Teaser Tuesday: The Court that Tamed the West

The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club started in Fontana, just west of San Bernardino, around 1948. . . .  Although club members claimed to be nothing more than fun-loving motorcycle riders, the Angels came to be viewed by the government as an extensive drug ring and crime organization akin to the mafia.

--  The Court that Tamed the West: From the Gold Rush to the Tech Boom by Richard Cahan, Pia Hinckle, and Jessica Royer Ocken, published by Heyday Books

The Court that Tamed the West is the history of the American West through an examination of the judges and the cases heard in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, one of the most influential courts in America..  It offers an inside look at some of the biggest events to shape our country, such as the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, Vietnam War draft dodging, and the environmental court battles of the more recent decades.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.

Mailbox Monday: Carry the Sky by Kate Gray

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia, who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring event. Mailbox Monday has now returned to its permanent home where you can link to your MM post.

I got one book last week, and I am very excited to read it:



Carry the Sky by Kate Gray, published by Forest Avenue Press.

Kate Gray is a teacher and poet, the author of three poetry collections. Carry the Sky is her beautiful, sad, funny first novel, set in a New England boarding school in the 1980s.  The book has already garnered praise from readers and fellow writers.

Book Beginning: The Court that Tamed the West

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

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YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

Across the landscape of American institutions, the federal judiciary has consistently received the highest (by far) vote of confidence in public opinion polls.

-- from the Foreword by United States District Judge William Alsup, The Court that Tamed the West: From the Gold Rush to the Tech Boom by Richard Cahan, Pia Hinckle, and Jessica Royer Ocken, published by Heyday Books

On the morning of May 19, 1851, Ogden Hoffman Jr. prepared to enter his courtroom for the first time. He was just 20-9 years old and had been chosen as the first judge of the new United States District Court for the District of California.

-- from Chapter 1, "The Admiralty Court"

The US District Court for the Northern District of California is one of the most influential courts in America. The Court that Tamed the West is the history of the American West through an examination of the judges and of the cases heard in this court. Although legal in focus, the book is written for a general audience.

Five Faves: Thrillers

FIVE FAVE THRILLERS

I always like a good thriller, my escapist genre of choice.  Thrillers I distinguish from mysteries in a fuzzy, overlapping sort of way.  Thrillers involve chasing a known bad guy, not figuring out who committed a crime.  Thrillers move faster and are usually more exciting than a mystery.  But I could make the argument that any of the books on this list could be called a mystery rather than a thriller, by my guidelines or any others.

My list includes only one by a particular author, so I can't say these are my all-time top thrillers, just five that I really liked.

• Cathedral by Nelson DeMille (I really do think this is the best of the genre)

• The Killing Floor by Lee Child (this is his first and still my favorite)

• Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett (I screamed when I read the book)

• State of Fear by Micheal Crichton (or a couple of his others)

• The Pelican Brief by John Grisham (I preferred this to The Firm)

What are some of your favorite thrillers?

FIVE FAVES

There are times when a full-sized book list is just too much; when the Top 100, a Big Read, or all the Prize winners seem like too daunting an effort. That's when a short little list of books grouped by theme may be just the ticket.

Inspired by Nancy Pearl's "Companion Reads" chapter in Book Lust – themed clusters of books on subjects as diverse as Bigfoot and Vietnam – I decided to start occasionally posting lists of five books grouped by topic or theme. I call these posts my Five Faves.

Feel free to grab the button and play along. Use today's theme or come up with your own. If you post about it, please link back to here and leave the link to your post in a comment. If you want to participate but don't have a blog or don't feel like posting, please share your list in a comment.

Teaser Tuesday: Food Lover's Guide to Portland, 2nd Edition, by Liz Crain

I get the jitters just thinking of the volume of coffee regularly imbibed in Portland – hipster baristas grind and pull thousands of shots a day from locally roasted beans. Portland coffee is spectacular and to be quite honest, the sheer selection can be intimidating.

– Food Lover's Guide to Portland, 2nd Edition, by Liz Crain.

This indispensable guide to the producers and purveyors who make Portland such a foodie Mecca is a must have for locals and visitors alike. Crain's updated directory of bakeries, cheese makers and mongers, chocolatiers, ethnic markets, brewers, coffee roasters, distillers, cooking classes, farmers markets, and much, much more features over 20 new full-length listings, 150 new businesses, and special sections on Portland's food carts and Hispanic markets.

You can order directly from Hawthorne Books, where regular shipping is free, or from Powell's Books, where they may have signed editions available.

Here is my review of the original edition of Food Lover's Guide to Portland, and my original author interview of Liz Crain.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event.