Cheyenne Summer: The Battle of Beecher Island: A History by Terry Mort -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

It's Book Beginnings on Fridays! Time to gather with our fellow book lovers and share the opening sentence (or so) of the books we are reading this week. Or share from a book that is on your mind right now -- whatever catches your fancy. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

My fancy is caught by Cheyenne Summer: The Battle of Beecher Island: A History by Terry Mort (Pegasus Books):

In the summer of 1868 General Phillip Sheridan was commander of the US Army's Department of the Missouri. He was responsible for the vast Plains that were the homelands of some of the most warlike and troublesome of the Native tribes.

-- from the author's Introduction.

The tribe popularly known as Cheyenne called themselves Tsistsistas. The word means, roughly, "people."

-- from Chapter 1, The Cheyenne.  

Cheyenne Summer is a new nonfiction history book about a battle in eastern Colorado during the Indian Wars of the late 1800s. In the Battle of Beecher Island in 1868, Cheyenne and Sioux warriors fought US Army scouts, including two battalions of Black "Buffalo Soldiers." 

Although Mort describes the battle as not strategically significant, he concludes that it was culturally and historically important. He uses the battle to frame a discussion about one of the most transformative periods in America's history -- including a discussion of what motivated the white settlers, the Cheyenne, and the US soldiers, both white and Black.

Having grown up at both ends of the Oregon Trail -- Nebraska as a child and Oregon from a teenager on -- I've picked up some of the sad history of how our country treated the Native Americans during the settlement of the Western frontier. But there is a lot to learn. This new book is an interesting place to start.  

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings blog or social media post in the Linky box below. If you share on social media, please use the hashtag #bookbeginnings. 

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THE FRIDAY 56

Freda at Freda's Voice hosts another teaser event on Fridays. Participants share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book they are reading -- or from 56% of the way through the audiobook or ebook. Please visit Freda's Voice for details and to leave a link to your post.

MY FRIDAY 56

From Cheyenne Summer:

Not surprisingly, Texas was a particularly thorny problem -- not only did Texans dislike Reconstruction, but the Comanche and the Kiowa and some Kiowa Apache were continuing their own form of resistance and depredation. . . . On one of his visits General Sheridan once said if he owned both hell and Texas, he'd live in hell and rent out Texas.

Four New Books: Memoir, Novel in Stories, History, Poetry -- MAILBOX MONDAY

 

MAILBOX MONDAY

I've been Mailbox Monday MIA for a few weeks while getting ready for a trial. In the meantime, several new books have come my way and stacked up on my desk. What do you think of these new releases? Does anything catch your eye? 

What new books came into your house lately?

I Have Not Loved You with My Whole Heart by Cris Harris (OSU Press). This gripping memoir came out in June and I can't wait to read it. 

Cris Harris grew up in a difficult household with an alcoholic father, learning to live with the uncertainty, chaos, and neglect of living with addiction. What he didn't expect was that his father, an Episcopalian priest, would come out as gay during the height of the AIDS crisis and die of HIV in 1995. 

The Image: A Novel in Pieces by Steven Faulkner (Beaufort Books). This short novel launches today!

The Image is the tale of a timeless work of art told in three linked stories. It's a story of how art and faith are often entwined and what it takes to cherish both.

Darrow's Nightmare: The Forgotten Story of America's Most Famous Trial Lawyer: (Los Angeles 1911-1913) by Nelson Johnson (Rosetta Books). This one came out in April. Nelson Johnson wrote Boardwalk Empire that was made into such a terrific TV show. 

Darrow's Nightmare is the nonfiction account of how America's most famous criminal trial attorney was almost a convicted criminal himself. in 1911, Darrow went to Los Angeles to defend two union agitators on trial for mass murder. While there, he was indicted and tried for bribing a juror. A conviction would have ended his career.

Plume Poetry 9, edited by Daniel Lawless. Plume is an online magazine dedicated to publishing the best of contemporary poetry. Since 2012, Plume has published an annual anthology of new poems. 

In this 9th anthology, editor Daniel Lawless did something a little different. Instead of choosing all the poems himself, he chose 49 poems and then let those poets chose another poet to be paired with. The 49 poem pairings appear side-by-side, in dialog, as they say in artsy circles. There is also a selection of nine poems by and an interview with Diane Seuss. 
  

Join other book lovers on Mailbox Monday to share the books that came into your house last week. Visit the Mailbox Monday website to find links to all the participants' posts and read more about Books that Caught our Eye.

Mailbox Monday is hosted by Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit, Martha of Reviews by Martha's Bookshelf, and Velvet of vvb32reads.

   

The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar - BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

Welcome to Book Beginnings on Fridays! Please share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. Add the link to your post in the Linky box below.

Another week of trial prep has flown by without me noticing much beyond my office. I definitely did not have time to post anything on the blog! I can't wait for this big case to be over, one way or the other. 

I can't complain about my law practice, though, because I am fortunate in so many ways. The sex abuse cases my law partner and I work on are difficult (legally and emotionally), but we get so much out of working with our clients. Most of them are adults in the 40s or 50s when they come to us to bring lawsuits for abuse they suffered as children. Many have never told anyone about their abuse until they talk to us. Many go to counseling for the first time because we "make" them. It is the combination of talking about their abuse, standing up for themselves by bringing a lawsuit, and going to counseling, that we've seen change lives -- over and over. So this is a great job to have. 

I'm also fortunate in little ways. My law partner is fun to work with and has my same off-kilter sense of humor. My husband is also a lawyer so puts up with me and has terrific ideas. I live close enough to walk to work. And a neighborhood kitty has adopted our office as a daytime hangout so we have a trial mascot!

MY BOOK BEGINNING

My Book Beginning this week is from The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar:

Although it is dawn, inside Bhima's heart it is dusk.

That's an evocative opening sentence! I like it. This one has been on my TBR shelf for a long time. I am glad to finally read it.

This is the story of two women in Bombay, India -- Sera and her servant Bhima. Both are older and have lost their husbands. They have much in common but a gulf of class and money separates them. It is excellent.

YOUR BOOK BEIGINNINGS

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THE FRIDAY 56

Another fun Friday event is The Friday 56. Share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your book, or 56% of the way through your e-book or audiobook, on this weekly event hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice.

MY FRIDAY 56

From The Space Between Us:

Bhima walked quickly, anxious to be home. The straps of her rubber chappals dug into her feet, but she was too lost in her thoughts to notice the pain.

Life in a Cold Climate: Nancy Mitford, the Biography by Laura Thompson

 

BOOK BEGGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

How often do you post on your blog each week? Ideally, I like to post three or four times a week. I had a short little stretch there when I was posting several times a week. 

But now I am up to my eyeballs in trial prep for a big sex abuse trial starting September 7. My law partner and I are working seven days a week and will be through the end of September, unless the case settles "on the courthouse steps" as they say. But, that's what I signed up for when I became a trial attorney. It's not 9 - 5 and it's not for the feint hearted.

So for a while, it will be all I can do to get these Book Beginnings posts up! These have become my anchor. I enjoy seeing what everyone has posted, even when I don't have time to leave a comment for everyone. Thank you for playing along!

Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading or want to highlight. You can participate with a blog or on social media. Add the link to your blog or SM post in the Linky box below. 

MY BOOK BEGINNING

From Life in a Cold Climate: Nancy Mitford, the Biography by Laura Thompson (2019, Pegasus Books):

The little grave at Swinbrook church is sad right now.

Starting a biography with a visit to the subject's grave is melancholy. But if you are going to write a biography of a dead person, everyone knows how the story ends. Maybe it's best to acknowledge it up front and then go back and fill in the life story.

I love Nancy Mitford's novels. And I love all the stories of the Mitford Sisters. I have a stack of Mitford Sisters books. I may dip into a few now and then, but my plan is to gorge myself on all of them at once when I get a chance.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add your link in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag.

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THE FRIDAY 56

Another weekly teaser event is The Friday 56, hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice, where you can find details and add a link to your post. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of the book you are featuring. You can also find a teaser from 56% of the way through your ebook or audiobook.

MY FRIDAY 56

From Life in a Cold Climate:

When, in Pursuit of Love, Nancy conceived the childhood of Fanny as an alternative to the one lived by the Radlett-Mitfords, she was of course having a dig at her parents for their failure to educate her. She wrote of the Radlett children that 'they never acquired any habit of concentration, they were incapable of solid hard work', and this frustration with her own mind was something real and lasting.

June Wrap Up - My June Books

 

JUNE WRAP UP

My June reading was a real mishmash! I read book from the lists I'm working on, challenges for 2021, things that caught my eye, and just at random. 

Here are the ten books I read in June, in the order I read them, not as they appear in the picture.

MY JUNE BOOKS

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr., a sci-fi classic. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but I’m still not a sci-fi fan. This is one of the 50 books on my Classics Club list. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

Skios by Michael Frayn was a reread for me, for my book club’s first post-corona in-person get-together. This Greek island farce was just as fun the second time. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here For? by Rick Warren. This has been on my TBR shelf forever and I am glad I finally read it. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Sex Lives of Cannibals by J. Martin Troost, a hilarious memoir and one of the best titles ever. He wrote two more memoirs about his expatriate adventures and now I want to finish the trilogy. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Book That Changed My Life: 71 Remarkable Writers Celebrate the Books That Matter Most to Them by Roxanne J. Coady and Joy Johannessen. I love books about books, so this was right up my alley. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

The Conservative Sensibility by George F. Will - not pictured because I read it with my ears. Will's new history of American conservative thought I mostly found interesting although it got very long. He included an endless chapter on his own atheism and why conservatism doesn't depend on a belief in God. I agree you don't have to be a believer to be conservative, but I don't think the argument needed the long digression he gave it, especially when he got down in the weeds about Charles Darwin. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

Eat Cake for Breakfast: And 99 Other Small Acts of Happiness by Viola Sutanto. This adorable new book is filled with happy illustrations. I needed a light spacer after Will's tome. 🌹🌹🌹🌹

A Place in the World by Amy Marone is the final book her Miramonde series and first-rate historical fiction. Read my interview with Amy Marone here. Her new series launches in September with the first book, Island of Gold, and it looks terrific! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Busman’s Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers, another audiobook, so not in the picture. This is the final novel in her Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series. I made an effort to finish the novels in the the series this year and have only the short stories to read. I have an omnibus edition of those and hope to finish them before the end of the year but don't know if I will get to them. 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Twice Shy by Dick Francis, another horse-themed mystery, this one with a startlingly dated computer theme. Anyone remember learning to code Basic? 🌹🌹🌹🌹

BEST COVER THIS MONTH