Books & Reading
Southwest Books of the Year
Deborah Bock's Picks
Deborah Bock is an information services and special collections librarian with the Pima County Public Library.
The Truth About Alicia and Other Stories
by Ana Consuelo Matiella
As a child raised in "Ambos Nogales" in the 1960s, Ana Matiella garnered memories through gossip and storytelling that are now transformed into her first collection of delightful short stories. Currently a newspaper columnist in Santa Fe, she sets an easy conversational tone, giving the reader a sense of overhearing gossip in some of these magical, satisfying tales. Strong Chicana characters let us know what women have to bear, what touches them, what incenses them. Delve into their worlds and meet smart, sassy, sensual, and sometimes sorrowful women.
Small Rocks Rising
by Susan Lang
Lang molds a bold and passionate character in her absorbing tale of Ruth, a young, single and single-minded homesteader in the southern California desert in the late 1920s. Intent on making a life for herself in the remote, beautiful canyon she names Glory Springs, Ruth suffers agonizing hardships when nature and men throw obstacles her way. She wrestles with the dilemma of accepting the kindness and help of neighbors without compromising her indomitable ways and spirit. Admittedly, Ruth's relationships with men seem a bit predictable as the plot unfolds, but I admire the intensity of this first novel.
Top Ten Picks:
Listed by Deborah Bock in order of preference.
- Madam Millie: Bordellos From Silver City to Ketchikan by Max Evans
- The Desert Cries: A Season of Flash Floods in a Dry Land by Craig Childs
- Sonoran Desert Wildflowers by Richard Spellenberg
- Red Water by Judith Freeman
- The Truth about Alicia and Other Stories by Ana Consuelo Matiella
- Lalo: My Life and Music by Lalo Guerrero and Sherilyn Meece Mentes
- Landscape of the Spirits: Hohokam Rock Art at South Mountain Park
- Lazy B: Growing Up on a Cattle Ranch in the American Southwest by Sandra Day O'Connor and H. Alan Day
- Small Rocks Rising by Susan Lang
- The Lessening Stream: An Environmental History of the Santa Cruz River by Michael F. Logan