Favorites: Nine books to keep you cool

In the winter, when it's dark and cold, I like to read books about deserts and hot, spicy places. If you need a book too cool off this summer try some of these - my Alaska favorites.

These first three are adventure books with a green undertone. They explore Alaska from the Tongass Rainforest to ANWR to the Bering Sea.

1. Being Caribou - Karsten Heuer and his wife spend five months following the migration of the porcupine caribou herd. They discuss the beauty of the region, effects of drilling in the area, encounters with bears. A story of an incredible journey that will leave you wanting more (try finding the video they made of their trek and their other books/films: Y2Y - the formation of the Yellowstone to Yukon grizzly corridor and Finding Farley - a Cross-Canada canoe trip, their 2-year-old son tagged along).

2. A Long Trek Home: 4000 Miles by Boot, Raft and Ski - Erin McKittrick and her husband decide to hike and paddle from Seattle to the Aleutian chain. They tell the story of the forests of SE Alaska, British Columbia fish farms and the ice of the Lost Coast. An inspiring adventure that has Mr. X eying Alpacka rafts.

3. Shopping for Porcupine: A life in Arctic Alaska - Seth Kantner is a white man who was born and raised in a North Western Alaska grass igloo. His parents taught him the ways of the land and he reflects at how much things have changed in the last forty years. He vividly describes the challenges and rewards of the Old Way. Fantastic writing. Fantastic photography.