As summer approaches and temperatures creep steadily upward, beat the heat by dipping into these cool Texas titles recently added to BARD.
From Panhandle longhorns and Lone Star swimmin’ holes to “The Last Picture Show,” these Texas titles are an oasis from the heat and humidity.
Jump in, the reading’s fine!
FAR GONE by Laura Griffin (DBC 18373)
Andrea Finch is a rising star in the Austin police department until a split-second decision derailed her career. On leave from her job, she gets an urgent call from her younger brother. Andrea’s search for answers takes her to a dusty Texas border town where nothing is quite what it seems. FBI agent, Jon North, is working undercover in west Texas investigating an unsolved murder that may be linked to a broader plot. Strong language and some descriptions of sex.
JAKE by J.J. Pickle (DBC 18761)
Jake Pickle tells his own story of a lifetime of public service, most notably his thirty-one years in the U.S. Congress representing Texas’ Tenth District. A born raconteur, he begins with his youth in Big Spring, Texas, then his lean (in every sense) student years at the University of Texas during the Depression, followed by U.S. Navy service in World War II. The heart of the book is former Representative Pickle’s stories of political life—in Washington, D.C. and on the campaign trail back home in Austin, Texas.
JEFF MILTON, A GOOD MAN WITH A GUN by J. Evetts Haley (DBC 26248)
Jeff Milton was a cowboy, Texas Ranger, adventurer, and Arizona Border Patrolman. For seventy years he was known as a western gunman of great ability who followed a rigid code of honor.
LAST CAVALIER: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JOHN A. LOMAX, 1867-1948 by Nolan Porterfield (DBC 26307)
John Avery Lomax considered himself a Texan even though was born in Mississippi. His belief in betterment through education led him to enroll at the newly established University of Texas in 1895. He is best known as a pioneering American folklorist although his colorful life included stints in academia and business. He is credited with collecting and preserving cowboy songs and African American folk songs that would otherwise have become a lost part of the rural culture of this nation.
For more information about Lomax, visit the Texas Center for the Book’s John A. Lomax Literary Landmark page: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/literarylandmark/Lomax.
ORILLA OSCURA by Jose Maria Merino (DBC 18765)
A Spanish professor who lives in the United States travels to Central America on sabbatical. During a visit to a museum, he discovers a portrait of a man who looks remarkably like his late father, a discovery that causes the professor to re-examine his youth and the events of his past. The “dark edge” of the novel’s title refers to the fine line between past and present, fantasy and reality, dreaming and waking.
Variant title: Title in English: DARK EDGE
REVOLUCION ES UN SUENO ETERNO by Andres Rivera (DBC 18766)
Winner of Argentina’s Premio Nacional de la Literatura in 1992, this novel re-imagines the life of a true military hero of Argentina’s Revolutionary War against Spain in 1810. In real life, Juan Jose Castelli died in poverty and disgrace but fate is kinder in fiction.
Variant Title: Title in English: Revolution is an eternal dream.
SAM HOUSTON WITH THE CHEROKEES by Jack Gregory (DBC 26254)
This tale covers Houston’s exile among the Cherokees after his resignation of the governorship of Tennessee. Includes many previously undiscovered pieces of information.
SHORT GRASS & LONGHORNS by Laura V. Hamner (DBC 26231)
Stories of the Panhandle area of Texas in the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s. Strong language.
STRANGE FRUIT by Lillian Eugenia Smith (DBC 26267)
Regional novel of the deep South. It is the story of the love of an educated black girl for a white man, and the tragedies of murder and lynching which are the fruit of that love. Strong language. Explicit descriptions of sex.
SWIMMING HOLES OF TEXAS by Julie Wernersbach (DBC 18378)
Nothing beats a natural swimming hole for cooling off on a scorching summer day in Texas. Cold, clear spring water, big old shade trees, and a quiet stretch of beach or lawn offer the perfect excuse to pack a cooler and head out with family and friends to the nearest natural oasis. Whether you’re looking for a quick getaway or an unforgettable summer vacation, let The Swimming Holes of Texas be your guide.
WHATEVER HAPPENED TO JACY FARROW? by Ceil Cleveland (DBC 18762)
Daughter of pioneer Texas ranchers, Ceil Cleveland grew up in Larry McMurtry’s hometown of Archer City, fictionalized in his novel “The Last Picture Show.” Among the locals, Cleveland has long been assumed to be the model for the novel’s beautiful, bitchy character Jacy Farrow who was portrayed in the film version by Cybill Shepherd. In this memoir, Cleveland recalls a girl’s life in small-town Texas during the same era described by McMurtry from a boy’s point of view.
