Authors
Our members over the years have had various interactions with authors of books we have read. Here I have collected some of their memorabilia.
Ethan Canin
My daughter, Beth, and son-in-law Eugene, who live in Iowa City, are friends of Ethan and Barbara Canin, so while in Interlochen, Michigan, we visited with the Canins at their lake house near Traverse City, MI. Evidence of that visit is shown below. I told him about our book club and how we had greatly enjoyed several of his books. He kindly sent us this greeting. Below are confirmation pictures. His new book is A Doubter's Almanac.
On left is: Ethan Canin, Pat and Mel Oakes. On right is: Ethan and Barbara Canin, Mel Oakes
Richard Russo
Richard Russo atteneded the Texas Book Festival. He signed his new book at te time, That Old Cape Magic. Since my very favorite book of his is Nobody's Fool, he agreed to the inscription at left. "To Mel Oakes–Nobody's fool, and his book club."
Richard Russo signing Mel Oakes's copy of his book.
Edward O. Wilson
Jim Vick had a student who later went to Harvard and worked with E. O. Wilson. Wilson autographed a book for Jim. "For Jim Vick with warm regards."
Craig Johnson
Dennis Murphy, Craig Johnson and Sam Sutherland. Craig Johnson is the author of the Longmire mystery books which were make into a popular television series. Johnson was doing a book signing at BookPeople in Austin. Dennis write of the visit, "Johnson was great: an open, expansive personality, very articulate and thoroughly entertaining. Lots of stories about his life (he claims to be a rancher first, a writer second), his approach to writing (he outlines everything), the inspiration for his characters (most are based on people he knows; the old sheriff Lucien is enough like his father to be recognizable by family members -- though his dad really believes he is Walt Longmire), and so on and so on. By far the best reading/signing I've ever attended."
Marilynne Summers Robinson (born November 26, 1943) is an American novelist and essayist. Across her writing career, Robinson has received numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005, National Humanities Medal in 2012, and the 2016 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction. In 2016, Robinson was named in Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people. Robinson began teaching at the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1991 and retired in the spring of 2016. Robinson is best known for her novels Housekeeping (1980) and Gilead (2004). Her novels are noted for their thematic depiction of faith and rural life. The subjects of her essays span numerous topics, including the relationship between religion and science, American history, nuclear pollution, John Calvin, and contemporary American politics.
Mel and Pat Oakes' daughter lives in Iowa City and attends the same church as Marilynne. While on a visit, Marilynne agreed to a picture with them.