Some of the most devoted reviewers of forgotten books on this blog have been devotees and writers of Westerns. Their passion for westerns is being thwarted somewhat by the reluctance of bookstores and libraries to carry these books with the same faithfulness they carry other genres. Please consider inquiring of your local bookstore or library whether they stock Westerns.
In my childhood, about half of the TV shows were westerns. With the demise of Deadwood, there is no regular Western series on now. I watched quite a few of them as a child, including Annie Oakley, the only one starring a woman to the best of my memory. Although I don't read many westerns, I see most of the Western movies that come along. The reason is--well, okay I see almost every movie--but also most Westerns seem to be done pretty well. Better than the average comedy or romance lately.
For a comprehensive discussion of westerns and western oriented blogs, go here. Gary Dobbs will steer you in the right direction.
I checked my local library and they stock 388 westerns. I wonder if that's low, average or high.
10 comments:
Well, as with most "genre" fiction, the question also is How many westerns in the GP library are classed as Fiction, Literature, or something else again.
Borders, the most ailing of the Killer B chains, still maintains a Western section in each of its stores, though that section varies widely in how well stocked it is. The Fairfax, VA, store, near my folks's place, at last visit was very well-stocked indeed, while the Philadelphia-area stores tended to be rather anemic. B&Ns don't break out westerns from other fiction, nor horror, unlike Borders...I haven't been in a Books-a-Million in a while, so have forgotten if they have western sections (I think they might've a decade or so back).
My Friday book will be Marcia Muller's TIME OF THE WOLVES: WESTERN STORIES.
I'll look. And thanks for the headsup on friday.
My library still buys westerns, and we have a collection of western paperbacks, as well as hardbacks. We have a very limited budget, but we add a couple titles a month. It isn't much, but we're working under tough circumstances right now.
As to movies - Westward, the Women has always been on my blog as one of my all-time favorite movies.
Lesa Holstine
http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com
Oh, I don't know that movie, Lesa. Ill have to check it out.
I think a good Western is the original American noir, as can be shown in such visual examples as DEADWOOD, UNFORGIVEN, OPEN RANGE, HOMBRE, and any number of others.
BTW, if anyone reading this hasn't read the book HOMBRE, you're missing a treat. It's short, a quick read, and Elmore Leonard never wrote anything better.
Dana is right about Elmore Leonard. I'm reading Leonard's Three-Ten to Yuma collection right now. For crime fans who wouldn't normally pick up a western, Leonard may write in the vein they are accustomed too and I'm certain they would enjoy it.
Thank for your involvement. It's going as well as expected and the next one will be even bigger.
I sure miss that old WEstern TV. I still watch the oldies channel when I can catch Bonanza or Gunsmoke.
Todd's point about libraries is excellent. Lots of the big Westerns, like Larry McMurtry's books, will be in with the general fiction. My dad was a big Western fan, so I watched lots of them as a kid. About the time the remake of 3:10 TO YUMA came out, someone I know who writes for BIG LOVE, said Hollywood was expecting a resurgence in Westerns, that they were always big after a war or as it's winding down. Something about a lone man with a gun out to right the wrongs of the world. It hasn't happened yet, but we'll see. That didn't work after Vietnam, but that was about the time BLAZING SADDLES "destroyed" the genre. ;)
I love BIG LOVe, btw. And I really liked 3:10 to Yuma. Looking forward to Appaloosa on Netflix.
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