Written on Water
Characters and Mysteries from Maine's Back of Beyond
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Narrated by:
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Randy Spencer
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By:
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Randy Spencer
About this listen
Fishing guide and award-winning author Randy Spencer weaves a spell with quirky, colorful residents, fish-out-of-water tourists, native traditions, and a large helping of absolute wonder.
Written on Water is an extraordinary collection of tales about the part of Maine that truly is, as those who reside there call it, "back of the beyond". With its assemblage of quirky characters who live far off the beaten path and consider fishing to be a sacred art, the beautiful, watery, down-east Grand Lake Stream (pop. 132) has been hallowed ground since the 1800s. Written on Water takes us to a place where very old ways of life have persisted and, against all odds, the velocity of modern life has not yet invaded its shores and lakes, pines, canoes, and most importantly, its citizens. The unlikely survival of such a place in the 21st century is remarkable, as is the oral history that has survived with it.
Award-winning author and master Maine guide, Randy Spencer, shares this insightful collection of colorful oral histories, teeming with drama, mysteries, and laugh-out-loud moments about eccentric and lovable individuals.
In poignant and frequently hilarious prose, Spencer brings us "fish stories" - tales of the author's experience guiding "sports" on fishing excursions - as well as stories about many of the quirky and eccentric local residents.
©2021 Randy Spencer (P)2021 Rivercliff Books & MediaListeners also enjoyed...
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Great writing as usual
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Dances with Trout
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Brilliant, witty, perceptive essays about fly-fishing, the natural world, and life in general by the acknowledged master of fishing writers. With the wry humor and wit that have become his trademark, John Gierach writes about his travels in search of good fishing and even better fish stories. In this new collection of essays on fishing - and hunting - Gierach discusses fishing for trout in Alaska, for salmon in Scotland, and for almost anything in Texas.
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A gentle introduction to the passions of fly fishe
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No Shortage of Good Days
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In No Shortage of Good Days John Gierach takes listeners from the Smokies in Tennessee to his home waters in Colorado, from the Canadian Maritimes to Mexico - saltwater or fresh, it's all fishing and all irresistible. As always he writes perceptively about a wide range of subjects: the charm of familiar waters, the etiquette of working with new fishing guides, night fishing when the trout and the mosquitoes are both biting, and fishing snobbery, a pitfall he seems to have largely avoided.
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I fish, but rarely fly fish.. love Gierach’s work
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Critic reviews
"These dispatches from a remote corner of Maine are a delight to read. Randy Spencer's characters-fishing guides, junk dealers, small-town sheriffs, pot growers, boat builders and trappers, to name just a few-are as pungent as spruce sap. But Written on Water is more than a gallery of memorable Mainers-it's a celebration of a passing way of life." (Lou Ureneck, author, professor and winner of National Outdoor Book Award and Yankee Quill Award)
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Story
In All Fishermen Are Liars, Gierach travels around North America seeking out quintessential fishing experiences, whether it's at a busy stream or a secluded lake hidden amid snow-capped mountains. He talks about the art of fly-tying and the quest for the perfect steelhead fly ("The Nuclear Option"), about fishing in the Presidential Pools previously fished by the elder George Bush, and the importance of traveling with like-minded companions when caught in a soaking rain.
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One Of My Favorite Authors!!!
- By Travis on 03-31-18
By: John Gierach
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Deep Creek
- Finding Hope in the High Country
- By: Pam Houston
- Narrated by: Pam Houston
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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On her 120-acre homestead high in the Colorado Rockies, beloved writer Pam Houston learns what it means to care for a piece of land and the creatures on it. Elk calves and bluebirds mark the changing seasons, winter temperatures drop to 35 below, and lightning sparks a 110,000-acre wildfire, threatening her century-old barn and all its inhabitants. Through her travels from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska, she explores what ties her to the Earth, the ranch most of all.
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The most beautiful book I’ve ever read
- By KFratt on 04-26-19
By: Pam Houston
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Fool's Paradise
- By: John Gierach
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 5 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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If John Gierach is living in a fool's paradise, then it's a paradise that his regular listeners will recognize and new fans will delight in discovering. Laced with the inimitable blend of wit and wisdom that have made him fly-fishing's foremost scribe, Fool's Paradise chronicles the fishing life in all its glory (catching your biggest fish ever) and squalor (being stranded in a tent during a soaking rainstorm). In Gierach's world, both experiences are valuable, and perhaps inevitable.
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Great book
- By Bobby Morris on 01-15-19
By: John Gierach
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Astream
- American Writers on Fly Fishing
- By: Robert DeMott - editor
- Narrated by: Brian Morris
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Jim Harrison, Pam Houston, Ted Leeson, Nick Lyons, Thomas McGuane, and more, share stories of fly fishing and life on the river. This marvelous collection features stories from some of America’s finest and most respected writers about one of the world’s most solitary and satisfying sports: fly fishing. For the first time, the stories of thirty-one acclaimed writers including Kim Barnes, Walter Bennett, Russell Chatham, Guy de la Valdne, Robert DeMott, Chris Dombrowski, Ron Ellis, Jim Fergus, Kate Fox, Charles Gaines, Bruce Guernsey, Jim Harrison, Pam Houston, Michael Keaton, Greg Keeler, Sydney Lea, Ted Leeson, Nick Lyons, Craig Mathews, Thomas McGuane, Joseph Monninger, Howard Frank Mosher, Jake Mosher, Craig Nova, Margot Page, Datus Proper, Le Anne Schreiber, Paul Schullery, W. D. Wetherell, and Robert Wrigley come together in one collection. Fly fishers and non-fly fishers alike will recognize in these poignant tales the universal aspects of the appreciation of nature, the necessity of conservation, and the joy and knowledge that come from time spent on fresh and salt water. This is a delightful, handsome volume that captures the allure and spirit of fly fishing and those that love it.
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Flowery nonsense
- By 964a5 on 05-10-13
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The Longest Road
- Overland in Search of America, from Key West to the Arctic Ocean
- By: Philip Caputo
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Philip Caputo, who had just turned 70, his wife, and their two English setters took off in a truck hauling an Airstream camper from Key West, Florida, en route via back roads and state routes to Deadhorse, Alaska. The journey took four months and covered 17,000 miles, during which Caputo interviewed more than 80 Americans from all walks of life to get a picture of what their lives and the life of the nation are really about in the 21st century.
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Very Disappointing
- By Amazon Customer on 03-25-18
By: Philip Caputo
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In the Valleys of the Noble Beyond
- In Search of the Sasquatch
- By: John Zada
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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On the central and north coast of British Columbia, the Great Bear Rainforest is the largest intact temperate rainforest in the world, containing more organic matter than any other terrestrial ecosystem on the planet. The area plays host to a wide range of species, from thousand-year-old western cedars to humpback whales to iconic white Spirit bears. According to local residents, another giant is said to live in these woods.
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Not a relatable book
- By RJK on 07-14-19
By: John Zada
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Reservation Restless
- By: Jim Kristofic
- Narrated by: Jim Kristofic
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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In the powerful and haunting lands of the Southwest, rainbows grow unexpectedly from the sky, mountain lions roam the desert, and summer storms roll over the Colorado River. As a park ranger, Kristofic explores the Ganado valley, traces the paths of the Anasazi, and finds mythic experiences on sacred mountains that explain the pain and loss promised for every person who decides to love. After reconnecting with his Navajo sister and brother, Kristofic must confront his own nightmares of the Anglo society and the future it has created.
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It is a gift to see the world through Jim's eyes
- By Josh Boyle on 06-23-21
By: Jim Kristofic
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The Lighthouse Road
- A Novel
- By: Peter Geye
- Narrated by: Tara Ochs
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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The story moves back and forth in time from the arrival of Thea from her isolated village in arctic Norway in search of a new life in the near wilderness of a small town and logging camp on the shore of Lake Superior to the travails of her orphaned son, Odd, some twenty years later. When Thea’s aunt and uncle do not meet her boat as planned, she’s initially left abandoned with no money or prospects and without speaking the language.
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Narrator wrecks storyline
- By customer on 12-01-17
By: Peter Geye
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How I Got This Way
- By: Patrick McManus
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Grab your fishing net and hold onto your funny-bone; you're in for a hilarious romp through the woods with best-selling funnyman Patrick McManus. How I Got This Way is a rib-tickling collection of stories about the outdoors guaranteed to leave you chuckling. Join McManus and his pals on a venture into the Idaho wilderness that includes taking a hike with - ahem - the president of the United States.
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Mark Twain meets Bertie Wooster
- By Snoodely on 07-22-12
By: Patrick McManus
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A Hunter's Fireside Book
- Tales of Dogs, Ducks, Birds, & Guns
- By: Gene Hill
- Narrated by: Ray Childs
- Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The legendary American outdoor writer’s finest collection. For decades, Gene Hill’s articles and books have captured the spirit of the outdoors in a way that inspires and entertains millions of readers. A Hunter’s Fireside Book captures the essence of the life of a sportsman and explores the full spectrum of the hunter’s experience: sunrises in the duck blind, an unforgettable hunter’s moon, the camaraderie of men who know the pleasures of being wet and cold and a little bit lost.
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Beyond acquiring meat, this is why we go afield
- By Ray C on 02-28-20
By: Gene Hill
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As It Should Be
- Tales of Old Florida
- By: Lance Edwards
- Narrated by: Lance Edwards
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
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Comprised of vignettes from his own experiences of growing up in Central Florida, this native Floridian reveals "Old Florida" through its land, its people and their relationship to the times. This is not the Florida of the travel brochures or the concrete and glass glitz of the developers but rather the real Florida as known only by those who are proud to call themselves (or declare themselves) native Floridians. Laugh and cry with the exploits of these tough and proud people.
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Lots of boasting for a bit of History
- By Flo on 07-06-20
By: Lance Edwards
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Racing the Rain
- A Novel
- By: John L. Parker Jr.
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Quenton Cassidy's first foot races are with nature itself: the summer storms that sweep through his subtropical neighborhood. Shirtless, barefoot, and brown as a berry, Cassidy is a skinny, mouthy kid with aspirations to be a great athlete. As he explores his primal surroundings along the Loxahatchee River and the nearby Atlantic Ocean, he is befriended by Trapper Nelson, "the Tarzan of the Loxahatchee", a well-known eccentric who lives off the land.
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I just finished reading it again!
- By Jonathan on 01-11-16
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Travels with Charley in Search of America
- By: John Steinbeck
- Narrated by: Gary Sinise
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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In September 1960, John Steinbeck and his poodle, Charley, embarked on a journey across America, from small towns to growing cities to glorious wilderness oases. Travels with Charley is animated by Steinbeck’s attention to the specific details of the natural world and his sense of how the lives of people are intimately connected to the rhythms of nature—to weather, geography, the cycles of the seasons. His keen ear for the transactions among people is evident, too, as he records the interests and obsessions that preoccupy the Americans he encounters along the way.
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Gary Sinise is fantastic!
- By C. Wilson on 01-11-17
By: John Steinbeck
What listeners say about Written on Water
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Mark Pottschmidt
- 05-26-22
Inspired trip to Maine!!
I thoroughly enjoy reading books on fishing, hunting & hiking which lead me to Randy's first two books Where Cool Waters Flow and Wide and Deep. Both books took me to Grand Lake Stream, Maine without leaving the comforts of my easy chair. I so enjoyed his description of the places in and around GLS and his well developed characters that I organized a trip there to check it out, and i was not disappointed. After visiting GLS and meeting Randy I wanted more and Written on Water certainly delivers. Randy continues his unique ability to pull you into the wonders and mystery of this special place and the local characters he writes about. I especially enjoyed listening to Randy read his book on Audible and hope he has plans to issue his first two books on Audible as well some day!
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- Michealene Spencer
- 05-25-22
The Voice Behind the Stories
I am a high school English/Language Arts teacher. I often have my students read along to books while an audiobook plays for them. I do this so they are able to hear the tone the author wishes for them to hear. We listen to no less than 10 books a year and this has been by far, our favorite. The stories in Written on Water perfectly portray lives that my students not only understand, but connect to through their own heritage. My students, each day, grab the book and run to their seats. They are excited to listen to it, excited to read it, and their questions that follow each story are so rich and thoughtful.
The author's tone throughout the entire book is perfect and paints the pictures beautifully.
From Woodland High School's grade 9 ELA class, we thank you!
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