The 2007 Michigan Notable Books list

I love to read. I go through at least one book a week over numerous topics. The state of Michigan releases a list of books by Michigan authors (or that cover Michigan-related topics) every year through the Library of Michigan. There are 20 books in the 2007 list. It looks like there are books for all age groups to enjoy. I didn't know this, but they have been putting an annual list together since 1991.

The Michigan Notable Books list tries to be "reflective of Michigan's diverse ethnic, historical, literary, and cultural experience."

Here are some that I am adding to my reading list -

• Death's Door: The Truth Behind Michigan's Largest Mass Murder - Steve Lehto This book explores the enduring mystery and drama surrounding the 1913 Christmas Eve tragedy at Italian Hall in Calumet. After a still-unidentified man falsely cried, "Fire," more than 70 people, many of them children, were crushed to death in the stairwell amidst the panicked crush to flee the building. The author expertly analyzes the objectivity of the local newspaper coverage, the coroner's inquest, and the mystery surrounding the doors (did they open inward or outward?), and reaches several thought-provoking, startling, and controversial conclusions.
• So Cold a Sky: Upper Michigan Weather Stories - Karl Bohnak From the first European explorers to pioneer settlers to modern-day Michiganians, the Upper Peninsula's inhabitants have faced weather's most devastating challenges: extreme snowstorms, heat waves, floods, fires and more. Combing historical accounts from as early as the 1600s with personal tales from U.P. residents, this narrative peppered with weather maps, nature photos and snapshots offers an in-depth look at the region's most severe weather.
• Taking Care of Cleo: A Novel - Bill Broder Set in Prohibition-era Charlevoix, and complete with booze, bootleggers, and the Purple Gang, this engaging novel with a strong historical sense of place details the lives of the Bearwalds, the only Jewish family in this small Lake Michigan resort community. Rebecca dreams of attending the University of Michigan to escape "taking care of Cleo," her autistic older sister. After Cleo stumbles across a beached yacht full of contraband liquor, she renovates the boat and recruits Rebecca to help sell the booze, leading to a case of mistaken identity and run-ins with Detroit gangsters.
• An Unquiet Grave - P.J. Parrish In this suspenseful thriller, Florida PI Louis Kincaid, a native of Detroit, is called back to Michigan by his foster father, who needs help with a personal situation. As events unfold at a notorious sanitarium, modeled after Eloise, Kincaid learns of a dark conspiracy and troubling revelations, not just about his foster father's situation, but also about himself.

See the full list.

Want to see last year's (2006) list? View it here.