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Check out Amazon for books by Sytha Motto. She has some about NM. I have not read them, but the ones I have read by her are very good. "No Banners Waving" (not about NM though) is my favorite. On a side note, she lived in Socorro many, many years ago.
1. Some of the books recommended are older and may not be stocked in Barnes and Noble. Are there any good used books stores in ABQ and Santa Fe you especially like...or just know about enough to recommend?
2. Would the Barnes and Noble in the Coronado Mall likely have a better selection of books than the Coors Bypass Barnes and Noble (b/c the store's bigger or caters to a different crowd or...)?
Thank you!
Sadly many second-hand bookstores have folded over the years, but Page 1 Books in ABQ is still going strong, and they specialize in local titles: https://www.page1book.com/
I can't say which B&N has a better selection.
I also liked 109 East Palace, there are lots of books about the Manhattan Project and the secrecy surrounding it that are well worth the read. An important piece of NM's past, present and future.
Bless me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya and Cuentos: Tales from the Hispanic Southwest by by José Griego y Maestas and Rudolfo Anaya. These should be on any New Mexico resident's reading list.
Rudolpho Anaya is essential for anyone who wants to understand the recent foundations of contemporary New Mexican culture and what links the cultural origins of the state to the present.
River of Traps by by William deBuys and Alex Harris, and the Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols capture the life on small Hispanic and Anglo farms in the mountains of north central New Mexico.
If you take the high road from Santa Fe to Taos before reading these books, you will enjoy a scenic drive. If you take the drive after reading them, you will sense the complex social landscape set in those scenic mountains, and it will be so much more meaningful, in my opinion.
Finally, something a little (a lot) lighter, Glory Lane by Alan Dean Foster
This is a funny little sci fi book written in the '80s and features characters living in Albuquerque who become involved in a galaxy wide... blah, blah, it's a light sci fi novel. You get the idea. If you are familiar with Albuquerque, though, you can identify many of the locations in the first few chapters of the book, including the Frontier, UNM, and the Sandias. I haven't read it in 30 years or so when I was a teenager, so maybe it doesn't hold up, but I liked it at the time. If it is not up your alley, maybe your kids will like it.
Finally, something a little (a lot) lighter, Glory Lane by Alan Dean Foster
This is a funny little sci fi book written in the '80s and features characters living in Albuquerque who become involved in a galaxy wide... blah, blah, it's a light sci fi novel. You get the idea. If you are familiar with Albuquerque, though, you can identify many of the locations in the first few chapters of the book, including the Frontier, UNM, and the Sandias. I haven't read it in 30 years or so when I was a teenager, so maybe it doesn't hold up, but I liked it at the time. If it is not up your alley, maybe your kids will like it.
Great list - Thank YOU!
I just bought Glory Lane - My heart is into the deep stuff, but when traveling I need lighter fare. Glory Lane sounds like it might be fun. I'm bringing it with me in a couple weeks while we're on the road. We'll be driving over from the Seattle area. I really love the drive going through WA, then ID and OR and UT and then CO then into NM. It takes two days. I'll have some time to read as I won't be doing all the driving.
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Originally Posted by aries63
Sadly many second-hand bookstores have folded over the years, but Page 1 Books in ABQ is still going strong, and they specialize in local titles: https://www.page1book.com/
Thanks for the info about the bookstores, BnN and Used. I found page1book last visit but didn't make it there but planned on going there this time. It's good to see it suggested, and it's even better knowing it specializes in local titles. That shows a good used bookstore, ime.
I'm in the process of gathering all the authors and titles suggested in this thread and bringing the list with me, so I can reference it when in the various bookstores I'll be visiting. Since I was interested in NM and ABQ topics, it JUST occurred to me to check out the UNM bookstore. I love university bookstores, and since Rudofo Anaya published some of this works through UNM Press, there might be some of his titles there. Also there will likely be other titles the UNM Press published.
Thanks again, everyone - I'll be looking for all mentioned books and authors; many I expect to find at the used bookstores. It's amazing what pops up in them. Do you know about Half Price Books? I have had many lucky finds at HPBs. It's unfortunate there are none in NM. I discovered them when I moved to WA, and since they were founded in Texas (so there are oodles of them in TX), I will most definitely be driving to TX if we move there on book runs to HPB. Half Price Books is THAT good.
There's an old book, Murder & Mystery in New Mexico by Erna Fergusson. I have a 1948 copy. Very entertaining. Along those lines, I also suggest Mysteries & Miracles of New Mexico and More Mysteries & Miracles of New Mexico, both by Jack Kutz (1988 and 1998) with the subtitle Guide Book to the Genuinely Bizarre in the Land of Enchantment. Plenty of haunted places, mysterious events, strange writings, murder and mayhem, and the general oddness that's makes New Mexico enchanting.
Bless me Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya and Cuentos: Tales from the Hispanic Southwest by by José Griego y Maestas and Rudolfo Anaya. These should be on any New Mexico resident's reading list.
Rudolpho Anaya is essential for anyone who wants to understand the recent foundations of contemporary New Mexican culture and what links the cultural origins of the state to the present.
River of Traps by by William deBuys and Alex Harris, and the Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols capture the life on small Hispanic and Anglo farms in the mountains of north central New Mexico.
If you take the high road from Santa Fe to Taos before reading these books, you will enjoy a scenic drive. If you take the drive after reading them, you will sense the complex social landscape set in those scenic mountains, and it will be so much more meaningful, in my opinion.
The people we rent our unit from keep encouraging us to do that loop drive up to Taos from SF. We've resisted because we already drive enough to get to NM and we figure if we move there, it will be something to look forward to later. I'm glad we haven't done it because what you describe is what I pay attention to - the underlying reason for what is NOW, how time, people, cultures have shaped what I am currently experiencing or seeing or living in NOW. So few people seem to understand this, or, care, more likely.
I've read Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima, Alburquerque, Tortuga, The Sorrows of Young Alfonso, so it looks like I've got a head start on the reading list. I'll keep the others in mind. Great suggestion prior to the drive up to Taos.
I've read most of Michael McGarrity's novels set in New Mexico. His most recent endeavor was his best, IMO. A trilogy set in the Tularosa Basin area that has a ring of authenticity in descriptions of both the area and the events of the time in which it was set. Titles: Hard Country, Backland, The Last Ranch. But his earlier works are also worth a read. McGarrity lives in Santa Fe.
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Michael McGarrity (born 1940) is a New Mexican author and former law enforcement officer. He has written a dozen crime novels set in New Mexico and the American West trilogy, historical novels also set in New Mexico consisting of Hard Country, Backlands and The Last Ranch. As deputy sheriff of Santa Fe County he founded their Sex Crimes Unit.
Surprised no one's mentioned Tony HIllerman. Wonderful series of crime novels about the Navajo police, set on the Navajo Reservation. Hillerman was a master at detailing the native culture of the Navajo, and the changes and difficulties brought about by modernization.
The Brave Cowboy and Fire on the Mountain by Edward Abbey. These are better than his later and more popular fictional works, IMO.
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