A Reliable Wife
by Robert Goolrick
$14.95 in paperback
A wealthy man named Ralph Truitt places an ad for a mail order bride, asking for “a reliable wife.” Catherine Land answers back, saying that she is an “honest and simple woman.” Of course, she is neither of those things. She has one goal in mind, and that is to marry Truitt and murder him, so she can become a wealthy widow and be with her true love. This book got good reviews in the book rags, and is a No. 1 New York Times Best-seller, but I’m not feeling the love. I thought the book was fairly well written, and it did engage me. However, I found the ending to be too predictable. I felt as if I was 12-years-old again, immersed in a $1.95 pulp Gothic romance. If you find it at a garage sale, pick it up. It must have been a slow month for the New York Times reviewers.
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The Wives of Henry Oades
by Johanna Moran
$15 in paperback
Based on the true story of a 19th century California bigamy case, this book holds readers to the end. Meg Oades accompanies her husband, Henry, to New Zealand for a job. While there, the native Maori rise in rebellion and torch their house, kidnapping Meg and the Oades children. Henry, convinced that his family is dead, moves to California where he weds a young, pregnant widow named Nancy. When Meg and the children escape and arrive at Henry’s door, he’s in quite a pickle: He is married to two women, and father to children by both of them. Henry tries to do what he believes is decent, and be a husband and father to both families. Of course, that doesn’t set well with the law, and so begets our story. The bonding of the women and families is truly the heart of this story. Moran presents the case in a very lawyer-like fashion, and I was not surprised to learn that she comes from a long line of attorneys.The courtroom drama appealed to me. I truly enjoyed the whole book, and I think others will too.
Wyoming Almanac
by Phil Roberts, David L. Roberts and Steven L. Roberts
$20 in paperback
Do you have a complete listing of all plane crashes occurring in Wyoming? Do you know who the first medical doctors were in Wyoming? Do you know which “60 Minutes” programs featured Wyoming topics? No? Well, then this is a book you need. The authors, all Lusk natives, bring together a diverse look at Wyoming’s complex history. Categories were selected at the whim of the authors and give a completely interesting look at Wyoming’s culture, media, sports, people and society. This is not a book to sit and read as one would a novel, but it is a book to enjoy over time, snippets of Wyoming’s history to peak everyone’s interest. I love it. It's a great gift for any Wyomingite.
Noodle’s Knitting
by Sheryl Webster and Caroline Pedler (Illustrator)
Children, ages 4 to 8
$16.99 in hardcover
If you’re a knitter and you have small-fry in your life, you must have this book. A cute little mouse named Noodle is entranced by the farmwife’s knitting and longs to try it herself. The farmwife gets discouraged with her wool, as it’s just not the right color, and tosses it aside. Noodle finally gets her chance to knit. She even knows all the magic words: "Knit one, purl one, knit two together." She knits and knits and knits, showing all of her friends along the way, until she realizes that she has knitted herself into a pickle. Noodle’s friends help her out of her situation, though, as friends always do -- which of course, is the moral of this adorable book. The stunning two-tone flocking of yarn on every page is a delight for young and old. This is a beautiful children’s book, and might just keep your little one’s hands off of your cashmere.
Let the Great World Spin: A Novel
by Colum McCann
$15 in paperback
I was a bit late picking this book up; at first glance it didn’t appeal to me. I was mistaken. Taking place in the 1970s during the Vietnam War and Watergate, this book melds the lives of a number of completely divergent people -- a judge, mothers mourning the deaths of their sons in the war, a priest and street hookers -- as they watch a man walk repeatedly on a high wire cable between the World Trade Center towers. These ordinary lives converge, sometimes overlap and bring to the reader such an extraordinary ending, that this book will not soon be forgotten. Don't miss this National Book Award Winner.
Lisa Craft, owner of Blue Heron Books and Espresso in Casper, is voracious reader and invites you in for a cup of your favorite beverage and a chat about your favorite books. www.blueheronwyoming.com.
