The Forgotten Genre

Mysteries, Fantasy, Chick Lit, Romance, SF (not Sci-Fi, I was informed), Christian, Thriller....all these literary genres get all the glory, the awards, and the big names. But what about the poor Western? Whatever happened to the glory days of Zane Grey, Louis L'Amour and Ray Hogan? The steely-eyed cowboy, the lonesome drifter and the determined but beautiful farmer's widow all seemed to disappear. But wait! With the sound of hooves, a cloud of dust and a hearty High-Ho Silver, new popular interest has arrived in the nick of time to breathe life back into a moribund genre. Two of the most watched films of last year were Westerns: 3:10 to Yuma and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Maverick Arizona politician John McCain (who would probably have been a cowboy in an earlier time) is the Republican front runner. And we have a new book on the shelves: The Rebels: sons of Texas. A reprint of Elmer Kelton's 1990 edition that he published under a pseudonym, this book follows the adventures of the Lewis brothers in Mexican-controlled Texas just before the Battle of San Jacinto (which is actually how the book closes). Reacquaint yourself with all the comforting hallmarks of the Western genre and drift back into our frontier past.
(On a side note, thank you for your patience during this incredibly snowy weekend. I don't know what the deal is with all this snow - I didn't move to Alaska to deal with a bunch of cold weather, for pete's sake!)

Branching out

I don't ordinarily read YA (teen) novels, but I had been told that they can be just as interesting and well-written as adult novels. So I have dipped my toe in, and I've found the waters surprisingly pleasant. My first YA read was General Winston's Daughter by Sharon Shinn. A fantasy novel set in an alternate world, it actually reads like a Regency romance. Averie’s father is the general of a colonizing army, and she sails to the conquered land of Chiarrin to join him and her fiancé, a handsome young Colonel. Chafing at the social and political constraints imposed upon her by her conservative culture, Averie is intrigued by Lieutenant Ket Du’kai – a native of another conquered territory. Once she has reached her father’s new outpost, she begins to push her limits as she adopts local customs, befriends a Chiarrin merchant girl, and begins questioning the imperialistic policies of her homeland. Along the way, she realizes that perhaps true happiness lies with brooding Ket, rather than her stolid – and boring – Colonel. Local unrest and guerilla attacks bring issues of trust, loyalty and politics to a head, and readers may be surprised by the way the story ends (or not - I suspected the big plot twist pretty early on). There are obvious parallels with the situation in Iraq, but I won't dwell on them. This is a very light novel that reads quickly and doesn’t particularly challenge the reader, but it is romantically satisfying. Give it a try - you may find yourself drawn in to the world of YA literature.

Dead Man's Hand

To me, watching someone else play poker is like watching paint dry. But judging from the number of poker tournaments being broadcast on TV - even before the writers' strike - I am in the minority on this. Poker is a wildly popular, and noir is a wildly popular literary genre, so why not marry the two into one great book? Dead Man's Hand: crime fiction at the poker table is a short story collection edited by Otto Penzler (who also edited The Black Lizard Big Book of Pulps). Such famous mystery writers as Walter Mosley, John Lescroart, Jeffrey Deaver, and Michael Connelly join forces with such literary talents as Joyce Carol Oates, Alexander McCall Smith and Eric Van Lustbader. Each author has been given the same task: pen a gripping short crime story in which the cat and mouse game of poker plays a central role. Sounds easy? Well, these writers managed to come up with a huge array of plots, angles and hooks that will captivate the reader. Even if you don't know the difference between a deuce and a trey, you'll enjoy this book.

Library Beauty Queens

For those of you who were unable to catch the Wearable Art Show this weekend, let me assure you that you missed quite the spectacle. Kathy Graham - from the UAS library - outdid herself in designing 3 of the most fabulous gowns ever to come out of the Closed Reserve stacks! The title of the piece was "I Want to be a Librarian", and the three librarian beauty queens were:
Miss Directed (Judith McQuerry) - who wore a lovely pleated skirt made of discarded nautical charts
Mis Printed (Lisa Pearson) - who wore an overdress of hardback book covers with a lovely long train
Miss Shelved (Kathleen Wiechelman) - whose ruched dress and ruffle were made entirely of government document envelopes
I rarely get to sashay in front of a cheering crowd, so this was a total blast. Thank you, Kathy, for making my dreams of glamour and adoration possible....

Citizenship Toolkit

If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a United States citizen, we have a new kit of materials here at the public library that may be of use. The Civics and Citizenship Toolkit: a collection of educational resources for immigrants is a joint effort of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the U.S. Government Printing Office. These organizations compiled and printed the material and donated it to our library, and now we are making it available to you. The kit contains a DVD introduction to U.S. history and civics, a CD overview of the naturalization process, a set of flash cards for studying for the citizenship exam, a copy of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, two guides for new immigrants (one in Spanish, one in English), a book of quick civics lessons - including an audio CD - and a Citizen's Almanac, which compiles a variety of historical documents, biographies and events. I have a great deal of respect for anyone who is committed enough to the dream of being an American that they would sit down and learn all of this information to pass the citizenship test (and English is quite likely not their first language). Hopefully, this toolkit will make the process a little easier for you as you work towards becoming a full-fledged citizen of the United States of America. As always, we are here to help.

Going to Africa?

It's hard to find a continent more diverse - culturally and geographically - than Africa. I'm sure the French and Belgians will argue that they are very different from one another, but hey, c'mon. So if you are a traveler looking for unique adventure, stunning wildlife, exotic scenery and fascinating culture then you might well think of going to Africa. And if this is your first time, you might want to thumb through The Rough Guide to First-Time Africa: everything you need to know before you go. There are two things to keep in mind with this book, however: it is indeed a rough guide to a vast continent, and it probably doesn't tell you everything you need to know before you arrive on the tarmac in Addis Ababa. It is an excellent jump-off point for your research, though. It has a very brief overview of the diversity of Africa's lands and cultures, a short summary of each country that includes information about attractions, tourist season and travel, and larger chapters on how to plan your trip. These cover topics such as visas, costs, culture shock, how to stay healthy and how to stay out of trouble (not a minor issue). You can encounter Kalahari wildlife in Botswana, travel by boat across Lake Victoria, or see the Numidian mausoleums of Algeria. This being a print publication, however, the information might not be as current or as thorough as you need. For instance, it doesn't include any mention of the recent unrest in Kenya, and in Sudan it says that "things finally seem to be changing for the better". If you are serious about traveling (anywhere off the beaten path, not just Africa), you might want to also check out the State Department's website for Background Notes and Travel Advisories: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/ . Bon voyage!

New Mysteries

We have some new mysteries on our shelves from some rather unique mystery series. The authors present the reader with very unusual settings or characters, which adds an extra level of interest onto their already gripping plots.
Red Mandarin Dress by Qiu Xiaolong is the third Inspector Chen novel in our collection. A Chief Inspector of the Shanghai police department, Chen is doing double duty: tracking a serial killer and investigating a sensitive corruption case. A native of Shanghai himself, Qiu vividly recreates the teeming city and the intricacies of modern China.
A Prayer for the Damned by Peter Tremayne takes readers back to 7th century Ireland. Sister Fidelma and Brother Eadulf are about to get married, but the ceremony is disrupted by the murder of the nasty Abbot Ultan and it falls to Fidelma to discover the truth behind the killing. Tremayne is the pseudonym of Peter Ellis, a scholar of Celtic history, and his books are meticulously accurate and filled with interesting details.
The Mortal Groove by Ellen Hart is the latest Jane Lawless mystery. Lawless is a restaurateur in Minneapolis who solves mysteries on the side (I helped manage a restaurant, and I don't remember there being that much free time). Hart is "a top novelist in the cultishly popular gay mystery genre" (Entertainment Weekly), and she provides lots of fun plot twists as Lawless' father runs for Governor and discovers just how dirty politics can be.