2023 Pulitzer Prize Winners

The 2023 Pulitzer Prize winners have been announced! The Pulitzer Prize, established in 1917 by provisions in the will of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer, is a prestigious award with 21 categories honoring achievements in journalism, literature, and music. For the first time in its 105-year history, two books were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction! Check them out, along with the other literature winners, through the Talking Book Program:

Fiction
DEMON COPPERHEAD by Barbara Kingsolver
DB 110786, LB 14284

TRUST by Hernán Díaz
DB 107949

History
FREEDOM’S DOMINION: A SAGA OF WHITE RESISTANCE TO FEDERAL POWER by Jefferson Cowie
DB 112071 (IN PROCESS)

Biography
G-MAN: J. EDGAR HOOVER AND THE MAKING OF THE AMERICAN CENTURY by Beverly Gage
DB 111434

Memoir or Autobiography
STAY TRUE: A MEMOIR by Hua Hsu
DB 110669

General Nonfiction
HIS NAME IS GEORGE FLOYD: ONE MAN’S LIFE AND THE STRUGGLE FOR RACIAL JUSTICE by Robert Samuels
DBC 26540, LB 14083

Summer Reading Program and Read Across Texas Book Club Title Announced for June 2023!

Please join us on Thursday June 22 at 7:00 p.m. (Central) for our Book Club discussion of REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt (DB 107924; BR 24204). This book is both a selection for Read Across Texas as well as our Summer Reading Program Adult Book Club pick!

For more information concerning the Read Across Texas Initiative: https://www.tsl.texas.gov/readacrosstexas.

We host our Book Club discussions via Zoom. However, all you need to participate is a telephone!

If you have a land line, we will provide a telephone number for accessing the Book Club.

If you have a smart phone, we will email an easy “one click” number you can use to join the discussion.

We can also send an email Zoom invitation to those who prefer to use a computer.

Patrons who register for the discussion will receive this information a week before the Book Club meeting.

Please contact a Reader’s Advisory Librarian at 1-800-252-9605 or tbp.ral@tsl.texas.gov with any questions, or to RSVP.

REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES is available by mail as a digital cartridge, available to download via BARD, and available in braille.

We’re looking forward to having you join us on June 22!

REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt (DB 107924; BR 24204)

After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift cleaning at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors, until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Some strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2022.

Contemporary Western Mystery Series

Are you a fan of the Longmire TV show that aired on Netflix? Were you sad when it got cancelled? Here is a list of Modern Western Crime Series that you may enjoy in the TBP collection. We’ve listed the first book in the series to get you started.

Anna Pigeon Mystery Series
TRACK OF THE CAT by Nevada Barr (DB 65648, BR 21546, LB 10965)
Blanco County, Texas Series
BUCK FEVER by Ben Rehder (DBC 14681)
Charlie Moon Series
SHAMAN SINGS by James D. Doss (DB 41500)
Garrett Kohl Series
DOWN RANGE by Taylor Moore (DBC 26465)
Highway 59 Series
BLUEBIRD, BLUEBIRD by Attica Locke (DB 89420)
Jamaica Wild Series
WILD INDIGO by Sandi Ault (DR 04167)
JOANNA BRADY MYSTERY SERIES [BOOKS 1-3]: DESERT HEAT; TOMBSTONE COURAGE; SHOOT DON’T SHOOT by Judith Jance (DB 81543)
Joe Pickett Series
OPEN SEASON by C. J. Box (DB 53008, BR 21980, LB 04838)
Leaphorn and Chee Mystery Series
BLESSING WAY by Tony Hillerman (DB 49586, BR 01357)
Posadas County Mystery Series
SCAVENGERS by Steven Havill (DB 60574)
Sheriff Bo Tully Series
BLIGHT WAY by Patrick McManus (DB 66502)
Sheriff Dan Rhodes Series
TOO LATE TO DIE by Bill Crider (DB 26149)
Texana Jones Mystery Series
DEATH OF A HEALING WOMAN by Allana Martin (DB 47921)
Walt Longmire Series
COLD DISH by Craig Johnson (DB 69906, LB 07672)

Reimagining Pride and Prejudice

Do you love reading PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen (BR 01583, BR 11521, DB 50549, LB 00263, LB 05326)? Are you sad every time you finish re-reading it because it’s over? Others have felt the same way. Here below are nine re-imaginings of the classic regency era novel by modern authors in a variety of genres: from psychological suspense, to paranormal romance, to contemporary romance.

MR. DARCY’S DAUGHTERS by Elizabeth Aston (DB 81252)

The five daughters of Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy, from Pride and Prejudice (DB 50549), are left in London while their parents perform a diplomatic mission. Eldest Letty deals with the reappearance of her fiance, who was presumed dead; and Camilla discovers love for her cousin’s fiance. Commercial audiobook. 2003.

LONGBOURN by Jo Baker (BR 20385; DB 77776)

Regency England. In this re-imagined tale of the Bennet family, from Pride and Prejudice (DB 50549), the joys and crises of the servants take center stage. The world of orphaned housemaid Sarah changes when a new footman is hired. 2013.

SEDUCING MR. DARCY by Gwyn Cready (DB 71238)

Philippa, a.k.a. Flip, gets transported into Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice by a magical masseuse. Returning, Flip is horrified to learn that her dalliance with Mr. Darcy has changed the novel’s plot. She needs attractive Austen scholar Magnus to fix things. Strong language and explicit descriptions of sex. 2008.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES: THE CLASSIC REGENCY ROMANCE–NOW WITH ULTRAVIOLENT ZOMBIE MAYHEM! by Seth Grahame-Smith (DB 69090)

Elizabeth captures Mr. Darcy’s attention as she decapitates a throng of the undead during a country ball. Smitten with her warrior abilities, Mr. Darcy verbally spars with Elizabeth and fights his growing attraction and admiration for her as they attempt to eliminate the rotting corpses infesting England. Violence. Bestseller. 2009.

MR. DARCY, VAMPYRE by Amanda Grange (DB 70631)

Newlyweds Darcy and Elizabeth set off on their honeymoon, but Elizabeth doubts Darcy’s love for her when he fails to consummate the marriage. His nightly disappearances and other strange behaviors raise more questions in her mind. Commercial audiobook. 2009.

AYESHA AT LAST by Uzma Jalaluddin (DB 95458)

In this twenty-first-century Muslim retelling of “Pride and Prejudice,” Ayesha is lonely but does not want an arranged marriage. She meets Khalid, who is smart and handsome, but also conservative and judgmental. Ayesha is torn when Khalid becomes engaged to her flighty young cousin.

DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY by P. D. James (BR 19476; DB 74076, LB 07034)

Derbyshire, England; 1803. Fitzwilliam Darcy and his wife Elizabeth (nee Bennet), who have been married six years and have two sons, are relaxing on the night before their annual autumn ball. Elizabeth’s wayward sister Lydia arrives unexpectedly, declaring that her husband Wickham has been murdered on Darcy’s estate. Bestseller. 2011.

INDEPENDENCE OF MISS MARY BENNET by Colleen McCullough (DB 68680)

Colleen McCullough penned this sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Liberated from caretaking duties after her mother’s death, unmarried Bennet sister Mary decides to investigate England’s ills. While Mary finds unexpected danger and romance, Elizabeth, Darcy, and others face their own difficulties. Some descriptions of sex. 2008.

ELIGIBLE by Curtis Sittenfeld (DB 84222)

Contemporary retelling of Pride and Prejudice (DB 50549) that moves the action to Cincinnati. Sisters Liz and Jane return from New York to help with their ill father. Liz has been having an affair with married man John Wick, when she meets handsome neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy. Strong language and some descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller. 2016.

Podcasts on BARD and the NLS Music Section

Many of our patrons ask us if we have music in our collection. Although we don’t have albums by individual musicians or bands in our collection, all Texans eligible for our service also have access to the NLS Music collection.

The NLS music collection, authorized by Congress in 1962, includes braille and large-print musical scores, recorded instructional materials, and recorded materials about music and musicians. We even have some podcasts! All materials are circulated postage free, and some digital audio and ebraille materials are available for download over the Internet.

You can listen to the following podcasts either by downloading them via BARD or by contacting the NLS Music Section. For more information on the NLS Music Section: https://www.loc.gov/nls/braille-audio-reading-materials/music-materials/.

The Folkways collection hosted by Cathy Ennis DBM 04111-DBM 04134

The opening program in the series paints a broad canvas, presenting outstanding musical samples that reflect the strength and diversity of the Folkways collection. Included is a sampling of original and archival interviews with the many personalities featured throughout the series, including Pete Seeger, Mickey Hart, and more. This program also introduces the key themes explored over the 24 programs, such as the role of music in social activism.

Journey through braille music. Episodes 1-6 presented by Sandra Gayer DBM 04274

Six episodes of the podcast series “Journey through Braille Music” hosted by Sandra Gayer. Episode 1 : History and background of braille music – Episode 2 : Music for single line instruments – Episode 3 : Vocal music – Episode 4 : Keyboard music – Episode 5 : Advanced topics – Episode 6 : Series summary and available resources.

Sounds to grow on by Michael Asch DBM 04064-DBM 04088

Program host Michael Asch is the only child of Moses and Frances Asch and was a professor of Anthropology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton until retirement. However, as he says in this first program, “The show is not about me. It is about my father, and more specifically about the record company my father founded and ran for 38 years.” This episode features music from Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly, as well as a sampling of sounds of everyday life and music from around the world. Total of 25 programs.

Tapestry of the times presented by Aaron Henkin DBM 04014-DBM 04049

A sampler of music from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings: Lead Belly, Woody Guthrie, Mary Lou Williams, Elizabeth Cotten, blues from Warner Williams and Robert Jr. Lockwood, gospel music old and new, and international folk songs from Colombia, Cuba, Iran, and Puerto Rico. Total of 36 episodes.

Welcome to Nightvale by Joseph Fink DB 88270

A collection of episodes from the first season of the Welcome to Night Vale podcast. Based on Night Vale, a fictional town in the American Southwest where every conspiracy theory is true, and the strange but friendly people who live there. Collected by the authors of Welcome to Night Vale (DB 83488) and of the podcast itself. Also includes behind-the-scenes commentary. 2016.

Watched It on Netflix? Read the Book!

You’ve heard about the Netflix Series or maybe you’ve already watched it, but you want to see how the book differs from the show? Did you finish Season 4 of Stranger Things and need something to tide you over until Season 5 is released? Maybe you watched that documentary and want to see if there is more information to be had on the topic. Here are some books that either inspired or were based on Netflix shows.

DANCING ON THE EDGE OF THE ROOF by Sheila Williams DBC 15917

Based on the Netflix movie, Juanita, forty-two-year-old Juanita Lewis leaves her dead-end life with her grown, deadbeat children in the Columbus, Ohio projects. Buying a one-way bus ticket to Montana, she finds a fulfilling life as a down-home cook in the Paper Moon diner.

DIAGNOSIS: SOLVING THE MOST BAFFLING MEDICAL MYSTERIES by Lisa Sanders DB 96900

Collection of more than fifty hard-to-crack medical quandaries from the physician-author’s “Diagnosis” column in the New York Times Magazine and now a Netflix series. In each case, the winding path to diagnosis and treatment shows how making the right diagnosis requires expertise, painstaking procedure, and sometimes a little luck. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2019.

DUKE AND I: A BRIDGERTON NOVEL by Julia Quinn DB 60504, BR 21413

Simon Basset, the new duke of Hastings, and Daphne Bridgerton stage a courtship to keep society matchmakers at bay. But when the charade becomes all too real for Daphne, Simon must either marry her or risk ruining her reputation and breaking her heart. Some explicit descriptions of sex. Inspiration for the Netflix series, Bridgerton. 2000.

INDEFENSIBLE by Michael Griesbach DBC 08252

A legal insider’s examination of the Steven Avery murder case in Wisconsin and response to Making a Murderer, the Netflix series about the trial. Some strong language, violence, and explicit descriptions of sex. 2016.

MEATEATER GUIDE TO WILDERNESS SKILLS AND SURVIVAL by Steven Rinella DB 102863

Outdoors expert and host of the Netflix show MeatEater provides advice on surviving in the wilderness. Includes tried-and-true tips, techniques, and gear recommendations from Rinella and his trusted crew of expert hunters, anglers, emergency room doctors, climbers, paddlers, and wilderness guides. Strong language. 2020.

NADIYA BAKES by Nadiya Hussain DB 104614; BR 23906

Host of the beloved Netflix series Time to Eat and Nadiya Bakes and 2015 winner of The Great British Baking Show presents a collection of recipes for baked goods. Categories include cakes, one-pan bakes, no-bake bakes, tarts and pies, desserts, celebration bakes, cookies and bites, breads and buns, and savory bakes. 2020.

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK: MY YEAR IN A WOMEN’S PRISON by Piper Kerman DB 77538; LB 09162

Upper-middle-class author chronicles her conviction and incarceration in 2003 for drug smuggling and money laundering—crimes she committed ten years earlier after graduating from Smith College. Kerman relates her immersion into prison culture at a minimum-security facility in Connecticut. Basis for the Netflix original series. Strong language. Bestseller. 2010.

QUEEN’S GAMBIT by Walter S. Tevis DBC 17656, En español: DB 105896

Shy, plain Beth Harmon loses her mother at age eight in Lexington, KY and is sent to an orphanage. Beth is lonely and unhappy, despite the medications given to the children to keep them manageable. One day she discovers the janitor playing a strange game in the basement and they gradually become friends as he teaches her the game of chess. Beth becomes obsessed with the game and at age 16 is competing in national chess competitions. But while she rises in the ranks of the professional circuit, her personal and emotional life suffer. Basis for the 2020 Netflix series. 1983.

STRANGER THINGS: SUSPICIOUS MINDS by Gwenda Bond DB 94103

In this novel based on the Netflix show Stranger Things, it is the summer of 1969 and Indiana college student Terry Ives wants to make a difference in the world. She volunteers to be a test subject for a secret government project, only to uncover a conspiracy. Some strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2019. Prequel to DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN (DB 105858)

WHAT HAPPENED, MISS SIMONE?: A BIOGRAPHY by Alan Light DB 83699

Inspired by the critically acclaimed Netflix documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone, is an in-depth portrait from a music journalist of the singer and activist Nina Simone (1933-2003). Using archival footage, interviews, and Simone’s diaries, the author examines Simone’s youth in the Jim Crow South, her musical career and civil rights activism, and her reclusive later years in Liberia and Paris. Some strong language. Commercial audiobook 2016.

WHITE NOISE by Don DeLillo DB 23512

This black comedy zeroes in on the absurdities of life and the fear of death in contemporary America. Jack Gladney, professor at a small Midwestern college, created the discipline of “Hitler studies” despite the fact that he knows no German. He lives happily with his wife Babette and their assorted children from former marriages. Both share a pervasive dread of death that is justified when a cloud of lethal fumes threatens to engulf their quiet college town. Some strong language. National Book Award for Fiction. 1985.

YOU by Caroline Kepnes DB 80055

Clerk Joe Goldberg is immediately drawn to aspiring writer Beck when she enters his bookstore. He describes the increasingly dangerous steps he takes to get to know her, and to make her his own. Violence, strong language, and explicit descriptions of sex. 2014.

Staff Pick – WHITE NOISE by Don DeLillo, DB 23512


The recent adaptation of WHITE NOISE to the small screen via Netflix has brought renewed interested in this 1985 National Book Award-winning novel. Stylistically complex, Don DeLillo expertly lampoons modern American late 20th century life in this offbeat comedic masterpiece. Talking Book Collection DB 23512.

NLS Annotation This black comedy zeroes in on the absurdities of life and the fear of death in contemporary America. Jack Gladney, professor at a small Midwestern college, created the discipline of “Hitler studies” even though he knows no German. He lives happily with his wife, Babette, and their children from former marriages. Both share a pervasive dread of death that is justified when a cloud of lethal fumes threatens to engulf their quiet college town. Some strong language. National Book Award for Fiction.1985.

If you enjoy satire of American life and the human condition, you might also like Jonathan Franzen’s book FREEDOM (DB 71329).

TBP Collection Spotlight: Black Cowboys

For Black History Month, we have compiled a short list of some of the titles available in the Talking Book Program collection on the topic of African American cowboys.

Adult Nonfiction

BLACK COWBOYS OF TEXAS (DBC 00028)

This history of Black cowboys in Texas draws largely on interviews done for the Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration during the depths of the Great Depression. Because these interviews were with African Americans who had been working cowboys during the heyday of Texas ranching in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, their remembrances give us particularly personal views into past life on the range. Some violence and some strong language. 2005.

COMPTON COWBOYS: THE NEW GENERATION OF COWBOYS IN AMERICA’S URBAN HEARTLAND by Walter Thompson-Hernandez (DB 99817)

A journalist profiles a group of Black men and women in Compton, California, who are known as the Compton Cowboys and are part of a centuries-old tradition of Black cowboys. Also recounts the founding of the Compton Jr. Posse to connect youth with this legacy. Strong language and some violence. Commercial audiobook. 2020.

LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF NAT LOVE by Nat Love (DBC 14750)

This rare autobiography of Black life in the American West provides the reader with a view of the frontier that differs considerably from the romantic version provided by Hollywood and the Western. Nat Love began life in slavery, spent 20 years as a cowboy, and later worked for the railroad. In 1907, he looked back on his life, especially the years on the range, fondly and with an eye for the telling detail. 1988.

LIFE AND LEGEND OF GEORGE MCJUNKIN: BLACK COWBOY by Franklin Folsom (DBC 02951)

A biography of the cowboy and former slave, whose skill with horses was renowned and whose curiosity led him to discover important archaeological relics. 1973.

Adult Fiction

GABRIEL’S STORY by David Anthony Durham (DB 54372)

A fifteen-year-old African American comes of age on the 1870s frontier. When his widowed mother remarries and takes him from Baltimore to Kansas, Gabriel broods over lost opportunities and resents the hard farm life. He runs off with a band of cowboys, but the journey turns desperate and dangerous. Violence and strong language. 2001.

PARADISE SKY by Joe R Lansdale (DB 82034)

Willie, an African American cowboy, flees his farm after his father is murdered. After a mentor teaches him a variety of skills, he makes a new life as a buffalo soldier, calling himself Nat Love. When his woman is attacked, however, he faces a final, deadly showdown. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2015.

WAGONTONGUE by Elmer Kelton (DBC 11954, LB 04567)

As a slave, Isaac Jefford went to war with his owner, Major Lytton, and saved the man’s life. As a free man in post-Civil War West Texas, Isaac became one of the major’s top ranch hands. When the major hires Pete Runyan, a bitter ex-Confederate, Isaac has to deal with Runyan’s hostility. Gunmen attack Pete and Isaac as they try to deliver the cash profit from the sale of the herd to the Fort Worth bank before a foreclosure deadline. The two cowboys must decide whether to fight alone–or to survive together.1972.

Juvenile Nonfiction

HOLT AND THE COWBOYS by Jim McCafferty (DBC 16891)

Recounts the experiences of the African American soldier who, after serving in the Civil War as a Confederate cavalry scout, traveled to Texas and became a cowboy. For grades 2-4. 1993.

LET ‘ER BUCK!: GEORGE FLETCHER, THE PEOPLE’S CHAMPION by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson (DB 98386)

Explores the legacy of Black cowboy George Fletcher, who bonded with horses at an early age. When he unfairly lost the 1911 Pendleton Round-Up to a white man, the outraged audience declared Fletcher as People’s Champion and honor him to this day. For grades 3-6. 2019.

 

Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List 2023

Since 2009, the Texas Library Association has created a list that highlights outstanding fiction published during the year that merits special attention from adult readers. This list is the Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List. Here are the items from the 2023 list that are in the TBP collection.

For More Information: https://txla.org/tools-resources/reading-lists/lariat/current-list/

BLACK CAKE by Charmaine Wilkerson (DB 106558, BR 24489, LB 13604)
BOOK LOVERS by Emily Henry (DB 107926, BR 24476, LB 13928)
CARRIE SOTO IS BACK by Taylor Jenkins Reid (DB 109886)
CITY ON FIRE by Don Winslow (LB 14102)
HACIENDA by Isabel Canas (DB 107997)
HESTER by Laurie Lico Albanese (DB 110506)
HIGH HOUSE by Jessie Greengrass (DB 109138)
IONA IVERSON’S RULES FOR COMMUTING by Clare Pooley (DB 108652)
LAST SUMMER ON STATE STREET by Toya Wolfe (DB 109023)
LINCOLN HIGHWAY by Amor Towels (DB 105197, LB 13514)
MAID by Nita Prose (DB 106298, LB 13614)
MANY DAUGHTERS OF AFONG MOY by Jamie Ford (DB 109598)
MERCURY PICTURES PRESENTS by Anthony Marra (DB 109568, LB 14036)
MURDER OF MR. WICKHAM by Claudia Gray (DB 107945)
PARIS APARTMENT by Lucy Foley (DB 107433, LB 13618)
REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt (DB 107924, LB 24204)
SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Emily St. John Mandel (DB 107705, BR 24500, LB 13744)
THIS TIME TOMORROW by Emma Straub (DB 108110, BR 24331, LB 14019)
TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin (DB 109032, LB 14018)
TWO NIGHTS IN LISBON by Chris Pavone (DB 108663)
WEST WITH GIRAFFES by Lynda Rutledge (DB 102687, BR 24571)
WHAT MOVES THE DEAD by T. Kingfisher (DB 109294)

17 New Texas Titles Now on BARD!

Start 2023 by resolving to read more Texas titles on BARD!

This assortment of Texas titles features notorious outlaws, a free thinking preacher, and Texas League baseball. A dash of mystery, train robbing, and Beatlemania guarantees a rousing start to your New Reading Year.

Read Up!

ABOVE US ONLY SKY by Michele Young-Stone
DBC 26717

Prudence Eleanor Vilkas was born with heart-shaped wings on her back. Although they were removed, the adult Prudence searches for a greater connection to her past. When she reunited with her long-estranged Lithuanian grandfather, they set off on a journey to discover a lineage of miraculous bird-women who traversed continents and fought wars to unearth their extraordinary place in the world. Commercial audiobook. Some violence. 2015.

BURROWS: A RED RIVER MYSTERY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 25008

Lyndon B. Johnson is President, Beatlemania is in overdrive and gasoline costs 30 cents a gallon when Ned Parker retires as constable in Center Springs, Texas. But his plan to live a quiet life as a cotton farmer is torpedoed. A phone call leads Ned to a body in the Red River and into the urgent investigation headed by his nephew, the newly elected constable Cody Parker. Together they work to head off a multi-state killing spree that sets northeast Texas on fire. As the weeks pass, Ned’s grandchildren, ten-year-old Top and his tomboy cousin Pepper, struggle with personal issues resulting from their traumatic experiences at the Rock Hole only months before. They now find themselves in the middle of a nightmare for which no one can prepare. Cody and Deputy John Washington, the law south of the tracks, follow a lead from their small community to the long abandoned Cotton Exchange warehouse in Chisum. Stunned, they find the Exchange packed full of the town’s cast off garbage and riddled with booby-trapped passageways and dark burrows. Despite Ned’s warnings, Cody enters the building and finds himself relying on his recent military experiences to save both himself and Big John. Unfortunately, the trail doesn’t end there and the killing spree continues. Commercial audiobook. Strong language and some violence. 2012.

COLD ANGER: A STORY OF FAITH AND POWER POLITICS by Mary Beth Rogers
DBC 26859

This is the story of Ernesto Cortes, a community organizer determined to change the structure of Texas. It is also about a new kind of intervention in politics by working poor people who incorporate their religious values into a struggle for power and visibility. Cortes and his groups have transformed the politics of San Antonio, ninth largest city in the country, and are part of a new American grass-roots politics for the 1990s.

DARK PLACES: A RED RIVER MYSTERY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 26734

At the tail end of 1967, the Parker family once again finds it impossible to hide from a world spinning out of control. Fourteen-year-old Top still can’t fit in with their Center Springs, Texas, community or forget recent, vicious crimes. His near-twin cousin Pepper, desperate to escape her own demons, rashly joins the Flower Children flocking to California—just as two businessmen are kidnapped and murdered in the Red River bottoms on the same night a deadly hit and run kills a farmer. Constable Ned Parker wonders if these crimes are connected, but he goes after Pepper, leaving the investigation in the hands of Sheriff Cody Parker. Parker hires Deputy Anna Sloan, an investigator with an eye toward detail as everyone is eyeing her. Yet it is instinct that propels her after killers through a world nearly forgotten. What of Pepper? Out on Route 66, the Mother Road to California, a man named Crow isn’t what he seems. Lies, deceptions, and a band of outlaw motorcyclists proves to the Parkers that no matter where you turn, no matter what you do, the world is full of such darkness that even grandmothers are capable of unspeakable deeds. Commercial audiobook. Strong language and some violence. 2015.

HANDS UP!: THE HISTORY OF A CRIME by Alfred Rasmus Sorenson
DBC 26852

This was the first account written about notorious outlaw Sam Bass and his gang, published in 1878, just months after the infamous train robbery at Big Springs, Nebraska. The story begins with the robbery of $60,000 in freshly minted gold pieces, covers the pursuit of the six gang members, and ends with the shooting of half the gang. Violence and strong language.

HAWKE’S PREY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 26810

It’s a stunning attack, lightning quick and chilling in its execution. A merciless gang of terrorists seizes the Presidio County Courthouse in the midst of the worst blizzard West Texas has seen in a century. Loaded down with enough firepower to outfit an army, the attackers slaughter dozens, take all survivors hostage, and assume complete control. The nation—and the US government—are at their mercy. Or so they think. They don’t know that a seasoned Texas Ranger is also inside the courthouse. Sonny Hawke has hauled in some of America’s most wanted. Now he’s up against his most dangerous adversary yet. Sonny likes his chances. The enemy is his to take down—one by one. Until he’s face-to-face with the ruthless mastermind gunning for our very freedom. Commercial audiobook. Unrated. 2017.

JUSTICE AT REDWILLOW by John D. Nesbitt
DBC 18619

Jim Fontaine wants to get a new start in life by settling on his own piece of land near the town of Redwillow. He isn’t there very long, though, when a saloon girl named Emma turns up dead and a friend of his, Charley Drake, gets thrown in jail for the murder. Nora Winterborne, who is new in town, confides to Fontaine that she is Emma’s sister, but has to keep quiet. After the disappearance of another woman and a trespasser on his homestead, Fontaine must follow a trail of twisted stories, old crimes, and new murders to help bring about justice in Redwillow. Some violence and some strong language.

PREDATOR’S WALTZ by Jay Brandon
DBC 26848

Suspenseful story of Vietnamese gangs in Houston and the innocent people who get caught in their crossfire. Also the story of one man’s metamorphosis from laid-back product of the sixties to fearless and clever warrior; his confrontations with the gangsters will have readers cheering at the climax. Strong language and violence.

ROCK HOLE: A RED RIVER MYSTERY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 25007

It’s a whole other country out there. In 1964, when Ned Parker, farmer and part-time constable, is summoned to a cornfield one hot morning to examine the remains of a tortured bird dog, he discovers that there is a dark presence in their quiet community of Center Springs, Texas. Ned is usually confident handling moonshiners, drunks, and instances of domestic dispute. But when it comes to animal atrocities—which then turn to murder—the investigation spins beyond his abilities. Ned combines forces with John Washington, a well-known black deputy sheriff from nearby Paris, Texas, to track down a disturbed individual who has become a threat to their small community. As the case takes a dizzying series of twists and brings forth eccentric characters as well as several dead ends, Ned’s cranky friend, Judge O. C. Rains, is forced to contact the FBI. Then, sinister warnings that his family has been targeted by the killer lead Ned to the startling discovery that he knows the murderer very well. After the failed abduction of his precocious grandchildren, Top and Pepper, the old lawman becomes judge and jury to end what has become a murder spree in the Red River bottomlands. And it signals the end of an era in Center Springs. In bald-headed, pot-bellied Ned Parker, Wortham has created an authentic American hero reminiscent of the best heroes and antiheroes in a story that blends country humor with heart-pounding suspense and ends with a stunning climax that may well shock our civilized sensibilities. Commercial audiobook. Violence and strong language. 2011.

PARSON HENRY RENFRO: FREE THINKING ON THE TEXAS FRONTIER by William Clark Griggs
DBC 26849

The period after Texas’ Revolution was turbulent as Texans contended with religious issues, family life on the frontier, and the Civil War. Migrating to Texas in 1851, Renfro enrolled in fledgling Baylor University and became a Baptist preacher. Later, inspired by the writings of such men as Thomas Paine and Spinoza, Renfro embraced the Free Thought Movement and was disenfranchised by the Church. This biography tells the reader much about the era’s social mores.

RIGHT SIDE OF WRONG: A RED RIVER MYSTERY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 26732

In 1965 Constable Cody Parker’s frightening dreams of gathering storm clouds for the tight-knit Parker family from Center Springs, Texas, proved accurate. Cody is ambushed and nearly killed on a lonely country road during an unusually heavy snowfall. With that attack, the locals fear that a disturbed murderer the Skinner has returned to their community. While his nephew recovers, Constable Ned Parker struggles to connect a seemingly unrelated series of murders. As the summer of 1966 approaches, rock and roll evolves to reflect the increasing unrest in the country, and the people of northeast Texas wonder why their once peaceful community has suddenly become a dangerous place to live. Ned’s preteen grandchildren, Top and Pepper, are underfoot at every turn. The two lawmen, along with the Deputy John Washington, cross paths with many colorful citizens, including cranky old Judge O. C. Rains, the jittery farmer Isaac Reader, and the Wilson boys, Ty Cobb and Jimmy Foxx. And then there’s the arrival in their small community of a mysterious old man named Tom Bell. Now recovered, Cody decides to follow his main suspect across the Rio Grande and into Mexico. Ned understands that to save his nephew, he will have to cross more than a river-he will have to cross over to the right side of wrong. Humor, suspense, horror, precognition, and life in the tumultuous 1960s all play a part in the solving of this mystery. Commercial audiobook. Violence and strong language. 2013.

TEXAS BAD BOY by Jean Brashear
DBC 18644

Everyone thinks Lacey DeMille is the next thing to royalty, a society girl with beauty, brains and money–but bad boy Devlin Marlowe knows better. Twenty years after being exiled in disgrace for daring to want her, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks has sweet revenge in his grasp…for only he knows that her whole life is built on a lie. And revenge may be more costly than either of them can imagine. Commercial audiobook. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. 2011.

TEXAS LEAGUE, 1888-1987: A CENTURY OF BASEBALL by Bill O’Neal
DBC 26844

A must for any baseball fan who wants to know who played where and when. Thirty-eight cities in eight states have held franchises in the Texas League. The author visited these ballparks, studied newspaper accounts and statistics from every season, and interviewed players, fans, and journalists.

TRAIN ROBBING BUNCH by Rick Miller
DBC 26853

A factual history of the life of outlaw Eugene Bunch based on primary research, including court and family records. Although Bunch is often mentioned as a shadowy outlaw figure, this is the first account of his life, allowing the reader a view of 19th century America for those who lived in violence. Violence.

UNRAVELED A RED RIVER MYSTERY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 26735

The small, rural Northeast Texas community of Center Springs has seen its share of troubles during the 1960s, everything from kidnapping, murder, and bank robbery. By 1968, the residents think life has finally quieted down, but they find their peaceful way of life is quickly spinning out of control as a decades-long family feud between the Clays and Mayfields once again flares to life. Fourteen-year-old Top Parker who lives with his grandparents Constable Ned Parker and Miss Becky in a little farmhouse near the Red River finds himself caught up in another adult situation sparked by a mysterious fatal single car accident involving the white mayor of Chisum and his black female assistant. Questions and accusations arise about their relationship as the families wreak vengeance on each other. But what is the significance of a man calling himself the Wraith, who moves through region at will, invading homes and watching the Parkers? What is Maggie Clay s secret? That she’s half white and married to a black man with a long criminal past? And was Mayor Frank Clay, the only bright spot in a dark and cruel family, really what everything thinks he is? It’s a busy time for Sheriff Cody Parker, who finds himself a possible suspect in the murder of several residents. He takes the advice from his Deputy John Washington and removes himself from the investigation, giving free reign to both John and Deputy Anna Sloan as they try and unravel the answers by following different paths. Commercial audiobook. Strong language and some violence. 2016.

VENGEANCE IS MINE: A RED RIVER MYSTERY by Reavis Z. Wortham
DBC 26733

In October of 1967, the Summer of Love is history, rock and roll is dark and revolutionary, and people in the small east Texas community of Center Springs simply want to live their lives as quietly as possible. But a handsome darkness in the form of Las Vegas gangster Anthony Agrioli has left the business to hide out in their tiny backwater settlement with his blond bombshell girlfriend. Two years earlier, Agrioli met newlyweds Cody and Norma Faye Parker in a Vegas casino and heard their enthusiastic descriptions of the perfect place to settle down and raise a family. At least it was perfect, before their peaceful world found itself in the crosshairs of a coming confrontation. Back in Center Springs, thirteen-year-old Top Parker has what his grandmother, Miss Becky, calls a poisoned gift: his dreams, though random and disconnected, always seem to come true. This time Top dreams he’s a wagon hub with spokes converging from all directions. To him, the spokes symbolize that something is coming. He doesn’t know their quiet community will soon be a combat zone when the gangsters arrive. But they’re after something else, not Agrioli…yet. A sheriff crooked as a dog’s hind leg, an unsolved murder in the river bottoms, counterfeit money, and a bank robbery all wrapped in a country Shakespearean comedy once again bring together Constables Ned and Cody Parker, Deputy John Washington, Judge O. C. Rains, and the rest of Wortham’s real and sometimes wacky cast of characters. Commercial audiobook. Violence and strong language. 2014.

WALLS RISE UP by George Sessions Perry
DBC 24929

A hilarious novel combining dead-pan humor with shrewd observation as three Texas vagabonds Jimmy, Eddie and Mike, philosophical wayfarers, follow their destinies along the banks of the Brazos River.