What We're Reading this Week

Just finished Blessed by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee Creek) and have ordered the newest book in her vampire series. Tantalize: Kieren’s Story is a graphic novel published this month by Candlewick. It’s easy to get deep into the world of vampires, werewolves, and angels with Quincie, Kieren, and Zachary. We have many of her other books, including the ones about American Indian kids, Jenna in Jingle Dancer, Ray in Indian Shoes, and Rain in Rain is Not My Indian Name. Check out her site for lots of information about her and her gothic fantasies at http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/ or her blog http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/.




And while we’re on the topic of gothic novels, Drew Hayden Taylor (Ojibwa) author, columnist, filmmaker, lecturer, and playwright has a great book-The Night Wanderer: A Native Gothic Novel. Who is Pierre L’Errant and why did he come to lodge with Tiffany Hunter’s family? Why does he want to live in their basement? It’s another good read!

What We’re Reading

While we’re busy this summer helping people with their requests for information, photographs, and recommendations for reading lists, we have been doing a little reading ourselves. Smoke Signals: A Screenplay, written by Sherman Alexie, is on our list because Betsy Theobald Richards (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma) is leading a discussion of it on November 19, 2011. The book is proving hard-to-find, but we hope to get some reading copies; however, the film, Smoke Signals, is available and it’s so good that we’re showing it here after the discussion.

The weekly newspaper, Indian Country Today, has a new magazine format which is easy to read and is very attractive, too. We subscribe to This Week from Indian Country Today: The Premier Newsmagazine Serving the Nations, Celebrating the People, and read it, especially the book reviews. Take a look at a copy the next time you visit the libraries.