The Books I’m Reading Now

Instead of listing all the books I want to read—there are too many for that—I’ll tell you about the last two books I read and am reading right now.

The Golden Spruce: A True Story of Myth, Madness, and Greed by John Vaillant

Around 20 years ago, I moved to Alberta and started attending the Banff Mountain Film & Book Festival in Banff. I went for about 15 years, and there was one constant: movies about Haida Gwaii. That’s how it happened. Haida Gwaii entered my world and has stayed there ever since, solidly planted on my bucket list.

When COVID hit and I was spending time in Terrace, Haida Gwaii was close by but still off-limits to visitors. It’s still at the top of my list, and I’m planning to finally make it there this year.

This book tells the remarkable story of a golden spruce—a Sitka spruce tree with a rare genetic mutation that turned its needles golden instead of green. According to Wikipedia, “The golden spruce grew on the banks of the Yakoun River on the Haida Gwaii archipelago in British Columbia, Canada. It had a rare genetic mutation that caused its needles to be golden in colour (rather than the usual green). Kiidk’yaas was considered sacred by the Haida people. Kiidk’yaas was felled in January 1997 by Grant Hadwin as an act of protest against the logging industry.”

It’s the kind of true story that pulls you in—part mystery, part tragedy, part meditation on what we destroy and why. Vaillant weaves together the personal, the political, and the sacred in a way that makes you think long after you finish.

The Book of Murder by Matt Murphy

Murphy spent 17 years as a prosecutor in the Homicide unit in Orange County, California. This book recounts some of the most incredible—and terrible—cases he prosecuted during those years. It’s non-fiction, but the way Murphy tells these stories reads like a fast-paced thriller. I haven’t been able to put it down.

There’s something about reading a prosecutor’s firsthand account of real crimes that hits differently than fiction. You’re not imagining what happened—you’re learning what actually happened, through the eyes of someone who lived it. It’s gripping, it’s dark, and it reminds you just how strange and tragic the real world can be.

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What are you reading right now? I’m always looking for recommendations.