Did you find a book that was set in the Wild West of North America? Perhaps you found something that featured wide open skies, a flawed hero, and a clear resolution? Then *you* were reading a Western along with the rest of us! Wasn’t it rip-roarin’ fun? -We thought so too! There was a pretty good variety included in our discussion with the best part being how much everyone enjoyed the experience. Are you ready to hear what people had to say about the book they read? Well then saddle up partner, ‘cause here we go:

Megan: Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee is the story of two girls trying to outrun their troubles on the Oregon Trail. Samantha is a 16-year-old Chinese-American, who in the wake of a tragedy, is trying to reach California. She is befriended by Annamae, a slave girl planning her own big escape. Disguised as boys, the pair join a group of cowboys heading west in search of fortune. Lee’s stunning debut is a welcome addition to the historical fiction genre. This survival story is full of adventure and wild west action, but at it’s core is a moving story of trust and friendship. Plus, there are cowboys and horses and a little romance!

Chris: All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy is a coming-of-age classic. Set in 1949, sixteen-year-old John Grady Cole leaves his family ranch in west Texas with his buddy Lacey Rawlins and crosses the border into Mexico to experience a new way of living. He learns to survive, he strengthens a friendship, he falls in love. Eventually he makes his way back home to spend time with his family, but leaves a few days later to continue his adventure. I particularly liked the landscape McCarthy paints—the desert and the plains—and the feeling of solitude. It gives a person space to think. This first novel in McCarthy’s Border Trilogy compels me to read the rest.

Beth: In Louis L’Amour’s Trouble Shooter Pete Melford has died and left his ranch to his niece, Cindy Blair. When Cindy sends a scout out to determine the condition of the ranch, they are troubled at the downright disappearance of the ranch. Soon after Cindy’s scout determines something fishy is going on, Hopalong Cassidy rides into town, as he got a feeling that his help was needed. Hopalong Cassidy takes on the dangerous task of trying to figure out the mystery of the death of Melford and his missing ranch. This tale of Hopalong Cassidy was fast paced and action packed. Louis L’Amour inscribes the reader right into the heart of the outlaw laden wild west.

Dori : The Revenant: a Novel of Revenge by Michael Punke, is the story of Hugh Glass, an honorable, smart and experienced frontiersman who accompanies the Rocky Mountain Fur Company on a trapping and trading mission out of St. Louis in 1823. Mauled by a grizzly bear and feared close to death, the Captain of the Company appoints two men to stay with him until he dies so he can be buried. When Indians threaten their camp, however, they abandon Glass, taking his weapons and supplies. Glass crawls back to St. Louis, recuperates, and vows revenge. A tale of the West, of survival and of moral uncertainty, this novel is riveting. Soon to be a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio!

Steve: Appaloosa, by Robert B. Parker, is the story of Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, lawmen in the Old West who move from town to town taking on trouble. They are called into Appaloosa to deal with rancher Randall Bragg and his crew of criminals that are running the town. Bragg is sentenced to hang for the murder of the previous Marshal, but while being transported escapes with the help of two hired gunmen. Cole and Hitch are on his trail and in for all sorts of action. The characters and solid story will appeal to western and non-western fans alike.

Maureen: In The Waiting Gun: A Western Story, written in 1957 by Wayne D. Overholser, we follow the suspenseful story of Bill Varney, a young man who feels spurned by his father, his girlfriend and his entire situation in life. Full of resentment, Bill is working out a way to escape his work as a lowly farmhand on the family ranch, Pitchfork, while his favored sister lives in the main house taking care of their father. When a gunfighter comes to town and challenges his aging and arthritic father to a duel and a farmhand uprising threatens Pitchfork’s future, Billy rises to the occasion, despite a hidden, sinister plot to get him out of the way. The story, though a tad predictable, had enough interesting characters and plot to keep me interested and was relatively believable. Overholser, who died in 1996 at the age of 90, won two Spur Awards (Western Writers of America) over the span of his career. In fact, he was the winner of the first Spur Award ever given, in 1953, for his novel Lawman, written under the pseudonym Lee Leighton.

Emma: Originally published as a serial in the “Saturday Evening Post”, True Grit by Charles Portis is told by elderly Mattie Ross. In the 1870’s, 14-year-old Mattie hires Federal Marshall Rooster Cogburn to help hunt down Tom Chaney, her father’s killer. Texas Ranger LeBouef joins in the hunt since he has been searching for Chaney for several months. Quirky characters bring the Old West to life.

Lauren: Doc by Mary Doria Russell traces the early life of John “Doc” Holliday and his years spent out west in Texas and Kansas. Doc left his native Georgia hoping the west’s arid climate would aid him in battling tuberculosis. Most of the book’s action takes place in the late 1870s in the bustling cattle town of Dodge City, Kansas and follows Doc, Wyatt Earp, and their friends and fellow townspeople years before the infamous shootout at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. The story has all the elements of a classic Western tale: horses, cattle drivers, guns, gambling, and plenty of bourbon. For all of history and popular culture’s fascination with Wyatt Earp, it’s very enjoyable to read a book that mainly centers on Doc Holliday and paints him as a true gentleman—educated, cosmopolitan, loyal, and kind—but still perfectly at home in the “rough and tumble” Wild West.

Ann: In Appaloosa by Robert B. Parker, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch are hired by the town of Appaloosa to restore law and order. The town has been plagued by the no-good rancher Randall Bragg and his henchmen who have committed murder, rape and robbery and have recently killed the town’s sheriff and deputy. Virgil Cole has had success in other towns as marshal. He believes in posting the bylaws; if someone doesn’t obey he arrests them; if he doesn’t go along, Cole shoots him. Marshal Cole and his deputy Hitch set out to reform Appaloosa in this engaging western filled with snappy dialogue and lots of action.

Stacey: The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly may be written for a younger crowd but this book will appeal to anyone interested learning more about the daily life of families out West at the turn of the century. This is the second book to feature Callie, her rascally brothers and her beloved Granddaddy, all of whom have important roles to play in her adventures. Together we learn about big to small creatures inhabiting the central Texas lands, the wars that led to Statehood and those that almost divided the Nation, and a great secondary storyline about the hurricane that devastated Galveston in 1900. But the best part of the story? Rooting Callie on in her quest to be seen for her abilities, not her gender. Start with The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate for full enjoyment effect!

Next time we’re giving ourselves a little break from all those squiggly lines of print and we’re going to look at stories that are told primarily through pictures! That’s right folks, we’re going browsing in the Graphic Novels area -and I hope you’ll join us there!

— Stacey

Would it surprise anyone (or everyone?) if I told you that the group enjoyed our collective, fictional trip back in time to the Old West? I guess it surprised me! And within the group, we covered all the big elements: hero vs. villain, strong sense of the western location, a clear problem to be fixed, and flawed characters who rise to the occasion. Some of us went more traditional, and some of us went for a more modern-style western, and some went for equal parts western and other, but not one of these books will leave you looking for a hero…they’re on most every page!

Carol: Written in Blood by J. Lee Butts. U.S. Marshal Hayden Tilden is shocked to learn that his good friend and Deputy John Henry Slate has committed a triple murder. As Tilden and his brotherhood of Marshals set out to track John Henry down, Tilden recounts one of their most deadly adventures together, the capture of deadly Blackheart gang. Once (or if) readers get past the over the top use of stereotypical vernacular in this western, it is a enjoyable quick read. But with violent descriptions, this may not be for everyone.

Emma: Stranger in Thunder Basin by John D. Nesbitt is a tale of revenge. When Ed was a little boy he witnessed the aftermath of the murder of his “Pa-Pa” as the killer took off on his horse. Ed would never forget the man’s face. Many years later he sees the killer and leaves his job as a blacksmith to become a ranch hand on the Thunder Basin ranch in order to get close to him. Did the murderer act alone or was he following orders? By following leads Ed meets the mother he never knew and kills three men.

Evelyn: Cowboy for Keeps by Debra Clopton. Rancher/attorney Wyatt Turner, severely injured in an airplane crash, has always accepted responsibility for things in his life. First, it was raising his younger brothers after the deaths of their parents, and now it is for his ranch, law practice, and much of the small Texas town of Mule Hollow. His brothers hire a physical therapist to help him back on his feet. But can Wyatt actually let go and learn to accept his blessings from a 24-year-old young woman with only one leg? This is a heart-warming story of love and acceptance.

Donna: Blue-eyed Devil by Robert B. Parker. Published after the author’s death in 2010, this is the fourth (and sadly, the last) western featuring gunslingers Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch. These characters were first introduced in Appaloosa where they cleaned up the town from the bad guys before moving on to other adventures in Resolution and Brimstone. Now, they have returned to the small town of Appaloosa only to find that its new police chief is corrupt and extorting protection money from the town’s residents. Written in the typical Parker style of short, terse chapters with sparse, witty dialogue, this western is a quick, entertaining read. Virgil and Everett are truly memorable characters.

Megan: Justice Riders by Chuck Norris is the story of Ezra Justice and his motley crew of elite warriors known as the Justice Riders. As the American Civil War comes to an end Justice and his men head to the wild west to deliver the body of one of their fallen to his widow. Their journey west is dangerous and they meet many seedy characters along the way. The characters are flat and stereotypical and some historical details are questionable. Violence and action keep the story moving more than the a strong plotline. Fans of westerns will find more satisfying tales of adventure elsewhere.

Dori: In True Grit by Charles Portis, bible quoting Mattie Ross narrates the story of when, at age 14, she leaves her home in Arkansas to hunt down her father’s killer Tom Chaney. She seeks out the toughest U.S. Marshal she can find, one-eyed Rooster Cogburn, and they head into Indian Territory alongside a Texas Ranger named LeBouef. Mattie’s no-nonsense style and piety add humor and cadence to this bloody tale of the Old West.

Rosemary: Conagher by Louis L’Amour is an enjoyable Western featuring Conagher, an honorable loner, and Evie Teale, a courageous widow with two children. The chaste love story of Conagher and Evie is woven throughout his cattle ranching and Evie’s lonely struggle to survive as a homesteader. L’Amour writes in the classic Western style. What really appealed to this reader was the basic goodness of the two main characters and how L’Amour treated the character of Evie with so much admiration and respect.

Janet: Will of Steel by Diana Palmer describes the stubborn demeanor of the two main characters, Theodore and Jillian. They have jointly inherited land in their hometown in Montana from their two uncles but only if they marry. It will take a threat from Jillian’s past for Theodore and Jillian to see each other in a totally different light.

Ann: Wake of Forgiveness by Bruce Machart begins in 1895 in south Texas, when the wife of Vaclav Skala dies in childbirth leaving him a widower with 4 young sons. From that time on, Skala becomes bitter and hard. The only affection he seems to have remaining is for his horses. The story jumps ahead to 1910 when the youngest son, Karel, is now a man, married, and with a third child on the way. A falling out with his three brothers keeps Karel from talking with any of them. Moving forward and backward in time we learn the family story of these stubborn Skala men, bound to the land, their horses, and each other.

Stacey: Never Love a Lawman by Jo Goodman is a western with strong romantic elements. Rachel Bailey was looking to escape a bad situation back home and Reidsville, CO was the obvious choice after inheriting the mining town’s railroad spur. Sheriff Wyatt Cooper isn’t just the local law, he’s a well-educated lawyer and he’s been entrusted with Rachel’s safety, both for her sake and the sake of the town. Of course Rachel isn’t looking to be kept safe, she wants to fight her own battles. Will these two find a way to work together and save the town?

Our next selection of books will be full of murder and mayhem! We’ll be discussing.. mystery stories! Mysteries feature a crime, clues, and a solution. Sometimes the challenge of finding who, what, and why, is accepted by an accidental sleuth and sometimes it’s a professional who’s looking into the matter. How clever!

— Stacey