2023 Holiday Book Guide: 10 Colorado authors pick their favorites

“Black Elk Speaks, Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux”
As told to John G. Neihardt (1932)

This unique collaboration between an Indigenous holy man and a respected poet and author is not only a moving memoir of the Lakotas’ final years of freedom and the struggles of reservation life, but a story of resilience as well. Black Elk, also known as Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950), was a Little Big Horn veteran, a survivor of the Wounded Knee Massacre and a performer with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Exhibition. In 2016, Harney Peak in the Black Hills was renamed Black Elk Peak in honor of the holy man. (Available in paperback from the University of Nebraska Press.

“A Wyatt Earp Anthology: Long May His Story Be Told”
Edited by Roy B. Young, Gary L. Roberts, and Casey Tefertiller (2019)

I’m currently writing a book on the friendship between Old West icons Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, and this volume has been both indispensable and lots of fun. It’s massive (861 pages!), but it contains every important article and essay ever written on Earp, the man and the myth. Want to know about Wyatt’s time as a bouncer in a Peoria, Illinois, brothel (Wyatt was referred to as “the Peoria bummer”)? It’s here. The time he was arrested and jailed in Arkansas as a horse thief? Covered. The O.K. Corral gunfight? Oh, boy! (Available from the University of North Texas Press.)

“Trace: Memory, History, Race, and the American Landscape”
By Lauret Savoy (2015)

A geologist by training, Lauret Savoy journeys through American landscapes to unearth traces of the lives of her ancestors. In the Arizona borderlands, where her mother was an Army nurse stationed at Fort Huachuca, she probes the histories of the U.S.-Mexico border. In the Walnut Grove Plantation in South Carolina, she contends with the unspoken histories of slavery. From the Grand Canyon to Oklahoma, the Great Lakes to Washington D.C., she asks, “What is my relationship with history, told and untold, on this land?”

“The Grave on the Wall”
By Brandon Shimoda (2019)

On the surface, Brandon Shimoda’s memoir “The Grave on the Wall” is a lyrical portrait of his paternal grandfather Midori Shimoda, a photographer who immigrated from Japan in the 1910s. But Shimoda also contends with the silences of the archive and family oral histories. He finds a photograph of Midori in a bra and a slip from his internment in Fort Missoula. “Who he is, and what he is feeling, is being sublimated, suppressed, by his outward appearance, pushed down the deep well of his throat, into his chest, but beyond the reach of his heart.”

“The Collected Regrets of Clover”
By Mikki Brammer (2023)

This is a poignant story that I found uplifting and beautifully written with a main character who reminded me of the quirky but loveable Eleanor Oliphant. Death doula Clover provides companionship for the dying but as an introvert and loner, she struggles to find that for herself. When she decides to unearth the unforgettable love story of one of her patients, Clover embarks on a cross-country journey where she ultimately discovers the beauty of living for herself. 

“Damnation Spring”
By Ash Davidson (2021)

Ash Davidson’s debut novel is about love, work, marriage, and sacrifice in a 1970s California logging town. Her writing is rich and packed with emotion, her characters deeply drawn, and the impact of logging on a family, community, and the environment is carefully and expertly written. This story left me gut-punched and stayed with me long after I finished the book.

“The Invention of Nature: Alexander Von Humboldt’s New World”
By Andrea Wulf (2015)

As a life-long ecologist, I have encountered the remnants of Humboldt’s 18th century journeys and naturalist insights from around the globe, as they have contributed dearly to our modern understanding of ecology and conservation. This includes the names of plants here in Colorado, and even the way we conceive of the distribution of prairies, forests, and alpine tundra. What author Andrea Wulf has done so eloquently is breathe a beautiful new life into Humboldt’s essential work. The result is nothing less than miraculous. This remains the best book I’ve read in years, and I recommend it highly to naturalists, ecologists, conservationists, and even economists interested in sustainability.

“Un Mar de Esperanza (A Sea of Hope)”
By Andrea Saenz-Arroyo (2022)

This book, written in beautiful Spanish by a Chiapas marine biologist, chronicles the hidden and humble secrets of several fishing communities around the globe. The tales Andrea tells are deeply personal, insightful, and have far-reaching implications for not only local community resilience and sustained prosperity, but for entire nations.  An English version is not currently available; but…hey, what better way to learn the beautiful Spanish language this winter, while nestled in a toasty room with some Chiapas-sourced coffee or chocolate, Spanish-English dictionary in one hand, “Un Mar de Esperanza” in the other.

(There’s also an English language version of the website.)

“Don’t Forget to Write”
By Sarah Goodman Confino (2023)

Set in the early 1960s, Marilyn Kleinman is sent to live with her stodgy Aunt Ada in Philadelphia after an embarrassing encounter with the rabbi’s son during services. To Marilyn’s surprise, Aunt Ada is not as crotchety as she expected, and Marilyn is in for the summer of a lifetime. I particularly liked the audio version, narrated by Helen Laser (of “Yellowface” fame — also a fabulous read). The audio felt like it was read by Rachel Brosnahan, the titular character of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and Christine Baranski, the fearsome Aunt Agnes of “The Gilded Age.” Loved. It.

“The Other Princess”
By Denny S. Bryce (2023)

This is one of my favorite historical reads of 2023. It’s the story of Sarah Forbes Bonetta, a West African child taken from her homeland to England as a “gift” for Queen Victoria. Unlikely as it might seem for the era, Sarah is adopted as Queen Victoria’s goddaughter and lives at court, all the while haunted by her memories of the atrocities she and her family suffered. I love stories of women lost to history, and Sarah Forbes Bonetta was certainly a fascinating figure among those who have gone unsung. Bryce is a formidable talent, and I look forward to seeing what else she has coming!

“Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor”
By Andrew Lownie (2022)

If you’re fascinated by the sometimes-messy lives of the Royals (and who isn’t), I highly recommend “Traitor King.”  You might recall that Britain’s King Edward VIII gave up the throne to marry a divorced American woman, Wallis Simpson, prior to the outbreak of the Second World War — and changed the course of world history. For Edward, it turns out, was a great admirer of Hitler.

“American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer”
By Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin (2006)

If you’ve seen the film “Oppenheimer,” now read the book from which it came — and understand the many details the movie obscures or glosses over. The brilliant physicist’s life was extraordinarily complex, and this Pulitzer Prize-winning book captures it all in great detail.

“Convenience Store Woman”
By Sayaka Murata (2018)

Murata is one of Japan’s most popular novelists and this story demonstrates why. An unusual young lady who’s just never managed to fit in anywhere finds the acceptance she’s always sought by working in Tokyo’s version of a 7-Eleven. Life just makes sense to her in this environment, and she happily stays there for almost 20 years before her family starts pressuring her to marry. The novel has sharp observations about society and the workplace all capped off by a wonderful character who’s unlike anyone you’ll ever meet. While I’d recommend this novel to anyone, it’s truly a worthwhile gift for any reader who happens to be a fan of Richard Russo-esque harried narrators!

“Feather Crowns”
By Bobbie Ann Mason (1993)

This is a powerful, sprawling, unique novel set in Kentucky during 1900, when fin de siecle Apocalyptic worry reaches a fever pitch after a farmer’s wife gives birth to quintuplets, turning her — and them — into a national cause celebre. What follows is a 60-year exploration about the nature of faith, celebrity, and personal values explored in rich historical detail. It’s also often quite funny, juggling the seriousness of its themes with the casual absurdities life has to offer. The novel was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and quite famous in its time, but enough years have passed to make it ripe for rediscovery by generations of new readers.

“March Violets”
By Philip Kerr (1989)

Each of Philip Kerr’s 14 Bernie Gunther novels, all of which feature a world-weary Berlin homicide detective achieving small feats of redemptive justice amidst the monstrous inhumanity of Nazi-era Germany, is a miracle of historical crime fiction. Bernie is a cynic, a romantic, an idealist, and oftentimes an unwitting tool of the various historical figures — Goering and Goebbels, Heydrich and Himmler — that populate Kerr’s novels. My recommendation is to begin at the beginning, with “March Violets,” in which Bernie, working as a private detective in post-war Berlin, leads readers on a Chandleresque quest to recover a diamond necklace stolen from a wealthy industrialist. As with all the Bernie Gunther novels, readers will descend into an amoral, byzantine maze of rivalries and alliances that complicate any quest for truth or justice in the shadowy murk of Nazi Germany.

“Plum Island”
By Nelson DeMille (1997)

Set on eastern Long Island, DeMille’s first (of eight) John Corey novels finds our hero, a no-bullshit NYPD homicide detective, on medical leave when he’s recruited by the local police chief to help solve a double homicide that may or may not involve the theft of deadly biological agents from a top-secret research laboratory. The novel is a mystery-thriller hybrid that will have you turning pages until the very end and laughing all the way at Corey’s droll tough-guy patter. DeMille’s John Corey is one of the best crime fiction protagonists you’ll ever have the pleasure of following, like a runaway locomotive, toward an ending you’ll never see coming.

“Five Decembers”
By James Kestrel (2021)

“Five Decembers” starts as a seemingly ordinary, if grisly, murder investigation on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Detective Joe McGrady is sent to check on the report of a dead man discovered in a shed. Initially, the book unfolds in the usual way of clues, suspects, and red herrings. Had the book continued in this vein, it would have been a worthy if more humble entry into the canon. But the book is not set during an ordinary time — the date when the book opens is November 21, 1946 — and this is no simple police procedural. As the taciturn and determined McGrady (a detective very much in the noirish mold) pursues his killer, the novel explodes across the globe against the backdrop of World War II and the firebombing of Japan. With writing that is eloquent, tight and muscular, the book brilliantly portrays the lives of those caught up in forces greater than themselves, and shows that even as millions die, the smaller deaths of individuals still matter.

“Descent”
By Tim Johnston (2015)

With “Descent,” the reader is ushered into a world of almost unbearable pain — a daughter is kidnapped in the Colorado Rockies and, while a sheriff persists in his investigation, the family struggles to handle the fallout of not knowing where their child/sister is and whether she is still alive. Each character is given their due as they grapple with their fear for Caitlin and the dissolution of their once tight-knit family. Johnston’s writing is rich, and the story — while carrying a literary feel — rushes forward in a way that deserves that well-used phrase, “page turner.”

“Frankenstein”
By Mary Shelley (1818)

Though often classified as horror, Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” is the original science fiction novel. What gets lost in the filmic interpretations of Shelley’s work and the cultural memes is the complexity of Frankenstein’s monster, who is ironically the most human and empathetic character of the novel. As we face a real existential crisis with the development of AI, I’ve thought about the thematic relevance of this book as a cautionary tale against the ambition of science.

“The Drowned World”
By J.G. Ballard (1962)

J.G. Ballard is one of the weirdest sci-fi writers of the 20th century. He is part of the British New Wave, a movement in science during the ’60s and ’70s that was heavily influenced by literary modernism. “The Drowned World” is a pioneer of the climate fiction genre (or cli-fi). It takes place in a post-apocalyptic London, which has been flooded by the melting of the ice caps. The book is often surreal and grotesque. Like most of Ballard’s novels, you are never solidly grounded in reality.