LIBRARY NOTES

DONNICE CARRUTH | SPECIAL TO THE TEXAS SPUR

After graduation in 1975 I left Spur, Texas.

I came back for visits with my family pretty often, but I lost touch with all things “Spur.” I never met Clyde or Gussie Latham in person, but after reading Clyde’s son Aaron’s book “The Ballad of Gussie and Clyde” I feel like I got a glimpse into their lives. The book had been on my ‘to read’ list for quite some time, but I never seemed to find the time. I finally made the time, and I am so glad I did. Latham’s sweet homage to his father and stepmother’s octogenarian love story is an inspiring read. The references to people and places I do know made the book even more interesting. I think the book would appeal to anyone who enjoys a good read. I would encourage anyone who hasn’t read it to pick up a copy and read it.

I noticed when I checked the book out that our copy was autographed to our librarian at the time, Ethel McArthur and the library, by the author and by Gussie. That copy is now retired and will be put on display, and a new copy is now available for our patrons to check out. There are quite a few of us who use Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime has a feature that I have not used in the past. I have known about Prime Reading, but I had not used it until recently. With prime reading the user has unlimited access to a rotating catalog of ebooks and audiobooks, they get one free pre-release ebook every month from editor’s picks, and magazines and comic books are also included.

I was browsing through some of the titles in prime reading and downloaded one that sounded interesting. “The Second Life of Mirielle West” by Amanda Skenandore is based on a true story of America’s only leper colony. Set in 1920s Louisiana, the novel tells of the institution known as Carville, where thousands of people were stripped of their civil rights, branded as lepers, and forcibly quarantined throughout the entire 20th century. Amanda Skenandore is a historical fiction writer and registered nurse. Her subjects and writings are reminiscent of New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict. As a history buff, but not into the boring lecture style of reading about it, I have found Benedict’s books to be totally entertaining and historically correct. Although I am only half the way through Skenandore’s novel I believe it to be historically correct as well. Researching Leper colonies in the United States, I found that the institution in Carville, Louisiana, was the only national leprosarium in the continental United States; it ran from 1894 until 2005.

“The Second Life of Mirielle West” and Skenandore’s first novel, “Between Earth and Sky,” which won the American Library Association’s Reading List Award for Best Historical Fiction, are ordered and will be available for our patrons to check out.

Check it all out at the library.

Donnice Carruth is director of the Dickens County-Spur Library, in Spur.