Door County Inspired Recommended Reads

Once you’ve completed this year’s Door County Reads book, stop by your local independent bookseller or nearest library and check out these fairly recent releases featuring local interest, local settings, or the creative genius of a local author.

Local Interest

• Jens Jensen: Writings Inspired by Nature, edited by William H. Tishler

Wander through the distinctive scenery of revolutionary landscape architect Jens Jensen in this anthology of Jensen’s most significant yet lesser-known articles. His vision sculpted – and preserved – the Midwest region from the West Park System in Chicago to the Sand Dunes in Indiana to The Clearing in Ellison Bay.

• A Guide to the Places We Protect, released by The Door County Land Trust

Discover the diverse, beautiful places protected by The Door County Land Trust in this guidebook, featuring photos, cultural and scientific tidbits about Door County, and information on how the Land Trust protects, manages and restores many of Door County’s most important ecological and scenic treasures.

Local Settings

• The Light Keeper’s Legacy by Kathleen Ernst

Follow museum curator Chloe Ellefson as she leaps at the opportunity to be a consultant for the historic lighthouse restoration project on Rock Island in this mystery, which really begins when Ellefson discovers a dead woman washed ashore.

• Laura Lamont’s Life in Pictures by Emma Straub

Meet famous actress Laura Lamont in this novel, who begins life in Northern Door as Elsa Emerson, the daughter of parents who own a summer theater, the Cherry County Playhouse.

• On the Road to Death’s Door by M.J. Williams

Visit Death’s Door and the backwoods of Door County in this mystery centered on retirees who find themselves at the center of a murder investigation involving a politician, a corporate executive, and a hippie priest when a body falls off the top of their RV.

Local Authors

• Space Kitty Blues by pat mAcdonald

Meet Matt Packard, who had his fifteen minutes of fame – or, more precisely, ten minutes and an encore of public humiliation. When his fluke hit becomes the soundtrack for a cat food commercial he moves to Spain and becomes a writer of smut.

Written by local musician and songwriter pat mAcdonald, this reality-based novel features some playful soul searching.

• The Infiltrator by James M. Sargent

Follow Lieutenant David O’Connor through three armed conflicts over the course of the century – World War II, The Korean War, and The Vietnam War. This piece of historical fiction presents a modern hero, adventure, and romance.