Perfect book for Dad
Ok so Dad’s Day was yesterday, but I’ve found a perfect book to share with your Dad. It’s Michael Wallis’ The Wild West 365. It’s a 6 1/2 by 9 1/2 inch book of everything Wild West. On one side of the Day Page is a vignette of fascinating western history and directly across is a photograph, or artist rendering of the event or person.
For example, on September 6th, is the tale of Wyatt Earp’s Vendetta Ride to get even for the murder of his brother, Morgan (September 5th tells that story). Across from the story is a photograph of Johnny Ringo, legendary badman who according to Josie Earp, ended his criminal career at the hands of Wyatt and Doc Holliday.
October 14th, the story of Boomer Sooner, and Captain David L. Payne, with a sketch of wagons readying for the run. April 29, the story of Ned Buntline, the pen name of Edward Zane Carroll Judson, who introduced “Buffalo Bill” to the world.
The images are drawn from Robert G. McCubbins’ extensive collection of Western memorabilia which includes photographs, ephemera, rare books, artifacts and even Billy the Kid’s knife!
At the very top of the Day page is an actual event occurring on that Day. Significant gore to keep Dad’s attention. March 22, 1881 Murderer “Big Nose” George Parrott is lynched by a mob in Rawlins, Wyoming Territory. The skin from his chest is mad into a medicine bag and a pair of shoes.
What a fun way to read history, one snippet at a time. After a full year you’ll have plenty of knowledge of the Wild West one day at a time, written with historical accuracy by Oklahoma author, Michael Wallis.
Site of the Week: Literary Kittie turns on BookTV
It was a hot Memorial Day weekend, so I was inside flipping channels and happened on BookTV. A friend of mine said he thought BookTV was an oxymoron. I used to watch it but got really tired of an abundance of war books and gloom & doom economy tales.
Literary Kittie and I settled down, with beverage in hand, to watch a fascinating discussion by Gwen Ifill and Michele Norris on the topic, “Does Race Still Matter?” And it looks like BookTv is going to replay it, (fortunately for you)
June 13th, 4:00 (ET)
Approx. 55 min.
2011 Annapolis Book Festival: Does Race Still Matter
Gwen Ifill has written The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama, and her friend Michele Norris, wrote The Grace of Silence: A Memoir. As a result of their many book tours and subsequent conversations with each other, they became aware Americans have a hard time talking about race. I know as a white person I’m always afraid of saying the wrong thing or appearing racist if I blunder into some unknown territory.
I think it was Michele Norris who said the important idea we need to take away from talking about race is: Race is not the same as Racism. We should be able to share our diversity and learn to have open conversations with each other even if it starts out uncomfortable. (Of course if you listen to the playback you’ll see she says this much better than I am).
Then we watched Janny Scott, “A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother.” http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Janny Stanley Ann Dunham sounds like a fascinating woman, who we know very little about except for some campaign soundbites. Ms Scott has brought great enthusiasm to the telling her story.
There was a BookExpo panel from the folks at Library Journal and some other librarians. I’m so glad the video is available because I missed a little bit at the first of it and I didn’t have a chance to write down titles. The “Books for Dudes” guy is hysterical. See also Earlyword.com
And for even more diversity of topic, Sam Brower was discussing his soon to be released (October 2011) book Prophet’s Prey. It’s about his investigation into the Fundamentalist Church of the Later Day Saints and Warren Jeffs.
I think that was what made my visit back to BookTV so engaging this time around. Lot’s of different books and topics. Literary Kittie and I will visit more often. (We’ve also discovered the BookTV schedule, duh)
Summer blahs, need to step it up
Ok, I’ve got the summer blahs, how can it be 97 degrees already. Don’t want to blog, have started about 20 books and not finished any. So I decided to go back to the satisfaction of a cozy read.
Breaking out of my doldrums I picked up a Simon Brett. One really good thing about Mr Brett, he publishes a lot. I like series authors, I like character driven mysteries, I like cozy reads and he’s good at what he does. Fethering Mysteries, number 11, The Shooting in the Shop was my book du jour this weekend.
The timeline is through the Christmas holidays, when our two sleuths Carole, a grumpy divorcee and her friend Jude, who is all things bohemian and New Age, look to solve a murder. Lots of characters, some plucked right from our tabloid headlines. There’s the socializing/womanizing ex-rock star, gone music business mogul, his “aristocratic” mom, who isn’t quite as aristocratic as she claims, Jude’s friend Lola Le Bonnier, stepmother to the soon to be deceased Polly Le Bonnier and owner of the Gallimaufry, pretensious gift store and site of the murder. We’ve got our aging “beach bum” who is much more than he appears and the dogwalking Mafia.
Splendid combinations for a murderous holiday. This is the first Fethering mystery for me, but I’ve always enjoyed Brett’s other series, with actor and sleuth, Charles Paris. Her’e a list of all the Brett books, because you can’t read just one.
Here’s a second opinion on the book by Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise.
And then I just found out he’s written a new series, Blotto and Twinks and we (the library) have this title. It looks like fun and that’s what summer reading is definitely all about.
Literary Kittie reveals Danger
Literary Kittie back from an extended Cat Nap, has just found a website to warn all her literary writing friends from bad guys out there in publishing land. It was created by the SFWA, a professional organization for authors of science fiction, fantasy and related genres.
It’s called
WRITER BEWARE ®
And it’s got the entire scoop on scams that lie in wait for the unsuspecting author. Throws light on fake contests and awards. Copyright issues every author should know. The ins and outs of electronic publishing. A host of ideas for anyone wanting to get published without seeing their money go out the door and get nothing in return.
There is also a Writer’s Beware Blog with the latest news. There’s some really interesting stuff there; about the publishing industry, plagarism, unscrupulous fee charging for events by unscrupulous publishers and the list goes on. I’m not a writer but I found lots of good information and book news. Literary Kittie is particularly happy with the April 1 entry and is rooting for the felines in Cats v. Google in the Brocculi Kitten lawsuit.
New on the Okie Bookshelf, Crockett, Maitland
Oklahoma author Michael Wallis has penned a new book on the life and times of Davy Crockett. Dispelling myths, finding the truth and examing the remarkable life of an American giant, amid the backdrop of frontier expansion.
(Booklist.) Wallis’ examination of the man behind the myth is both well written and engrossing.
Of course, Oklahomans know Wallis is a born storyteller and a good one. So it’s no surprise he is able to masterfully tell the true story behind the legendary figure, David Crockett, American frontiersman and icon.
And since we’re on the subject of Tulsa authors, James Patrick Hunt has a new Evan Maitland book, Get Maitland. So right under our nose is a prolific mystery writer with three series characters and plenty of good summer reading.
George Hastings is a St. Louis (Missouri) Homicide Detective.
Evan Maitland is a former Chicago cop who owns an antique business.
Daniel Bridger is a thief who works high dollar scores.*Crime Novelists
To my Mom…
Thanks Mom for buying every Golden Book I wanted at the grocery store, starting with Poky Little Puppy. 
Thanks Mom for letting me read gruesome fairy tales, and not worrying if they would warp me.
Thanks Mom for my first trip with Grandma to the downtown Carnegie library to get Mr Popper’s Penguins.
Thanks Mom for not hollering about my room when I needed to finish the last chapter, or read Gone with the Wind one summer.
Thanks Mom for a million trips to the library, for books and book reports and term papers.
Thanks Mom for not judging what I read but letting me find my own path. 
Thanks Mom for reading Every single day so I thought that was what everyone did.
And Thanks Mom for sharing reading with me, because everytime I reach for a book to enjoy or teach,
I think of you—-
Oklahoma Literary Landmark in Tahlequah to honor Wilson Rawls
Bill and I have been so busy with the Royal Wedding we haven’t had time to post.
So I want to get this in before the weekend so you can celebrate with the Friends of Libraries in Oklahoma at the Oklahoma Literary Landmark presentation honoring Wilson Rawls. 
The dedication will occur during The Red Fern Festival April 29 and 30 in Tahlequah. The festival offers a good time for the whole family and features hound dog trials, food and craft vendors, music, and special activities for children.
The Friends of Libraries in Oklahoma (FOLIO) will honor Wilson Rawls’ hometown, Tahlequah, as the 10th Oklahoma Literary Landmark. Rawls wrote two very popular children’s books, Where the Red Fern Grows and Summer of the Monkeys. The dedication, is free and open to the public, and will take place in the Carnegie Room at the Tahlequah Public Library, 120 S. College Ave. Join Master of Ceremonies, Rob McClendon, on Saturday, April 30, at 1:30 p.m. as Oklahomans celebrate the life and writing of Wilson Rawls.
Romance professor gives lesson on sex
Think you know who writes Romance Novels, think again. Eloisa James, bestselling historical romance writer, is actually Mary Bly, Shakespearean professor at Fordham University. She trails a long list of degrees by such prestigious institutions as Harvard, Oxford and Yale. She has recently given an interesting interview on writing about sex in the context of a historical romance.
Here’s the gist of the interview:
What I’m saying is that although eroticism is culturally, geographically and historically specific, we writers of historical romance sexualize history without regard for the specific epoch in which we set a novel.
No matter how historically accurate the details and language in our novels might be (and mine, in case you’re wondering, are pretty accurate), we write sex from the point of view of our own contemporary attitudes and mores.
So whether or not the sex is historically accurate, all I know is Eloisa James is vastly popular. And for all the romance snobs out there, it’s also amusing to note that my next romantic read is penned by a Ph.D.
One cat to another
Literary Kittie has been searching for just the right website and lo, and behold, here’s one with a name that is very suitable. GALLEYCAT This site is the Word on the book publishing industry. It must be because I just read that somewhere. When I stopped by for a peek today, it had Jennifer Egan’s Pulitzer Prize win in fiction.
It has a story about Jon Krakauer outing Greg Mortenson and his books Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools. Here’s some excerpts from the Byliner website, you can download for free for a couple of days. Make up your own mind about Mortenson.
60 Minutes reports.
Very timely for my colleagues who just saw him speak at Texas Library Association. It makes you wonder why we read memoirs. Maybe we should just think of them as fiction.
GalleyCat has a New book section, which takes up life in Facebook.
They also have Galley Cat Reviews (my favorite part).
The site has lots and lots of book publishing news, which publishing house bought what new book from which “hot” new or successful author. News about booksellers, some depressing like the recent closings of Borders.
And for all the want-to-be writers out there, a blog of Writer Resources, with relevant information, not some stagnant bibliography.
So Literary Kittie says get on over to GalleyCat, support your feline bloggers.
Oklahoma Book Awards !!!!
I can’t believe I beat Young Bill to the post about the Oklahoma Book Awards.
This year the Oklahoma Book Awards sponsored by the Oklahoma Center for the Book, and the Friends of the Center, was held at the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame and Jim Thorpe Museum. This was a great venue to celebrate Oklahoma’s thriving literary community and give awards to outstanding works in five categories. Master of Ceremonies, Jari Askins welcomed eager finalists, readers, Friends and family. Good company, good food and good conversation was the agenda for Saturday evening.
So let’s get on with it…. And The winners are:
Poetry: Benjamin Myers for Elegy for Trains. Published by Village Books Press, Cheyenne, OK. “Myers poetry is intimately 
connected to the landscape of Oklahoma, while honoring the spiritual that connects all things.”
Design /Illustration: Carol Haralson for Building One Fire. Published by the Cherokee Nation, Tahlequah, OK. “Haralson taps this book’s inspiration–the Four Directions concept of the Keetoowahs of the Cherokees–to graphically present 200 artworks, which speak to what it means to be Cherokee.”
In Children/Young Adult the judges decided to award in both categories:
Young Adult: M. J. Alexander for Portrait of a Generation–The Children of Oklahoma: Sons and Daughters of the Red Earth. Southwestern Publishing , Oklahoma City, OK. “From Boise City to Broken Bow, Alexander chronicles the faces and words of more than 230 young Oklahomans in this ‘ode to the land and its people, the sons and daughters of the red earth.’ ”
Children: Tammi Sauer for Mostly Monsterly. Simon & Schuster, New York, NY. “Bernadette is mostly 
monsterly, but she’s also a sweetie. She likes to pick flowers, pet kittens, and bake goodies. This is a big, big problem because monsters just don’t do those kinds of things, and her monster friends are good at reminding her of this. Our little Bernadette must find a way to be true to herself and still be part of her monster crew!”
Non-Fiction winner is: S. C. Gwynne for Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History. Published by Scribner, New York, NY. 
“Gwynne’s New York Times best seller spans two great stories of the continent: the rise and fall of the Comanches, the powerful Indain tribe that delayed America’s expansion west; and the epic saga of pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed-blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanches. ”
And the winner in Fiction: David Gerard for God’s Acres. Pen Ultimate Press, St. Louis, MO. ” Gerard draws on his real-life experiences to tell this story of a family whose dreams of rural living outside St. Joseph, Missouri, turn to grief. Told from the perspective of six-year old Bud, each chapter is prefaced by a psalm and the voice of an adult Bud, closing the circle on a complex tale of family relationships. ”
The evening ended with a well justified tribute to Rilla Askew, recipient of the 2011 Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award. She is truly an Oklahoma literary treasure.
