. He joins Nancy’s Bookshelf for a conversation about his work, The Tonetti Method: Structural Body Mechanics for Pain Relief, Energy, Strength, and Joint Longevity.

Chico coach Chuck Sheley is editor of Smokejumper Magazine and has now published a book, Smokejumpers and the CIA, which contains stories not found in history books. Starting in 1951 smokejumpers were recruited by the CIA “because they could go anywhere, anytime, and do a tough, confusing job and then keep our mouths shut.” This little-known working arrangement peaked in 1975. Also, a commentary on the November 2018 Camp Fire by Richard Parker. 

Local author Carl Ochsner drops by Nancy’s Bookshelf to discuss his latest, A New Age Diary: Personal Glimpses of Life in Post-Modern America. In his memoir, Ochsner recounts his experience in California’s counterculture.

Rick Barram is a teacher and Civil War re-enactor who lives in Red Bluff. He researched diaries, letters, and official reports to write a history of the ordinary soldier in the Civil War. Much of the book started as a series of articles for his reenacting group’s newsletter, accumulated over many years. Those articles strung together made up much of the framework for the book. There was a lot of research and reading involved, the internet as a source for information and a way to connect with people who have the information especially those back in New York. This is Part 1 of a two-part interview on the anniversary of the Battle of Antietam.  

Award-winning investigative journalist Mary Roach writes humorously about weird science. In her book Grunt, the best-selling New York Times author examines the curious science of humans at war. Listen to a classic episode!

Gayle Brandeis grew up in the Chicago area and has been writing poems and stories since she was four years old. She is the author of many titles, including Fruitflesh: Seeds of Inspiration for Women Who Write, the novel The Book of Dead Birds, which won Barbara Kingsolver’s Bellwether Prize for Fiction of Social Engagement. Her latest, Many Restless Concerns: The Victims of Countess Bathory Speak in Chorus was published by Black Lawrence Press and is now available.

Oleta Bryson presents a collection of extraordinary stories gleaned from life experiences in It’s All About Perspective: Change Your Perspective, Change Your Life.