But this one is great. I really only have to read one book, so it's not much of a challenge, it gets me (slightly) out of my comfort zone, but allows me to read something I've been curious about but never really explored (other than in the movies).
And it'll make my Daddy happy. He's a big Westrern fan. He loves every movie starring John Wayne and Clint Eastwood and read a pile of Zane Grey's and Louis L'Amour's back in the day. I did skim through L'Amour's Education of a Wandering Man once (which isn't very good, I think it was something unfinished his family published after his death) and was impressed with his autodidacticism and pure, unalloyed love of books and history. Over the last holiday break I was lucky enough to take my Ma and Pa to the moving picture show to see the new True Grit which was a treat for all.
The only Western I've read would not be something Daddy would enjoy (but I'll bet C.B. would). It was a book I read years back called The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon by Tom Spanbauer. It was about a bisexual, biracial (half Indian, half White) male prostitute in 1880s Idaho. Now that was a story!
For this challenge I think I'm going to go with something by Elmore Leonard. He's known for his crime novels now, but started out writing Westerns. Some great Western movies have been based on his work including 3:10 to Yuma and Hombre. After reading his 1930s-era novel The Hot Kid, I knew at some point I'd want to try one of his early Western books. It has that same feel.
If you want to saddle up for this but don't know what to read, C.B. has you covered. He recommends Deadwood by the blisteringly talented Pete Dexter. Which I'll definitely add to my TBR pile (I loved Paris Trout).
Yippie Ki-Yay, mofos!
The Hop-a-Long, Git-a-Long, Read-a-Long Western Challenge
