Fill summer reading with local books
With all that is going on in politics, it is certainly time for us to take a break and talk about things that matter — like good summer reading material.
The local, independent booksellers in our area have some really interesting books to fill the long, hot summer void.
The megastores, will, on occasion, also carry these local writers, but only on an as-needed, fill-in from customer requests. But that’s another bug-a-boo of mine that will wait for another day.
One of the most beautiful books on the architecture of the late E. Fay Jones, the world-premiere architect and architecture professor at the University of Arkansas, is out by the University of Arkansas Press.
“Shadow Patterns: Reflections on Fay Jones and his Architecture,” by Jeff Shannon, editor, is one of most important, if not the most important, book on architecture and the University of Arkansas in decades. This slim, 180page book, filled with breathtaking photos and designs by the late Jones, is indeed a treasure that any Arkansas library, be it public or private, should have in its collection.
Shannon, who has twice been named by Design-Intelligence as a Most Admired Educator, should be rolling out the wheelbarrow for the book awards this most recent editing assignment should net him, the UA Architecture Program and the UA Press. Anyone who lives in northwest Arkansas will learn much about the quiet, soft-spoken giant of modern organic architecture. Jones’ work is all around us.
Another often-mentioned name in these reading lists is Steve Yates, a former Fayetteville resident (and UA Press staffer) who now labors away in the Magnolia State for the University Press of Mississippi. A prolific writer, Yates has hit Southern Gothic a home run with “The Legend of the Albino Farm.”
Published by Unbridled Books of Lakewood, Co., this is a great summer reading gem.
Closer to home, if you have not read Rex Nelson’s compilation of his blog, you need to. The book is called “Southern Fried: Going Whole Hog in a State of Wonder.”
For decades Nelson, from Arkadelphia, has been traveling Arkansas. And he’s learned a thing or two about how to tell people about Arkansas.
“Arkansas is a hard place to explain to outsiders. We’re mostly Southern but also a bit Midwestern and a tad Southwestern. The Ozarks are different from the pine woods of the Gulf Coastal Plain, and the Delta is different from the Ouachita’s.
Invariably, though, those who take the time to get off the main roads and get to know the real Arkansas are entranced by the place.”
Another book catching fire these days is “A Brief History of Fayetteville, Arkansas,” by Charles Y. (Charlie) Alison. This is a more concise book than the tome by William Campbell of yesteryear and moves quickly. It is an inexpensive paperback by the History Press and is available at the Washington County Historical Society bookstore (on Tuesday-Thursday afternoons, from 2-4, online and in person) and at local outlets.
A block-buster local book to watch for this summer is “An Illustrated History of the Fayetteville Square, — 1828-2016,” by co-authors Anthony J. Wappel and Jerry Hogan.
This book will take readers on an ever-changing, delightful trip down memory lane of the historic downtown location known as the true “heart” of Fayetteville — the Square.
And if you are a murder mystery buff, I encourage you to pick up a copy of “A Lovely Murder,” by Lori Erickson. This is the second in her Danni Deadline series and it’s quite the mystery — set up here, high in the Ozarks.
Next week, there will be even more books, including a new science fiction work by a local alderman that is a must read this summer.
Stay tuned.
And don’t sweat the political stuff — just yet.