I love to curl up with a good book on a cold winter night, and I thought I'd share another list of a great Midwest reads--many I've read and several that are waiting on my to-read pile for later this winter.
I love the fact that the voice behind The Night Train blog, Amy Elliott Bragg, put some of her great stories about Detroit and its history into book form earlier this year. Amy's blog is a must-read for fans of Detroit's history and culture, and it was even especially fun to meet Amy in person and see her infectious enthusiasm for her subject at her recent release book release party. Check out her Hidden History of Detroit for some stories and cool vintage photos.
Cleveland Area History by Christopher Busta-Peck is another one of my blog regular reads, so I loved finding the History Press, publishers of Amy's book, published a similar book about Cleveland by Christopher. I especially enjoy his blog's stories about that city's vintage architecture, and I know I'll want to read his Hidden History of Cleveland.
Regular Midwest Guest readers may recognize Matt Forster's name from the guest posts he did for me here earlier this year (Every Day Has its Dog and My Piece on the Rock). Want to read more about Matt's outdoor adventures? Check out his latest book, Best Tent Camping: Michigan.
I'm finally getting around to reading the latest entry in Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli's Emily Kincaid mystery series, Dead Dogs and Englishmen. Be sure to also check out my Q & A with northern Michigan mystery writer Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli to learn more about the characters in this series and Elizabeth's future plans for them.
I just got my contributors copy of The Michigan Companion, a newly released encyclopedia about all things Michigan. Yes, I said contributors copy, as I was one of 25 writers who contributed the 1,200 entries in this 800-plus-page book. My entries include articles on topics like lighthouses, immigration, the history of several well known chain stores based in the state, the Pure Michigan advertising campaign, civil rights, women's suffrage, and more.
Detroit music is about Motown, and so much more! And so guitarist Dennis Coffey's book, Guitars, Bars and Motown Superstars is about his time with Motown, as well as his post-Motown career with its twists and turns. Coffey played as part of the legendary Funk Brothers, the studio musicians who gave so many Motown hits their distinctive sound, and after a somewhat bumpy post-Motown road, has come back full-circle to life as a musician with a truly distinctive sound. Coffey also recently released a self-titled album.
Want to learn a little more about the Funk Brothers? Be sure to check out this Standing in the Shadows of Motown DVD, a great gift for fans of the classic Motown sound and the studio musicians behind it.
Mitch Ryder is a classic Detroit voice who recently raised his voice as the author of a soon-to-be-released autobiography that follows his career from his earliest days as the leader of Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels to now, when we still see him occasionally perform around town. Ryder's Devil & Blue Dresses: My Wild Ride as a Rock and Roll Legend comes out in just a few days.
You can check out another take on Ryder's career with It Was All Right: Mitch Ryder's Life in Music by James A. Mitchell, which includes a forward by Ryder.
Curious about the ripped-from-the-headlines story that inspired the musical "Chicago"? Then check out The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers who inspired Chicago by Douglas Perry. The title alone was enough to get me to pick up this book, and the 1920s setting makes it one I really look forward to reading.
My mom recently gave me her copy of The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and a Forty-Year Friendship by Jeffrey Zaslow to read. I'm especially curious about how this story of a group of women growing up in Iowa and coming of age during the 1970s and 1980s may, or may not, parallel my own experiences here in Michigan.
So, there are a few of the books and authors I'm reading these days.
Do you have any other favorite Midwestern books or authors I should check out?
© Dominique King 2011 All rights reserved
Amy C. Rea has a new book out, Backroads and Byways of Minnesota. She's found a lot of interesting places that I didn't know about, so visitors to Minnesota should check it out as a guide to finding unique stays and experiences in the state.
Posted by: Minnemom | December 03, 2011 at 06:25 AM
Linda-Amy's book sounds like a good one...and I featured it on my Road Trips Reads list earlier this summer :)
http://www.midwestguest.com/2011/07/midwest-road-trip-reads-and-other-useful-road-tools.html
Posted by: Dominique King | December 03, 2011 at 06:31 AM
All great choices. I'm about 1/4 way thru Dead Dogs and Englishmen
Posted by: Tim | December 03, 2011 at 07:03 AM
I wonder where you got that book, Tim :)
Posted by: Dominique King | December 03, 2011 at 07:04 AM