{"id":955,"date":"2018-12-31T14:54:01","date_gmt":"2018-12-31T14:54:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/?p=955"},"modified":"2018-12-31T14:54:01","modified_gmt":"2018-12-31T14:54:01","slug":"lone-star-reviewsmichelle-newby-nbcc-71","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.etypegoogle10.com\/?p=955","title":{"rendered":"Lone Star ReviewsMichelle Newby, NBCC,"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/span><\/span>Lone Star Reviews<\/span>Michelle Newby, NBCC,<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n

Contributing Editor<\/span><\/h1>\n
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<\/span><\/span>MEMOIR\/TEXAS MUSIC<\/p>\n

Eddie Wilson, with Jesse Sublett; foreword by Dave Marsh<\/span><\/p>\n

Armadillo World Headquarters<\/span><\/p>\n

406 pp., 978-1-4773-1382-4, $29.95 cloth<\/p>\n

TSSI Publishing; distributed by University of Texas Press<\/p>\n

April 2017<\/p>\n

Reviewed by Rod Davis<\/p>\n

The Incubator of Austin<\/h1>\n

A very good case could be made<\/span> that the Armadillo World Headquarters (1970\u201381) was the most influential single element in Austin\u2019s musical ascendancy. Eddie Wilson<\/span> does just that in his valuable new memoir, Armadillo World Headquarters,<\/span> appropriately titled because it really isn\u2019t about his life, but about the colossus he birthed. Almost every page is a witness to history, an invaluable reference to the all-but-unbelievable chain of famous acts that took to the Armadillo stage, from blues to country to rock to punk. I mean, really, name a storied musician and there\u2019s a damn good chance Eddie booked him or her.\u00a0 >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/span><\/span>Texas Reads<\/span>Glenn Dromgoole<\/span><\/h1>\n

>> archive<\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

\u00a0Mahon served forty-four years as West Texas congressman<\/h1>\n

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Lubbock author Janet M. Neugebauer has written a comprehensive political biography<\/span> of longtime U.S. Rep. George H. Mahon, who represented West Texas in Congress for 44 years before retiring in 1978.<\/p>\n

A Witness to History: George H. Mahon, West Texas Congressman<\/span><\/a><\/span> (Texas Tech University Press, $45 hardcover) is a 480-page account of Mahon\u2019s life from 1900 until his death in 1985, focusing primarily on his\u00a0 congressional service, eventually chairing the influential House Appropriations Committee and, before that, its military appropriations subcommittee.<\/p>\n

Neugebauer is deputy director of the Southwest Collection at Texas Tech, where Mahon\u2019s papers are archived, so she had access to a wealth of information stored there. She quickly gets to the point, not spending too many pages on Mahon\u2019s early years \u2014 graduating from high school in Loraine, Simmons College in Abilene, and University of Texas Law School. He was serving as district attorney in Colorado City when he ran for Congress in 1934 and won in a runoff.<\/p>\n

On his first day in Congress \u2014 Jan. 3, 1935 \u2014 Mahon made it a point to write his first letter \u2014 a letter of appreciation \u2014 to Judge W.R. Ely of Abilene, who had loaned him money to attend Simmons College. Mahon would go on to be one of the most powerful leaders in Congress and a close friend of several presidents. But at his funeral in 1985, House Minority Leader Jim Wright eulogized him as \u201ca gentle man.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThe word honorable was not just a title for George Mahon,\u201d Wright said. \u201cIt was a way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kent Hance, who succeeded Mahon as congressman in 1979, concurred in the book\u2019s foreword, noting, \u201cNo doubt George Mahon would be appalled at the lack of civility in national politics in this day and time, and would attribute this lack of congeniality to the logjam that now prevails in Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Wildflowers:<\/span> Texas photographers Rob Greebon<\/span> and Richard Reynolds<\/span> have teamed up to produce a gorgeous, full-color and very affordable 80-page book, Texas Wildflowers Impressions<\/span><\/a><\/span> (Far Country Press, $12.95 paperback). This one will look good on your coffee table and you\u2019ll enjoy thumbing through the pages and looking at the beautiful photographs. It also makes a nice gift to someone visiting here from another state or country.<\/p>\n

Bluebonnets take center stage, of course, but there are plenty of sunflowers, Indian blankets, corn poppies, brown-eyed susans, yucca, milkweed, cactus and more. The book includes a brief look at what kinds of wildflowers can be found in different regions of the state, and don\u2019t skip over the captions because they are informative and enlightening.For example, Greebon tells about a photograph he took of a longhorn and her calf grazing in a field of flowers. He was driving by and he stopped and took the picture. \u201cI\u2019ve learned from experience,\u201d he writes, \u201cI\u2019d rather stop and take the shot, rather than wish later that I\u2019d stopped!\u201d A good rule of thumb for any aspiring photographer.<\/p>\n

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Glenn Dromgoole\u2019s<\/span> latest book is West Texas Stories<\/span><\/a><\/span>Contact him at g.dromgoole@suddenlink.net.<\/p>\n

>> <\/span>Check out his previous Texas Reads columns in Lone Star Lit<\/a><\/span>erary Life<\/span><\/h1>\n

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Dallas Author Expo announced for June 24; registration is now open for free event<\/h1>\n

<\/span><\/span>Dallas \u2014 The Dallas Author Expo has been announced for Sat., June 24, 2017, at the Holiday Inn Plano\u2013The Colony, 4301 Paige Road in The Colony, Texas, from 1 pm to 6 pm. Registration is now open, and admission is free with advance registration. The expo will feature several interactive speaker panels, free food, networking, free prize drawings, and much more.\u00a0 >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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LONE STAR LISTENS interviews\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>>> archive<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/h1>\n

Kay Ellington, Editor and Publisher<\/span><\/h1>\n

5.28.2017\u00a0 Travel Texas back roads, quirky places, and ghost towns this summer with Tui Snider<\/h1>\n

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On Memorial Day weekend<\/span>\u2014the traditional kickoff to summer vacation season\u2014we wanted to share with you a profile of a Texas travel book and its author. After a bit of Googling and bookstore combing, we landed on an unexpected choice. <\/span>Unexpected Texas was written and published by freelancer <\/span>Tui Snider<\/span> in 2014 and has been a favorite with Lone Star readers ever since. Snider visited with us via email last week.<\/span><\/p>\n

LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE:<\/span> Tui, you grew up in Washington state and came to Texas from the Port Townsend, Washington area\u2014which is a beautiful region of islands and ferries, and is a very literary area with Copper Canyon Press and plenty of bookstores. What brought you to Texas, and when?<\/span><\/p>\n

TUI SNIDER:<\/span> What brought me to Texas? A man! And no one was more surprised than me. After moving something like sixteen times in ten years, and living in far-flung places (including Belgium and Italy) I decided to settle down for good.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I also decided to give up on men.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Well, along came Larry! We met online and he courted me from afar. We used to have dinner dates via Skype. He\u2019s a great cook and I\u2019d see him eating all these wonderful meals, while I\u2019d be eating cheese and crackers.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Long story short, a couple years later we were married at Scarborough Renaissance Fair in Waxahachie, Texas. Cheesy as it sounds, I finally found my handsome prince! To top it off, our house has a turret and gargoyles, so it looks like a little castle.>>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Texas’s only statewide, weekly calendar of book events<\/h1>\n

Bookish Texas<\/span> event highlights\u00a0 5.28.2017
<\/span>>><\/span><\/a><\/span> GO this week\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Michelle Newby, Contributing Editor<\/span><\/h1>\n
SPECIAL EVENTS THIS WEEK: Houston, Dallas, McKinney<\/span><\/span><\/span>SAN ANTONIO\u00a0 Tues., May 30<\/span>\u00a0 McGonigel\u2019s Mucky Duck, Craig Clifford, Craig D. Hillis, and Bob Livingston discuss, sign, and perform songs from Pickers and Poets: The Ruthlessly Poetic Singer-Songwriters of Texas (followed by a concert with The Lost Austin Band), 6PM<\/span><\/span><\/span>AUSTIN <\/span> Wed., May 31\u00a0 Austin Public Library – Terrazas, Aural Literature featuring Austin Barrio Writers, 7PM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>AUSTIN\u00a0 Wed., May 31<\/span>\u00a0 Thompson Conference Center, Travis Audubon Society book launch: Victor Emanuel discusses One More Warbler: A Life with Birds with Stephen Harrigan, followed by a book signing, 6:30PM<\/span><\/span><\/span>HOUSTON\u00a0 Thurs, June 1\u00a0 <\/span>Murder By the Book, Lori Rader-Day will sign and discuss The Day I Died, and Melissa Lenhardt will sign and discuss Blood Oath and Sawbones, 6:30PM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>SAN ANTONIO\u00a0 Thurs., June 1\u00a0 <\/span>The Twig Book Shop, Suzi Weinert discusses and signs the Garage Sale Mysteries (coming soon to the Hallmark Channel), 5PM<\/span><\/span><\/span>LUBBOCK\u00a0 Fri., June 2\u00a0 Texas Tech University Press Bookstore, Frank Sikes signs West Texas Middleweight: The Story of LaVern Roach, 6PM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>EL PASO\u00a0 Sat., June 3\u00a0\u00a0 El Paso Public Library – Memorial Park, Tumblewords Project workshop: “Reclaiming Early Memories: The Sights, Smells, and Sounds of Smeltertown Nights” with Carolyn Rhea Drapes, 12:45PM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>HOUSTON\u00a0 Sat., June 3<\/span>\u00a0 William Reaves | Sarah Foltz Fine Art, The Texas Aesthetic XI: The Summer Soiree Series featuring River of Contrasts: The Texas Colorado and The Nueces River: Rio Escondido by Margie Crisp, 1PM<\/span><\/span><\/span>SOUTH PADRE ISLAND Sat., June 3\u00a0 Paragraphs on Padre, Meet the Author: Elliott Turner discusses and signs The Night of the Virgin, 1PM<\/span><\/span>ALSO SIGNING HOUSTON<\/span>\u00a0 Thurs., June 1, Brazos Bookstore, 6PM<\/span><\/span><\/span>AUSTIN\u00a0 Sun., June 4\u00a0 BookPeople, EDDIE WILSON speaking & signing Armadillo World Headquarters, 5PM<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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News Briefs 5.28.17<\/h1>\n

<\/span><\/span>2017 Top ELEVEN Readers\u2019 Favorite Texas Bookstores<\/h1>\n

Texas readers have spoken. <\/span>Nearly 2,500 of Lone Star Literary Life\u2019s readers have cast ballots in 3 rounds of our statewide contest during May 2017 to recognize Texas\u2019s favorite bookstores. Their final selections are as diverse as the state itself, and honorees include big indies, small indies, chain stores, used bookstores, and new bookstores in every corner of the state. And in the process, we were pleased to learn about places to buy books that we hadn\u2019t even known before.<\/p>\n

From the major cities of Dallas and Houston, to our state\u2019s capitol city, from the historic Hill Country to the Piney Woods of East Texas, from the burbs to the beach, Texas bookshops are connecting with their communities. (Note that there was a tie for #6!) We are thrilled to showcase them in our second annual Lone Star Literary Life Readers\u2019 Favorite Texas Bookstores \u2014 all 11 of them. >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2014\u2014\u00ad\u2014\u2014\u2014 A D V E R T I S E M E N T \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Win BREAKFAST IN TEXAS<\/h1>\n

Terry Thompson-Anderson, with photos by Sandy Wilson<\/span><\/p>\n

Breakfast in Texas: Recipes for Elegant Brunches, Down Home Classics, and Local Favorites<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Hardcover, 978-1-4773-1044-1<\/p>\n

311 pages, 8 x 10, 123 color photos<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/span><\/span>Texans love the morning meal,<\/span> whether it’s bacon and eggs (often eaten in a breakfast taco) or something as distinctively nontraditional as saag paneer omelets, pon haus, or goat curry. A Lone Star breakfast can be a time for eating healthy, or for indulging in decadent food and drink. And with Texas’s rich regional and cultural diversity, an amazing variety of dishes graces the state’s breakfast and brunch tables. The first Texas cookbook dedicated exclusively to the morning meal, Breakfast in Texas<\/span> gathers nearly one hundred recipes that range from perfectly prepared classics to the breakfast foods of our regional cuisines (Southern, Mexican, German, Czech, Indian, and Asian among them) to stand-out dishes from the state’s established and rising chefs and restaurants.<\/p>\n

Enter to win here<\/span><\/a><\/span>, courtesy of the University of Texas Press.<\/p>\n

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Bush, Khan, Luna present books to students as part of Texas Book Festival\u2019s 2017 Reading Rock Stars<\/h1>\n

Photo by Grant Miller Photography<\/p>\n

DALLAS \u2014 In May 2017, the Texas Book Festival <\/span>presented its Reading Rock Stars program at Thomas Tolbert Elementary School in Dallas.\u00a0 >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span><\/span>National Federation of State Poetry Societies 2017 to convene in Fort Worth June 29\u2013July 2, celebrate \u201cThe Art and Soul of Poetry\u201d<\/h1>\n

Hosted by the Poetry Society of Texas, with entertainment, meals, open readings, contests, workshops, music, fun<\/h1>\n

FORT WORTH \u2014 At the 2017 convention of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies<\/span>, there will be music, poems, art, words, and more, as the organization celebrates \u201cThe Art and Soul of Poetry.\u201d Convention headquarters will be the historic Hilton hotel, located in downtown Fort Worth, Texas.<\/p>\n

The convention will feature an impressive lineup of speakers, including Urania Fung,<\/span> instructor at Tarrant County College; Anne McCrady, <\/span>poet and storyteller; Pat Stodghill,<\/span> poet laureate of Texas, past president of PST, and NFSPS; Dr. Nathan Brown,<\/span> poet laureate of Oklahoma\u2014who now lives in Texas; Karla K. Morton,<\/span> poet laureate of Texas; Beth and Mark Ayers,<\/span> Magic Lantern enthusiasts; Scott Wiggerman<\/span> of Dos Gatos Press; and keynote speaker Carmen Tafolla,<\/span> poet laureate of Texas. >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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TOP BOOKISH DESTINATIONS 2017<\/h1>\n

<\/span><\/span>From the spur of Texas\u2019s boot-heel<\/span> to the tip of the toe, we\u2019ve traveled the state in search of some delectable destinations for book lovers. Check out all ten on the map as you plan your literary travels!\u00a0 >>READ MORE<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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Lone Star Listens compilation available Aug. 1, for readers, fans, and writers everywhere<\/h1>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span>The present generation of Texas authors<\/span> is the most diverse ever in gender, age, and ethnicity, and in subject matter as well.<\/p>\n

Week in, week out, Lone Star Literary has interviewed a range of Texas-related authors with a cross-section of genre and geography. To capture this era in Texas letters, we’re pleased to bring you<\/p>\n

Lone Star Listens:<\/p>\n

Texas Authors on Writing and Publishing<\/p>\n

edited by Kay Ellington and Barbara Brannon; introduction by<\/p>\n

Clay Reynolds<\/p>\n

Available in trade paper, library hardcover, and ebook Fall 2017<\/p>\n

360 pages, with b\/w illustrations and index<\/p>\n

Featuring novelists, poets, memoirists, editors, and publishers, including:<\/p>\n

Rachel\u00a0 Caine \u2022 Chris\u00a0 Cander \u2022 Katherine\u00a0 Center \u2022 Chad S. Conine \u2022 Sarah\u00a0 Cortez \u2022 Elizabeth\u00a0 Crook \u2022 Nan\u00a0 Cuba \u2022 Carol\u00a0 Dawson \u2022 Patrick\u00a0 Dearen \u2022 Jim Donovan \u2022\u00a0Mac Engel \u2022 Sanderia\u00a0 Faye \u2022 Carlos Nicol\u00e1s Flores \u2022 Ben Fountain \u2022 Jeff\u00a0 Guinn \u2022 Stephen\u00a0 Harrigan \u2022 Cliff\u00a0 Hudder \u2022 Stephen Graham Jones \u2022 Kathleen Kent \u2022 Joe R. Lansdale \u2022 Melissa Lenhardt \u2022 Attica Locke \u2022 Nikki\u00a0 Loftin \u2022 Thomas\u00a0 McNeely \u2022 Leila\u00a0 Meacham \u2022 John\u00a0 Pipkin \u2022 Joyce Gibson Roach \u2022 Antonio\u00a0 Ruiz-Camacho \u2022 Lisa\u00a0 Sandlin \u2022 Donna\u00a0 Snyder \u2022 Mary Helen Specht \u2022 Jodi\u00a0 Thomas \u2022 Amanda Eyre Ward \u2022 Ann\u00a0 Weisgarber \u2022 Donald Mace Williams<\/p>\n

As a collection of insights into the writing and publishing life, the book will be useful in creative writing classes (not just in Texas alone) and other teaching settings, as well as for solo reading and study\u2014and a great Texas reference volume.<\/p>\n