Review of Ghost Trails by Jill Homer
February 25th, 2009
Disclaimer: I received my copy of Ghost Trails directly from Jill Homer at no cost.
Ghost Trails
©Copyright 2008 by Jill Homer
Contact Jill Homer at jillhomer66@hotmail.com
First edition, November 2008
$8, ISBN — 9780557024070
I have long been a reader and fan of Jill Homer’s very popular blog “Up In Alaska“, and was excited when I discovered she has written a book. Jill’s blog is engaging, and the pictures she uses artfully depict landscapes most of us don’t even think of experiencing. The stories on the blog flow around her training and riding her bicycle. Jill’s posts aren’t necessarily written as an treatise about winter cycling, but they absolutely lend themselves to that. Jill’s mileage log and continual riding in temperatures where most of us push the button on our remote car starter, and let our car warm for 20 minutes before the 5 minute drive to work prove that not only is it possible, but there are people who find it enjoyable.
With that small introduction of my knowledge of Jill and her style of writing, let me tell you a little about her book, Ghost Trails.
Jill begins the 185 page book with an account from her most troubling time spent racing the Iditarod Trail. She’s forlorn: at a physiological wall miles and hours from any form of help, with nothing to rely on but the few items she’s carefully prepared for this 350 mile race. Jill also can rely on her iron will, which at the moment is fading, freezing into temperatures as low as minus twenty. There is nothing to do but hope that what her body can’t do, her equipment can. She says “I wondered if I would ever wake up. I had no way of knowing for sure,” and with that, succumbs to the cold tired punishment that is the Alaskan Iditarod Trail race.
The book then goes back and begins the explanation of what got Jill from being the typical teenage girl in Utah to this unlikely point so cold and far from everything comfortable. But the explanation doesn’t come full force at you, as each chapter is an alternating account of the Iditarod Trail race and Jill’s life, with the life stories building to the race itself. At times the alternating chapters seem like two completely separate books, both interesting, with a tenuous connection to each other that the reader perceives will eventually meld into one story that is Jill Homer. This very nearly happens, but interestingly ends not with the story of the conclusion of the Iditarod, but with with Geoff and Jill moving to Alaska from Idaho, such that it is the feeling of ending at the “beginning.”
Geoff, Jill’s boyfriend, plays an integral role in the development of the Iditarod Trail racer. Geoff is there very nearly from the “beginning of Jill”, but is introduced by a mutual friend in New York. The free spirit’s outlook on life promotes Jill’s wandering, and they begin outdoor pursuits together, including canyon rafting. Geoff’s naturally-great-at-everything persona helps Jill build on her natural abilities, and they prosper together. As such, maybe the book ending on the chapter about their final move to Alaska is fitting.
As a reader of Up In Alaska, one becomes accustomed to Jill’s writing being punctuated with great pictures. Jill is great at photography. Sure she has a great camera, but she also knows how to use it. I was disappointed that Ghost Trails only has pictures from Jill’s adventures at the beginning of each chapter, and at that, a generally low resolution version. To say it was disappointing is an understatement. But this book is not Jill’s blog, and I certainly would not hold the lack of pictures against the book.
Also unexpected was the writing style variation from blog to book. In her blog Up In Alaska, Jill’s words flow smoothly, written by a clearly intelligent writer, such that they need no editing. In Ghost Trails, word choice seems poured over, and often verbose.
All told, Jill’s story is an interesting one. I won’t say “inspring” since even as a cyclist that’s on the fringe of what is considered possible for humans, and that makes me applaud Jill even more fervently. Ghost Trails proves that preparation will take one very far, and determination will almost assuredly fill the gap.
Thanks to Jill for the opportunity to review her book.
J
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Sundays are for Jazz.
February 15th, 2009
For the longest time (let’s just say 4 years, ballpark) the mood to listen to jazz has hit me on Sunday. It’s just a feeling. Sundays are good for laid back music, no lyrics, instrumental mayhem and wonderful exhibition of skill. It happens nearly every Sunday.
I have in my itunes list approximately 20k songs, and I guess maybe 1 in 5 is jazz. Since I have the goal of (again) listening to all the music cataloged by iTunes on my computer, and I really only listen to jazz on Sunday, it’ll probably take me a while to get that done. I’m ok with that.
Because Sundays are for jazz.
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25 Random Things.
February 13th, 2009
- Being married is pretty fun. It’s amazing to know I have someone on whom I can always depend. I hope she can feel the same about me.
- I’m a big kid when it comes to toys. I often sell a year old model of something (Canon SD800, for example) just to buy the new model (Canon SD870). Interestingly in that case, the day after I got the 870 in the mail, the 880 was announced.
- To further #2, I have two jobs so that my toys will be affordable. It’s been this way since I had any jobs, and I’ve had 2 jobs for about 13 years now, and this is the only reason, really.
- I own my own snowboard. I have never lived anywhere except Mississippi. (This is not two random things, it’s a tandem.) I have never actually used that snowboard.
- I consider myself a google guru (gooru? [you heard it here first folks]. I also want to strangle people when they ask me to do things that can as easily be done with a google search (and sometimes reply with http://lmgtfy.com/ .
- I have a way with words…
- That way with words frustrates nearly everyone…
- I collect stickers (among other things). I put the stickers on my “sticker box.” I keep hiking (and more recently, some biking) gear in those sticker boxes (yes, multiple boxes, at this point). In our bedroom. (One is my night stand).
- I also have a collection of wide mouth Nalgene bottles, the 32 oz kind. Unfortunately it was recently understood that when used to hold hot substances, these bottles can leech Bisphenol A. Now I consider most of my collection a museum, and am going about collecting the new Tritan “Everyday” type bottle.
(Oh and the opaque bottles were always and are of course still ok to use.) The Bisphenol A thing actually doesn’t bother me all that much, so I still use my bottles anyway. (Never used them for hot, in any case.) - I hate the way the period goes within the quote marks.
- I don’t care much about watching tv (only a few shows interest me, including The Office). That being said, I could easily spend days in front of a computer, including watching tv on my computer. Not surprisingly, I dislike tv commercials enough that I will watch a movie that I hate on HBO, just to avoid commercials.
- Also, I almost never care at what point I pick up a movie on tv. If the part I happen to see is marginally interesting, I’ll watch, even if it’s 3/4 through.
- If I get the feeling that someone is “attention-seeking” me, I’ll actively give no attention to that person. This is both good and bad… This plays into why I so deeply hate watching commercials.
- I can not take a compliment.
- And while we’re on the topic of what I can’t do… I can not NOT take it personally. I don’t care what the Four Agreements say. And I agree with that one, know it’s right, and want to practice it. But it just never seems right.
- I go out of my way to follow the path of the sidewalk, and I generally try to give my walking companion the same option. (Which is to say, I don’t cut corners, and I won’t walk in a way to cause you to, either.)
- I have a man-purse like collection of messenger bags and backpacks. And jackets.
- Clutter is what will make me go insane.
- I built my own computer, about 4 years ago. I’m still using the same computer. I have about 1.5TB of storage space on the computer.
- I am a terrible creator, but an extremely talented and gifted editor. From English papers to Science journal papers to resumes…
- I use, overuse, and probably often misuse the ellipsis. (#20 above proves at least 2 of these.) No in fact it proves them all.
- Even though most of my face has hair, I do maintain my brow (I use Tweezerman, you probably should too). (no I mean you probably should.)
- I have an unusual obsession with the Appalachian Trail. I intend to hike it’s full length one day (approximately 2200 miles) but don’t know when, and worse, don’t know if I’m capable.
- I did not know how to spell “definitely” until somewhere around Firefox 2. It was right around then, also, that I learned that I’m a pretty terrible speller.
- I’m not generally “socially comfortable”… By that I mean I almost never know how close friends I am with someone. It’s pretty frustrating.
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Lance Armstrong Goes off.
February 13th, 2009
Watch Lance Armstrong Goes Off | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
Via Lance Armstrong Doped via Cycle To
Wicked.
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