Recommended Reads for Adults – November 2011
To continue our monthly series of book lists, the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library is highlighting books about women and the American West. These novels and nonfiction books range from pioneer days to modern times. These women come from a variety of backgrounds and lead very different lives. They all are part of the mosaic of the American West.
November 2011—Yee-Haw! Women of the West
Rodeo Queens and the American Dream by Joan Burbick.
A bittersweet journey into the lives of women who have worked the rodeo circuit from the 1930s to today, written by a Washington State University professor. 2002. Cassette Book CBA 7499. Digital Book DBW 7499. Also available as a downloadable book from WTBBL: http://www.wtbbl.org/login.aspx .
More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Washington Women by L. E. Bragg.
Brief biographies of sixteen extraordinary women from Washington's past. Includes Narcissa Prentiss Whitman, Kick-Is-Om-Lo (Princess Angeline), and Mayor Bertha Knight Landes. 1998. Braille Book BRW 1243. Cassette Book CBA 7988. Digital Book DBW 7988. Also available as a downloadable book from WTBBL: http://www.wtbbl.org/login.aspx .
Blood Memory [#1, Catherine McLeod Mystery] by Margaret Coel.
Denver reporter Catherine McLeod, the target of an unknown assailant, retreats to her wealthy ex-husband Lawrence Stern's ranch. While Catherine covers a Native tribe lawsuit to reclaim ancestral lands and learns of her own Part-Arapaho heritage, her life is again threatened. Some violence. 2008. Cassette Book RC 67820. Digital Book DB 67820. Large Print Book LP 24398. Also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.67820.
Atomic Farmgirl: The Betrayal of Chief Qualchan, the Appaloosa, and Me by Teri Hein.
The great-granddaughter of homesteaders to Eastern Washington State explores a childhood marked by horseback riding, casseroles, a stoic German Lutheran tradition, and the Cold War duck-and-cover drills of the 50s. Contrasts her memories of the golden wheat fields and rich topsoil of the Palouse Hills with the nuclear waste dispersals from the nearby Hanford Atomic Plant. 2000. Braille Book BRW 897. Cassette Book CBA 7413. Digital Book DBW 7413. Also available as a downloadable book from WTBBL: http://www.wtbbl.org/login.aspx
Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S. C. Gwynne.
Narrative of the Great Plains, its native tribes, and America's western expansion. Highlights the story of nine-year-old settler Cynthia Ann Parker's 1836 kidnapping by Comanches and, later, her son Quanah's rise to chiefdom. Violence. Bestseller. 2010. Digital Book DB 71705. Also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.71705
Colter's Wife by Joan Johnston.
Wyoming Territory, 1875. After her husband's death, Kinyan Holloway needs a man to help manage her ranch. Refusing a proposal from bully Ritter Gordon, she marries cowboy Benjamin Colter, widowed eight years earlier by Gordon's gang. Explicit descriptions of sex and some strong language. 1986. Cassette Book RC 59164. Large Print Book LP 20424. Digital Book DB 59164 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.59164.
Leaving Missouri by Ellen Recknor.
Missouri, late nineteenth century. The Jukeses are the lowest of the low--inbred and infamous--and Clutie Mae knows she is meant for something better than life on the family farm. After being forced to marry her cousin, she escapes to travel across the country and abroad, befriend royalty, and establish herself as the "Duchess" of Dollar Creek. Winner of a Spur Award. Violence, some descriptions of sex, and some strong language. 1997. Cassette Book RC 56825. Digital Book DB 56825 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.56825 .
The Reaper's Song [#4, Red River Of The North Series] by Lauraine Snelling.
Dakota Territory, 1880s. When her husband Haakan falls ill, Ingeborg Bjorklund tries her hand at working the fields. Meanwhile, the family takes in Zeb MacCallister, a newcomer with a secret about his past. Zeb falls for Katy Bjorklund, which tests the family's faith. For senior high and older readers. 1998. Braille Book BR 18177. Cassette Book RC 68812. Digital Book DB 68812. Large Print Book LP 19379. Also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.68812 .
Tell Me, Grandmother: Traditions, Stories, and Cultures of Arapaho People by Virginia Sutter.
Northern Arapaho elder and activist interweaves her own life story with that of her great-grandmother Goes In Lodge. In a series of imagined conversations, the women discuss tribal life and customs and changes undergone by their land and culture over two centuries. 2004. Cassette Book RC 64402. Digital Book DB 64402 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.64402.
Mrs. Dred Scott: A Life on Slavery's Frontier by Lea VanderVelde.
Law professor portrays Harriet Scott's life and role in the landmark slavery case that was rejected in the U.S. Supreme Court's 1857 decision. Describes Harriet's children, daily living, and servitude in Sioux territory and on military outposts. Speculates on possible reasons the Scotts first filed suit in St. Louis. 2009. Cassette Book RC 69274. Digital Book DB 69274. Also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.69274 .
To continue our monthly series of book lists, the Washington Talking Book & Braille Library is highlighting books about women and the American West. These novels and nonfiction books range from pioneer days to modern times. These women come from a variety of backgrounds and lead very different lives. They all are part of the mosaic of the American West.
Rodeo Queens and the American Dream by Joan Burbick.
A bittersweet journey into the lives of women who have worked the rodeo circuit from the 1930s to today, written by a Washington State University professor. 2002. Cassette Book CBA 7499. Digital Book DBW 7499. Also available as a downloadable book from WTBBL: http://www.wtbbl.org/login.aspx .
More Than Petticoats: Remarkable Washington Women by L. E. Bragg.
Brief biographies of sixteen extraordinary women from Washington's past. Includes Narcissa Prentiss Whitman, Kick-Is-Om-Lo (Princess Angeline), and Mayor Bertha Knight Landes. 1998. Braille Book BRW 1243. Cassette Book CBA 7988. Digital Book DBW 7988. Also available as a downloadable book from WTBBL: http://www.wtbbl.org/login.aspx .
Blood Memory [#1, Catherine McLeod Mystery] by Margaret Coel.
Denver reporter Catherine McLeod, the target of an unknown assailant, retreats to her wealthy ex-husband Lawrence Stern's ranch. While Catherine covers a Native tribe lawsuit to reclaim ancestral lands and learns of her own Part-Arapaho heritage, her life is again threatened. Some violence. 2008. Cassette Book RC 67820. Digital Book DB 67820. Large Print Book LP 24398. Also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.67820.
Atomic Farmgirl: The Betrayal of Chief Qualchan, the Appaloosa, and Me by Teri Hein.
The great-granddaughter of homesteaders to Eastern Washington State explores a childhood marked by horseback riding, casseroles, a stoic German Lutheran tradition, and the Cold War duck-and-cover drills of the 50s. Contrasts her memories of the golden wheat fields and rich topsoil of the Palouse Hills with the nuclear waste dispersals from the nearby Hanford Atomic Plant. 2000. Braille Book BRW 897. Cassette Book CBA 7413. Digital Book DBW 7413. Also available as a downloadable book from WTBBL: http://www.wtbbl.org/login.aspx.
Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S. C. Gwynne.
Narrative of the Great Plains, its native tribes, and America's western expansion. Highlights the story of nine-year-old settler Cynthia Ann Parker's 1836 kidnapping by Comanches and, later, her son Quanah's rise to chiefdom. Violence. Bestseller. 2010. Digital Book DB 71705. Also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.71705.
Colter's Wife by Joan Johnston.
Wyoming Territory, 1875. After her husband's death, Kinyan Holloway needs a man to help manage her ranch. Refusing a proposal from bully Ritter Gordon, she marries cowboy Benjamin Colter, widowed eight years earlier by Gordon's gang. Explicit descriptions of sex and some strong language. 1986. Cassette Book RC 59164. Large Print Book LP 20424. Digital Book DB 59164 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.59164.
Leaving Missouri by Ellen Recknor.
Missouri, late nineteenth century. The Jukeses are the lowest of the low--inbred and infamous--and Clutie Mae knows she is meant for something better than life on the family farm. After being forced to marry her cousin, she escapes to travel across the country and abroad, befriend royalty, and establish herself as the "Duchess" of Dollar Creek. Winner of a Spur Award. Violence, some descriptions of sex, and some strong language. 1997. Cassette Book RC 56825. Digital Book DB 56825 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.56825.
The Reaper's Song [#4, Red River Of The North Series] by Lauraine Snelling.
Dakota Territory, 1880s. When her husband Haakan falls ill, Ingeborg Bjorklund tries her hand at working the fields. Meanwhile, the family takes in Zeb MacCallister, a newcomer with a secret about his past. Zeb falls for Katy Bjorklund, which tests the family's faith. For senior high and older readers. 1998. Braille Book BR 18177. Cassette Book RC 68812. Digital Book DB 68812. Large Print Book LP 19379. Also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.68812.
Tell Me, Grandmother: Traditions, Stories, and Cultures of Arapaho People by Virginia Sutter.
Northern Arapaho elder and activist interweaves her own life story with that of her great-grandmother Goes In Lodge. In a series of imagined conversations, the women discuss tribal life and customs and changes undergone by their land and culture over two centuries. 2004. Cassette Book RC 64402. Digital Book DB 64402 is available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.64402.
Mrs. Dred Scott: A Life on Slavery's Frontier by Lea VanderVelde.
Law professor portrays Harriet Scott's life and role in the landmark slavery case that was rejected in the U.S. Supreme Court's 1857 decision. Describes Harriet's children, daily living, and servitude in Sioux territory and on military outposts. Speculates on possible reasons the Scotts first filed suit in St. Louis. 2009. Cassette Book RC 69274. Digital Book DB 69274. Also available as a downloadable book from BARD: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.nls/db.69274.