From The Bookshelf

 

Desert Solitaire
Ed Abbey

     Our Best Seller.. If you are travelling the Southwest, Abbey is mandatory reading. Ed documents his days in Solitude as the first back country ranger at Arches National Park. Capturing the divine beauty of the desert. Irreverent, yet eloquent. --Wendy

Capitol Reef – Canyon Country Eden
     I love this book because it captures the splendor of the area in a beautiful pictorial format. It has been fun to share Capitol Reef with others though the pages of this book.  --Joy Raynes

All the Little Live Things
Wallace Stegner

     An interesting title for a book that finally reveals its origin. The most sensuous narrative of one mans grief over the loss of a child and the clash of generation gap. The confrontation of the human condition with the predictable and sometimes unpredictable clock of life. This story drew me into a world of repeat and replay of sadness. The basic tenant of “better to have loved and lost, than to have never experienced love” jumps out as a message of the true texture of life.      --Reda Herriott

Death Comes for the Archbishop
Willa Cather
Willa Cather was widely regarded as one of the very best of American authors of the first half of the 20th century. A Pulitzer prize winner for her book, One of Ours, she wrote of American stories of angst, victory, loss, and happiness. Death Comes For the Archbishop is my favorite of Willa Cather's books. The story of Father Jean Latour and his life as a Catholic cleric in the late 19th century in the harsh lands of what would become New Mexico. His challenges of personal faith and conviction, dealing with corrupt priests, and being ever lonely, are a captivating read. Complete with a good dose of political intrigue, betrayal, and redemption, it is a book most will long remember reading. --Jay Banta

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
Alexander McCall Smith

     A Catchy, Cute Titled book that I ignored – until.. A customer came into the book store and recommended this book. The customer had spent many years in Africa and guaranteed this and other books by McCall Smith a pleasant, hilarious, non-violent read. The setting for this and the other four books in the mystery series are set in Africa. Believable stories of the variety of services a detective agency might handle. Writing style and dialogue as if I were conversing with a good friend. Highly recommend for all ages.
     --Reda Herriott

Pilgrim At Tinker Creek     
Annie Dillard
This masterful account of a year through the seasons by an extraordinary naturalist will make you smile, frown, ponder, dream and consider some serious issues. Annie Dillard writes eloquently of what she finds close to her rural home, and in doing so considers great questions of how we, as humans, relate to the environment that surrounds us.
Long recognized as one of America’s most perceptive nature writers, she will give you new understanding and food for thought throughout the book.
-- Jay Banta