Dr. Seuss Letter, originally uploaded by troylib.

In 1971, Troy Children’s Librarian, Marguerite Hart, had an ambitious goal – to get various actors, authors, artists, musicians, librarians, and politicians to write a letter to the children of Troy about the importance of reading.

This was one of 97 such letters. How cool is it that Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, wrote back?

The 2011 list of Michigan Notable Books is the 10th year that this list has been compiled. Each year the Library of Michigan sponsors a list of the 20 books that “highlights exceptional ‘Michigan books’ published in 2010 that bring attention to Michigan authors and topics. Books that showcase the range of experiences of Michigan’s citizens and life in the Great Lakes by well-established and first-time authors can be found.”

• Apparition & Late Fiction: A Novella and Stories by Thomas Lynch
• Blues in Black and White: The Landmark Ann Arbor Blues Festivals by Michael Erlewine, Stanley Livingston (photographer) and Tom Erlewine
• Chrysler’s Turbine Car: The Rise and Fall of Detroit’s Coolest Creation by Steve Lehto
• Detroit Disassembled by Andrew Moore
• The Detroit Electric Scheme: A Mystery by D.E. Johnson
• Eden Springs: A Novella by Laura Kasischke
• Freshwater Boys: Stories by Adam Schuitema
• The Hanging Tree: A Starvation Lake Mystery by Bryan Gruley
• Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon
• A Michigan Polar Bear Confronts the Bolsheviks: A War Memoir by Godfrey J. Anderson
• Mine Towns: Buildings for Workers in Michigan’s Copper Country by Alison K. Hoagland
• Picturing Hemingway’s Michigan by Michael R. Federspiel
• Reimagining Detroit: Opportunities for Redefining an American City by John Gallagher
• Sawdusted: Notes from a Post-boom Mill by Raymond Goodwin
• Sixty to Zero: An Inside Look at the Collapse of General Motors and the Detroit Auto Industry by Alex Taylor III
• The Sweetness of Freedom: Stories of Immigrants by Stephen Ostrander and Martha Bloomfield
• To Account for Murder by William C. Whitbeck
• Working Words: Punching the Clock and Kicking Out the Jams edited by M.L. Liebler
• Wounded Warrior: The Rise and Fall of Michigan Governor John Swainson by Lawrence M. Glazer
• You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know: A True Story of Family, Face- Blindness, and Forgiveness by Heather Sellers

Author John Smolens is the recipient of the 2010 Michigan Author award. Smolens’ latest fiction novel, The Anarchist, is a historical novel that depicts the William McKinley’s assassination.

The Michigan Author award is –

Sponsored jointly by the Michigan Center for the Book (a program of the Library of Michigan), Sleeping Bear Press and the Michigan Library Association, this annual award honors a Michigan writer for his or her contributions to literature based on an outstanding published body of work.

Smolens is a Marquette resident and is currently a professor of English at Northern Michigan University. His previous novels, Cold: A Novel and Fire Point were set in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Once again, the Library of Michigan has come up with an eclectic list of books for the annual Michigan Notable Books list. I have already read a couple of the books on this list and they were quite good – Bath Massacre: America’s First School Bombing and Stitches: A Memoir. Do yourself a favor and pick at least a couple of these books to add to your reading list this year. You won’t be disappointed.

From the Library of Michigan –

Michigan Notable Books is a statewide program that began as part of the 1991 Michigan Week celebration, geared to pay tribute and draw attention to the many people, places and things that make Michigan life unique. In that regard, MNB successfully highlights Michigan books and writers focusing on the Great Lakes State. Each title on the 2010 list gives readers insight into what it means to make your home in Michigan and proves some of the greatest stories are indeed found in the Great Lakes region.

View previous lists of Michigan Notable Books

1. American Salvage: Stories by Bonnie Jo Campbell
2. Annie’s Ghosts: A Journey into a Family Secret by Steve Luxenberg
3. The Art Student’s War: A Novel by Brad Leithauser
4. Bath Massacre: America’s First School Bombing by Arnie Bernstein
5. Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford’s Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin
6. Have a Little Faith: A True Story of a Last Request by Mitch Albom
7. Isadore’s Secret: Sin, Murder and Confession in a Northern Michigan Town by Mardi Link
8. January’s Sparrow by Patricia Polacco
9. The Lost Tiki Palaces of Detroit: Stories by Michael Zadoorian
10. Michigan’s Columbus: The Life of Douglass Houghton by Steve Lehto
11. Nothing But a Smile: A Novel by Steve Amick
12. Orlando M. Poe: Civil War General and Great Lakes Engineer by Paul Taylor
13. Our People, Our Journey: The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians by James M. McClurken
14. Pandora’s Locks: The Opening of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway by Jeff Alexander
15. Roses and Revolutions: The Selected Writings of Dudley Randall edited by Melba Joyce Boyd
16. Season of Water and Ice by Donald Lystra
17. Stitches: A Memoir by David Small
18. Travelin’ Man: On the Road and Behind the Scenes with Bob Seger by Tom Weschler and Gary Graff
19. Up the Rouge!: Paddling Detroit’s Hidden River by Joel Thurtell. Photographs by Patricia Beck
20. When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball by Seth Davis

Feel free to discuss any of these books in the comments section for this post. I would love to hear what others have to say about the Michigan Notable Books.

Dave Dempsey is known as an “environmental” writer. His books include such topics as the Great Lakes, conservation in Michigan, and a biography of Michigan’s environmentally friendly governor – William G. Milliken. Dempsey has long been a champion of preserving and protecting Michigan’s environment and also had his book, On the Brink: the Great Lakes in the 21st Century, awarded by placement on the 2005 Michigan Notable Book list.

Said Dempsey of the 2009 Michigan Author Award –

“It’s both humbling and exciting to receive this award, since Michigan is my home and the source of my writing inspiration. Its land, water, wildlife and people are an amazing tableau,” said Dempsey. “In both the writing I’ve done and the writing I hope to do, I want to tell stories about people who made a difference and the places that shaped them. The Library of Michigan is a remarkable public asset that has made such research possible.”

Other books authored by Dempsey:

Great Lakes for Sale: From Whitecaps to Bottlecaps
William G. Milliken: Michigan’s Passionate Moderate
Ruin and Recovery: Michigan’s Rise as a Conservation Leader

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of reading Thomas Springer’s book, Looking For Hickories. It’s a charming collection of essays with the theme of nature woven throughout each one. Reading the essays made me chuckle and sigh with contentment at the wonderful life of simplicity. Much of the book covers life in an old farmhouse with a bit of acreage and all that goes with trying to live more in step with nature.

I got a kick out of the free range chicken that had a love affair with automobiles until it met its unfortunate dismay in trying to answer that age old question, “Why did the chicken cross the road?” Springer craftily weaves his essays across the years with the perspective of youth and the wisdom that comes with getting older. Looking for Hickories was a quick read (168 pages) that left me sad as I finished it because I wanted it to keep on going.

The other main joy I received while reading it was that he is a local author so I was familiar with the territory he was writing about and could smile at his interactions with the local characters. Coming from a local author, I had heard of Looking For Hickories long before it made the 2009 Michigan Notable Books list. It’s a well deserved honor for Thomas Springer and you will not be disappointed in spending a few pleasant evenings with this fine collection of essays.

Okay, so after a week and a half of summer weather we are back to the 60s and low 70s for a few days. This really reminds me of a book I read by Steve Hamilton called “A Stolen Season.” It’s a mystery book set in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the title speaks of a summer so cold it felt like someone stole the summer season.

A Stolen Season - Steve Hamilton

If you enjoy reading mysteries and you haven’t yet stumbled upon Steve Hamilton, do yourself a favor and pick up this book or any of his other books featuring the Alex McKnight character. All of the Alex McKnight books are set in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Paradise, Michigan to be exact. At least that’s the hometown for Alex. “A Stolen Season” was published in 2007 and is the most recent Alex McKnight novel.

Alex and his friend, Leon Prudell, rescue a trio of men from a boating accident on Lake Superior only to have the rescued men accuse them of stealing a lock box from their sinking boat. This opens up a can of worms that leads to Alex investigating the traffic of prescription pain meds from the Bay Mills Indian Reservation and the dangers Alex faces that eventually meet in a twisting and turning end.

Alex’s travels in his mysteries take him all across the U.P. And occasionally down to his former hometown of Detroit where he served as a cop before getting shot in the line of duty. He still carries that bullet as it is lodged dangerously close to his heart. Too close for surgery to remove it.

There are seven Alex McKnight books with another one currently in the works. Steve Hamilton really captures the essence of the Upper Peninsula in his books. The beauty, wonderful people, and harsh elements are laid out for you in a way that makes you feel like you are right there. I would say that the Upper Peninsula itself is a character in each of the Alex McKnight books. A number of times McKnight battles the elements in addition to his foes in the stories.

Steve Hamilton had his novel Winter of the Wolf Moon honored by placement on the annual Michigan Notable Books list in 2000. The list honors the top 20 fiction and non-fiction titles that either take place in Michigan, are about Michigan, or were written by someone from Michigan. View the most recent lists of Michigan Notable Books. In 2006 Steve Hamilton won the Michigan Author award based on his “contributions to literature, based on an outstanding published body of work.”

Here’s the complete list of the seven Alex McKnight mystery novels:

1. A Cold Day in Paradise
2. Winter of the Wolf Moon
3. The Hunting Wind
4. North of Nowhere
5. Blood is the Sky
6. Ice Run
7. A Stolen Season