CABIN

November 4, 2024
Henry David Thoreau meets Home Improvement in Hutchison’s charming debut. Dissatisfied with his job as a copy editor in 2010s Seattle and wondering if he might be missing out on a more meaningful life, Hutchison plunked down $7,500 for a decrepit cabin in the Cascade Mountains. Though he’d never touched a power tool in his life, Hutchison and a group of friends set out to restore the building, the last house on a dirt road fittingly named Wit’s End Place. Through a sometimes bumpy series of home repairs—fixing the roof, building a gravel driveway, constructing stairs to the cabin’s loft (“To the average person, the stairs were at most a rustic amalgamation of standard lumber, suitable for a tree house or a chicken coop... they fit. They worked”)—Hutchison discovered a surprise knack for handiwork. Now a carpenter, he chalks up the career change to the six years he and his cohorts worked on the cabin; readers who are similarly curious about the capabilities of a scroll saw will be invigorated by Hutchison’s account. With endearing directness and an infectious can-do spirit, this makes for a sturdy ode to self-discovery. Agent: Farley Chase, Chase Literary.

November 1, 2024

Hutchison, who traded copywriting for carpentry, debuts with a book that charts this transition after he purchased a run-down, off-the-grid cabin in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state. Though he began with almost no carpentry skills and didn't fully understand what he was getting into, he tackled years-long renovations to create a home. With a 75K-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2024 Library Journal

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2024
In his midtwenties, with a job in Seattle he should have loved, Hutchinson couldn't shake the embarrassing feeling that everyone was getting ahead while he utterly lacked purpose. Desperate for even the appearance of one, he began casually mentioning homeownership. His price range and bona fide lack of credit drastically narrowed the possibilities, until Google presented a tiny cabin, and his mom provided a loan. Hutchinson became the irrationally proud owner of Wit's End, a cabin nestled at the base of Mt. Index. With its rampant rodents, spiders, mosquitoes, and "boot-sucking" mud, Wit's End was a place "where you wish your shoes had shoes." The cabin also boasted exposed insulation, mismatched paneling, and a gap under the door. Hutchison's cabin rehab project became his weekend job and his daydream at work. His friends were all in too, eager to help by bringing alcohol, tools, and their marginal carpentry skills. This memoir debut brims with situational humor, quirky characters, a natural disaster, lessons learned, and one guy's search for purpose.

COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.