Kate’s 2¢: “Stargazer” by Anne Hillerman

“Stargazer” by Anne Hillerman

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

–Drugs, alcohol, poverty, violence. The seeds of the problem were planted before she or Maya or anyone of their generation took a breath.

–The heritage of historical trauma loomed large over all Native people.

–It was a tribute to the Navajo Nation that so many of their traditions survived the force marches, boarding schools, and prejudice.

–Leave undisturbed the spirits of the ancestors that cling to these places.

–Everything is considered living and sacred. The entire universe is a living, sacred organism; existing in a constant, regenerating cosmos.

   We learn many Navajo words as Bernie investigates the why and how of her friend, Maya’s confessing of murdering her estranged husband. We also learn about many of the Navajo customs and beliefs, such as the star ceilings in caves.

   I enjoyed this story, with its descriptions of the beautiful country-side and mountains.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anne Hillerman is an American journalist from New Mexico, and a New York Times best-selling author. The daughter of novelist Tony Hillerman, she continued her father’s series of Joe Leaphorn-Jim Chee novels following his death.

She is the daughter of novelist Tony Hillerman and his wife Marie Unzner, and was married to photographer Don Strel who died in 2020. Anne has served as arts editor and editorial page editor, as well as writer, for The Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper and the Albuquerque Journal.[1] Her first books were primarily about travel, local New Mexico points of interest, and restaurants. She and Strel collaborated on Santa Fe Flavors: Best Restaurants and Recipes and Gardens of Santa Fe.[2]

Leaphorn and Chee novels[edit]

Tony Hillerman, who died in 2008, was best known for his Leaphorn and Chee mystery novels.[3] Tony Hillerman’s Landscapes: On the Road with Chee and Leaphorn was begun by Anne before his death, and includes his comments. With Anne gleaning locale details from her father’s novels, and her husband taking the photographs, she intended it as a book to draw in readers of his novels, a guide for the reader to visualize the New Mexico and Arizona sites from the perspective of the two main protagonists Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee.[4]

After her father’s death, Anne continued the Leaphorn and Chee series, but Leaphorn’s involvement is curtailed in the first chapter of the first book, Spider Woman’s Daughter. Leaphorn is the victim of an assassination attempt, spends half of the book in a coma, and later was severely limited in his ability to communicate. Chee and Bernadette Manuelito are the crime solvers from that book forward in the series, with Leaphorn mentioned sporadically in the background but never fully active in the investigations. Spider Woman’s Daughter garnered the 2014 Spur Award for Best First Novel from the Western Writers of America, and landed on the New York Times Best Seller list.[5][6][7]

She followed that with three more in the series, Rock With Wings,[8] Song of the Lion[9] [10] and Cave of Bones, released April 2018, all of which have also been on the New York Times Best Seller list.[11]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Stargazer DB103440

Hillerman, Anne. Reading time: 9 hours, 22 minutes.

Read by Darrell Dennis.

Suspense Fiction

Mystery and Detective Stories

Officer Bernadette Manuelito’s day starts out normally, but then she is asked to investigate the disappearance of her former friend and roommate Maya. Maya confessed to murder before disappearing. But nothing adds up for Bernie. Her investigation leads to a rift with her husband, Jim Chee. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2021.

Downloaded: July 3, 2021

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Kate’s 2¢: “A Birdsong tutor for visually handicapped individuals: by Lang Elliott

“A Birdsong tutor for visually handicapped individuals: by Lang Elliott

Kate’s 2¢:

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

   I really enjoyed taking a walk to hear the birds and their calls as well as learning about their favorite habitats.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

A Birdsong tutor for visually handicapped individuals DB29485

Elliott, Lang. Reading time: 2 hours, 12 minutes.

Read by Lang Elliot. A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Hobbies and Crafts

Animals and Wildlife

Nature and the Environment

An auditory guide to the sounds made by birds and other wildlife. Following an introduction to a variety of natural sounds, including a full mixed chorus of woodland birds, Lang conducts different field trips to acquaint us with various habitats of the sound-makers. With practice, the listener will be able to identify singers from the eastern United States and Canada.

Download A Birdsong tutor for visually handicapped individuals