Reader's Fave

I recently interviewed Naselle resident David Rangila for the 47th installment of Reader's Fave, our casual feature highlighting community members and the books that have shaped them.

David opened the conversation with one of his longtime favorites, "The Good Earth," a Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by Pearl S. Buck. The book, he said, resonates because of its enduring themes of land, struggle, and family.

"It doesn't matter if you're talking about two thousand years ago or today," David said. "It's still about human choices." He described the novel's main character as frugal and deliberate, slowly building a life by acquiring and caring for land. "At the end, he tells his sons, 'Never sell the land,' but they just look at each other and smile," said David.

That moment, David noted, mirrors real life. "It's not that people are bad," he said. "They just haven't learned about life yet." He reflected on lessons passed down from his own family; values rooted in self-improvement, frugality, and long-term thinking. "My mom, dad, aunts, and uncles were amazing people," said David. "Maybe it was a Finnish tradition, but they were always learning and looking at the world critically."

While technology evolves, David believes human nature remains largely unchanged. "We still deal with greed, power, and selfishness; just like in the book," he said. David emphasized the importance of critical thinking for young people and a deeper connection to both family and the land. "The indigenous tribes of North America understood how to care for family and community," he said. "Maybe we're just not connected to the earth enough anymore."

David also drew parallels between historical struggles and modern ones. "The Romans had drinking problems, too," he said. "There's nothing new under the sun. We still need to ask ourselves, 'What am I here for?' In the end, truth is truth."

Frugality was another lesson David learned early. "My grandmothers always told us, 'If you don't need it, don't buy it,'" he said. "It's not about selling land and making money. What good are you really going to do with that money?"

In addition to "The Good Earth," David mentioned "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz, which he described as a guide for living with intention and integrity. "It's about being calm, loving, and grounded within yourself," he said. "We all grow up with beliefs handed down to us, knowing our parents weren't perfect, but still searching for the truth."

Reading, David said, has always been a central part of that search. "I was always reading," he recalled. "My family encouraged it and school reinforced it." He attended Rosburg School through sixth grade, which he described as "awesome," crediting teachers like Mr. Burkhalter for fostering a love of books. He later attended Naselle School, where reading remained a constant.

David was just 12 years old when he first read The Good Earth. "I was in a mail-order book club," he said. "My mom encouraged me to join, and that was the book of the month. When you're a reader, the world really is your oyster."