The County Library discussion

In honor of John Wayne's birthday, May 26, 1907, the May Reading Challenge is to read a Western. You can read a traditional western like Hondo by Louis L'Amour, or a new western like Doc by Mary Doria Russell, a literary western like All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, a western romance like Logan by Linda Lael Milleror even a weird western like Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente.

"Slap some bacon on a biscuit and let's go! We're burnin' daylight!" — Wil Anderson in "The Cowboys" (1972) "

I don't think I have ever read a Western. This will be a good challenge for me.

I don't care for reading Westerns. I loved Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, which is a Pulitzer Fiction winner. I read Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage but didn't care for it. I did like Smoky the Cow Horse by Will James, which is a Newbery winner. And there is the classic Brighty of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry. Who doesn't love Marguerite Henry. Caution, though, not all of her books would be classed as Westerns.

I've chosen my book: Riding the Pony Express by Deborah Kent. It's a children's book but sounds really interesting.

When her father dies suddenly, 15-year-old Lexie McDonald is left an orphan in the Wyoming territory. Her brother, Callum, is on the run, accused of a crime he didn"t commit, and plans are in place to send Lexie to live with an aunt in New York City. Rather than be separated from her beloved horse Cougar, Lexie disguises herself as a boy and sets out along the dangerous Pony Express trail to find Callum and clear his name.

I went to library school with a Pony Express rider. No, no, no, I'm not THAT old. There is an organization of horsefolk who re-enact the Pony Express rides and she was a rider with that group. But I got ya for a second, didn't I?!

I heard that Westerns are the least popular genre. Maybe I'll look at a steampunk western? Though I need to stop looking for more books.

Debbie,
Sounds like a good book.

Audrey,
Here are some more weird Western suggestions:
The Gunslinger
Ghostwalkers
The Six-Gun Tarot
Red Country
Wake of Vultures
Thirteenth Child
Silver on the Road

And here's a link for a list from Novelist with 27 titles that are Steampunk Westerns
http://bit.ly/2pu0IKu

I do have a couple of these on my to-read list. Thanks.

I wrote a few westerns including WILD CARD and HIGH STAKES.
Marcia McClure's books are mostly westerns and some of Carla Kelly's.

Westerns! Now, THAT'S a challenging one for me. I've got Hattie Big Sky, Dance Hall of the Dead, and The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse on my radar for this challenge. Don't know how many I'll get to, in this busy month, but we'll see!

Jennie,

How cool that you've written some Westerns! I'll have to add them to my TBR pile.

Becky,
I've read Hattie Big Sky, I liked it.

Silver on the Road is wonderful. I'm reading the sequel, The Cold Eye.

After looking through hundreds of books, picking what I liked and learning I couldn't get any of them through Overdrive, I looked through Overdrive and found some that interest me. Much more productive that way, lol.

I am reading Epitaph. It's historical fiction classed as Western, set in Tombstone Az in the 1880s. I read up on some of the facts about the people and place so I know the novel is well researched.

The main characters are Wyatt Earp and his future second wife Josie, his brothers and their various wives and Doc Holliday (he was a dentist and had tuberculosis).

This subject interests me because a many-great aunt of mine took a homestead claim in Tombstone a decade or two after the OK Corral incident. Only the head of household could claim a homestead so she stayed single and did that. She ended up marrying her next door neighbor (his 320 acres next to her 320 acres). They sold the combined property and moved to Ca.

I assumed I didn't like the Western genre because I didn't enjoy the John Wayne movies I endured as a child. I found a good dozen books I'd like to read, so thank you Elizabeth.

I have finished Riding the Pony Express by Deborah Kent. Being a juvenile book, it was a quick and easy read. Even still, it was so fast paced and well written that I didn't want to put it down! If you haven't chosen your Western yet, I'd urge you to consider this book.

Teresa wrote: "I assumed I didn't like the Western genre because I didn't enjoy the John Wayne movies I endured as a child. I found a good dozen books I'd like to read, so thank you Elizabeth. "

Woohoo! I'm glad you found something that sparks your interest. And what an interesting family tie in. I hope you like the book you selected.

Debbie wrote: "I have finished Riding the Pony Express by Deborah Kent. Being a juvenile book, it was a quick and easy read. Even still, it was so fast paced and well written that I didn't want to put it down! ..."

What great recommendation. I'm glad you liked this book too. :D

Debbie wrote: "I have finished Riding the Pony Express by Deborah Kent. Being a juvenile book, it was a quick and easy read. Even still, it was so fast paced and well written that I didn't want to ..."

I think I just might do that. I've got a lot planned to read this month already (because I'm a sucker for book challenges), but this may fit in nicely.

I read A Gown of Spanish Lace but Janette Oke for the May reading challenge.

I read Six-Gun Snow White I gave it 2 stars.

I took Debbie's advice and read Riding the Pony Express. It was pretty good.

We're halfway through the month. Let me know what you've read!

I was thinking that Little House on the Prairie would probably work, too.

Little House on the Prairie is historical fiction, not western.

Audrey wrote: "I was thinking that Little House on the Prairie would probably work, too."

It's not really a western in the traditional sense, as it takes place in the midwest: Kansas, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. However, since, at the time, those states were considered The West, with the territories being defined as the "far west", it's an Elizabeth question.

Amy Timberlake's One Came Home ought to count! (Unfortunately, I read that a few years ago.)

Debbie, I like that, "an Elizabeth question." 😁

Sorry for the delay in responding you guys, I was at a Conference.

The Little House books are Historical Fiction, but they are about Westward expansion and living in the frontier. I'd count 'em.

I read Under a Painted Sky about two girls who pretend to be boys as they head west with 3 cowboys. It was pretty good. I'm also reading All the Pretty Horses but I don't think I will quite be done by the end of the month.

Well, if Little House books count....I just finished Farmer Boy tonight....but I want to challenge myself. Since I haven't been keeping up with these challengers, maybe I'll do them as a summer reading thing so I branch out. I've heard so many good things about L'Amour books from people I respect, so I'm going to start there!

Ashley wrote: "Well, if Little House books count....I just finished Farmer Boy tonight....but I want to challenge myself. Since I haven't been keeping up with these challengers, maybe I'll do them as a summer rea..."

If you have not read it, do read Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry. It's long but was a wonderful story. I never considered reading Westerns until I read it. I only read it because it was a Pulitzer Fiction winner. PIcking it up, I gritted my teeth, ready for a battle with boredom and got completely bowled over.

So long! Haha. Not sure I can take that on as my first!

Ashley wrote: "So long! Haha. Not sure I can take that on as my first!"

I'm not meaning for this challenge. But put it on your list for a nice winter read. Enough happens in it to keep pulling you along.

Make sure you let me know if you finished the challenge! One more day to go!

I read Hattie Big Sky, and Dance Hall of the Dead and liked both a lot. I also started The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, but wasn't sure it qualified as a Western, so I put it aside, but will finish it for leisure reading.

Becky wrote: "I read Hattie Big Sky, and Dance Hall of the Dead and liked both a lot. I also started The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse, but wasn't sure i..."

I don't know the book, but with Miracles in the title, that might qualify under the "make things better" aspect of the Summer Reading Challenge.

Becky, I have NO IDEA on The Last Report ... It sounds like Literary Fiction, but Westerns can be Literary Fiction. I guess it would be a read it and see type book. In our Genre Study, the notes about Literary Westerns say:

Literary westerns are often categorized under “Novels of the West” (as opposed to strict Westerns) and are usually in the General Fiction section. They share the same appeal characteristics as most literary novels. Their appeal characteristics include

Stylistically complex writing (spare, resonant or lyrical) which is an important quality of the book
Thematic Complexity
Character Driven, often with complex characters
Multilayered
Moral complexity
Slow paced
Full of symbolism drawing on the myths and legends of the West
Ambiguous Resolutions

Based on the description, I'd say it has a few of those characteristics.

Elizabeth wrote: "Becky, I have NO IDEA on The Last Report ... It sounds like Literary Fiction, but Westerns can be Literary Fiction. I guess it would be a read it and see type book. In our Genre Study, the notes ab..."
Thanks for looking into it for me! :)

Jenny is our prize drawing winner for May 2017’s reading challenge. She read Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee. Congratulations!

Hooray Jenny! Congrats!

Thank you!!