Lone Star ReviewsMichelle Newby, NBCC,

Contributing Editor

Texas ReadsGlenn Dromgoole

>> archive

New books delve into Texas alligators and tacos

I had no idea that alligators can be found in 120 of Texas’s 254 counties until I picked up Alligators of Texas by Louise Hayes, who has been studying the subject for more than thirty years (Texas A&M University Press, $29.95 flexbound).

The authoritative 228-page book also features the color photography of Philippe Henry, who spent several weeks a year for five years with the same family of alligators in Fort Bend County.

“Sometimes I could get very close and was able to film intimate moments,” Henry writes. “Every alligator has a different personality. Some will let you get close without displaying any aggressive behavior. Others will not.”

In her text, Hayes devotes chapters to such topics as: “What Is an Alligator?,” “Where Do Alligators Live?,” “Life History of Alligators,” “Alligator Tales,” and “Alligator-Human Interactions.”

“The American alligator,” she notes, “is found only in the United States and ranges through ten states.” Crocodiles, on the other hand, are restricted to extreme south Florida but also range through Central and South America.

Hayes points out that because the alligator is a protected species, “it is illegal to catch a baby alligator to keep as a pet, harass an alligator in any way, or kill an alligator unless an individual is signed up for a specific alligator hunt.”

Back when I was in elementary school, my friend Dan McGinnis kept a pet alligator in a fish pond in his back yard. Word would spread, alarming the neighbors, when Dan’s pet got to where he could climb over the side of the shallow concrete pond. Finally, Dan and his dad released the alligator in a nearby bayou, and we all slept better.

Readers are invited to share their own alligator stories at AlligatorsInTexas.com.

Tacos: If you really like tacos, here’s a book for you — The Tacos of Texas by Mando Rayo and Jarod Neece (University of Texas Press, $19.95 paperback). The authors rounded up about twenty taco aficionados they call the Texas Taco Council to help them produce a guidebook to the best taco eateries and tasty recipes in ten Texas cities or areas (Abilene, Austin, Brownsville-McAllen, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, Houston, Laredo, Midland-Odessa, and San Antonio).

“Covering the traditional to the modern,” the authors write, “this story is about Texans’ love for tacos. We’ve been behind the scenes with the trailers, stands, trucks, taqueros, home cooks, families, and even some ranchos.” In the 440-page book, they “tell the stories, share the traditions, and identify the iconic tacos from all over the state.”

Glenn Dromgoole is co-author of 101 Essential Texas Books. Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.

>> Check out his previous Texas Reads columns in Lone Star Literary Life

Texas Book Festival lists full 2016 lineup

AUSTIN — The Texas Book Festival is excited to host a lineup filled with nationally renowned presend of prominent artists—actors, comedians, performance artists—writing books,” says Lois Kim, the Festival’s executive director. “But one of the best things about our deep and diverse lineup is the opportunity for discovery. There is so much talent in this list, and we can’t wait for people to dive in and find their next favorite author at the Festival, which is free to attend, thanks to the Festival’s generous supporters and dedicated volunteer army.”

A total of more than 280 writers, including chefs, actors, YouTube-stars, and more, are part of the 2016 Texas Book Festival lineup. One of the nation’s premier literary events and longest-running book festivals in the country, the Festival continues to be free and open to the public thanks to sponsors and volunteers. Additionally, the Festival brings more than 40,000 attendees, live music, kids’ activities, food trucks, book signings and sales, and 100 exhibitors all in and around the State Capitol over two full days. >>READ MORE

LONE STAR LISTENS interviews >> archive

Kay Ellington, Editor and Publisher

10.2.2016 Mac Engel and Ron Jenkins team up to make a football book like no other

Pigskin Rapture: Four Days in the Life of Texas Football, written by Mac Engel (above, center) with photos by Ron Jenkins (above, right), documents the ultimate Texas football fan’s trip that Engel and Jenkins took last year. The excursion included a Texans game in Houston; a Permian High School homecoming game in Odessa; a Texas vs. Oklahoma game in Dallas; and then a Dallas Cowboys home game. The two took time out last week to describe their grand adventure and new book via email.

LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE: What inspired you guys to create Pigskin Rapture?

RON JENKINS: Credit for the concept goes directly to publisher Rick Rinehart. Rick waited years — I believe he told me ten years — for the stars to align and the right kind of Texas football games to line up in a such a fashion that this could work.

MAC ENGEL: I’d love to take the credit, but it was Rick Rinehart one hundred percent. He had wanted to do it for a while, and he asked a friend in Denver if he knew a writer in Texas, which was me. And that was about it. Last spring, he found a stretch of four games and that was it. The rest he pretty much gave us carte blanche.

RON: Brilliant idea, Rick! >>READ MORE

Texas’s only statewide, weekly calendar of book events

Bookish Texas event highlights 10.2.2016
>> GO this week Michelle Newby, Contributing Editor

FESTIVALS AND SPECIAL EVENTS IN TEXAS THIS WEEK: Bryan/College Station, Waco, HoustonDALLAS Mon., Oct. 3 Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, Sarah Hepola discusses and signs Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget, 6:30PMRED OAK Tues., Oct. 4 Red Oak Public Library, Red Oak Friends of the Library present a talk by Julia Heaberlin, author of BLACK-EYED SUSANS, 7PMDALLAS Tues., Oct. 4, Highland Park United Methodist Church, Lawrence Wright discusses and signs The Terror Years, 7PMHOUSTON Tues., Oct. 4 Brazos Bookstore, Paulette Jiles reads and signs NEWS OF THE WORLD, 7PMHOUSTON Wed., Oct. 5, Holocaust Museum Houston, Jan Jarboe Russell discusses and signs The Train to Crystal City, 6:30PMIRVING Wed., Oct. 5, Irving Arts Center, Meet the writer of this year’s NEA Big Read in Irving selected novel, Into the Beautiful North, Luis Alberto Urrea: discussion and book signing, 7PMSAN ANTONIO Wed., Oct. 5, Our Lady of the Lake University, a reading with recent National Medal of Arts recipient Sandra Cisneros, 7PMAUSTIN Fri., Oct. 7, Central Presbyterian Church, The Texas Book Festival hosts a conversation with blogger and bestselling author Grace Bonney about her new book, In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs, 7PMWESLACO Sat., Oct. 8, The Storybook Garden, Award-winning author David Bowles will read from and sign his latest book, GHOSTS OF THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY, 2PM

News Briefs 10.2.16

Lone Star Literary’s Tour of Texas, Fall 2016

In Lexington, Texas, a town of some 1,100 souls about 50 miles northeast of Austin, there are definitely more books than people. Thousands more, within the colorful walls of 40 Acre Wood, an independent bookstore whose patrons feel passionately enough to have voted it one of Texas’s top ten favorites.

Owner Heidi Frazier (above, in blue cap) welcomed us a couple of weeks ago with an afternoon get-together at the store, which is stacked floor to ceiling with (primarily) used volumes on all subjects just begging to browsed. (It didn’t take us long, in fact, to spot a nice little Modern Library edition of Katherine Ann Porter’s Flowering Judas and Other Stories, a book we’re pleased to add to our Texas collection.

Oh, and did we say there were cookies? Fourth Street Bakery provided mount-watering treats that were the perfect complement to afternoon coffee.

Stop by and visit three days a week: Thursday: 11:00-4:00 Friday: 11:00-4:00 Saturday: 11:00-4:00. >>READ MORE

Texas Institute of Letters taps Mora for Lifetime Achievement Award

Author Pat Mora has been named the winner of the Texas Institute of Letters’ prestigious Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement. This is the highest honor given by the TIL, which was established in 1936 to recognize distinctive literary achievement. The award will be presented to Mora at the TIL’s annual banquet, set for April 8, 2017, in El Paso.

“Pat Mora is one of the most beloved and acclaimed writers from Texas,” TIL President Steve Davis said. “It was a joyful occasion when the TIL council voted unanimously to honor Pat with this award.”. >>READ MORE

Texas Center for the Book Letters About Literature Contest entries due Dec. 2 for grades 9–12

The Texas Center for the Book has announced the 2016 Letters About Literature Contest for students in grades 4 through 12. Prizes include a trip to the 2107 Texas Library Association Annual Conference in San Antonio and a trip to the National Book Festival in Washington, D.C.

Here are some simple guidelines.

READ: Select a fiction or nonfiction book, a poem or play you have read and about which you have strong feelings. (Sorry, no song lyrics!) It might be a book that helped you through a difficult time or it might be a book that simply touched your heart or inspired you. >>READ MORE

Sixth annual Dobie Dichos set for Nov. 4 in Oakville

On Friday evening, Nov. 4, the smell of simmering chili and freshly baked pan de campo will once again fill the air as visitors converge on historic Oakville for the 6th annual Dobie Dichos: Campfires, Chili con Carne, and the Words of J. Frank Dobie event.

A group of renowned journalists, authors, and storytellers have delved into the works of Texas author J. Frank Dobie and selected stories and other Dobie writings to share beside the campfire at this unique event that takes place on the grounds of the Historic Oakville Jail, under the old hanging tree. >>READ MORE