Arctic Glass: Six Years of Adventure in Alaska and Beyond

There are lots of great sports and activities centered around snow.. but biking? I would have thought this possible under perfect conditions with special tires but that is not what Jill Homer writes about in these essays. I was reminded of an old exchange, only with a twist:
Question: “why climb a mountain… with a bike in the snow?”
Answer: ”because it’s there”
It’s also difficult, painful and dangerous. The “why” question fades as we read through the journey and begin to understand the drive and beauty. The writing style is easy and light…sort of friendly. Potentially life threatening situations are diffused as we know the author survives to write and continues biking! There are vivid descriptions of the scenery, show more people and the author’s mind set. Every chapter is headed with one great photograph. Although I don’t feel I could undertake a 100 mile trek through the snow at sub-zero temperatures in the dark, I am motivated to take a nice long bike ride or hike in the mountains!
I loved reading this book. Cold snowy landscapes draw me with a strong force and I love to find books that take me there. Arctic Glass took me to places I might never see (at least on a bike!) and I got to feel like Lucy in Narnia with the crunch of snow under my feet. show less

Arctic Glass is drawn from Jill Homer's blog about her adventures competing in (mainly) winter biking and running races. Jill is a person who thrives on challenging herself in extreme conditions as well as someone who needs to be outdoors in wide open spaces on a regular basis. Because the chapters consist of blog entries, the book as a whole felt somewhat disjointed. Towards the end it felt like I was reading about the same thing over and over again with the exception of a change of venue or date. Overall, this book is an interesting look in the world of racing under extreme conditions. A copy of this book was given to me through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway.

This is a collection of essays that Jill Homer wrote as a journalist in Homer, Alaska. Good stuff, but her essays are heavy on endurance and endurance sports. Although well written, I found it to drag a little.

this was quite a fascinating book. i have 4x4 through so many of these places and been to so many of the places mentioned, well except for alaska and nepal anyway. it was very interesting and she does a good job of really putting you there with her. i will have to look up the other writting she has done.

The book is comprised of blog entries and does not flow very well in book form. I tried to read the book and enjoy it but I found its repetitiveness frustrating and the writing style to be much too casual and unpolished. I love Alaska and adventure writing but this was a difficult read that could not hold my attention. The writing and chapters need to be tightened up significantly. I understand that this is a personal memoir but the stories are much too self-centered. The topics and style need to be varied a bit to eliminate the repetitiveness of "I, I, I..." and the same story of riding a bicycle in snow with only slight variations. I wanted to like the story but I was frustrated with its vast imperfections. Significant editing would show more greatly change the book's presentation and flow to make it much more engaging. Then and only then can readers care for the author and her trials and tribulations. show less