Tumbleweed Tree Lighting - December 3

Get in the holiday spirit this weekend with Chandler's 55th Tumbleweed Tree Lighting Ceremony. This free event is held in Historic Downtown Chandler at A.J. Chandler Park on Saturday, December 3, starting at 4:30 pm. Vendors and entertainment will be available, then the Parade of Lights starts at 7 pm, culminating in the official lighting of the Tumbleweed Tree. For more information, see the City website.

This year the Tumbleweed Tree Lighting Ceremony has been designated an official Arizona Centennial event. The 100-year anniversary of Arizona's statehood will be celebrated on February 14, 2012, with various events statewide being designated as part of the centennial lead-up. For more about Arizona's centennial and history, upcoming events, the Centenarian project to recognize 100-year-old Arizonans, and more, visit www.az100years.org.

Book Review: The Call

A rural veterinarian logs his days around the calls he receives:

CALL: The alpaca that spit in my eye is dead.
ACTION: Drove to farm. The owner wanted to know what had done it.... He died from fear, I said to the owner. Your alpaca died when the thunder clapped.
RESULT: The man looked around his barn. He spoke in a whisper.... He will go to alpaca heaven, the owner said, and I tried to picture what alpaca heaven would look like but all I pictured was the same barn I was standing in and the owner petting the dead alpaca's side.
THOUGHTS ON DRIVE HOME: If I could time-travel in only one direction, would I go forward or backward?

These observations form Yannick Murphy's unusual new novel, The Call. The veterinarian fleshes out the story of his life through this formula, adding observations about his town, his family, and the stresses he must cope with, including the hunting accident that leaves his son in a coma. The pages of his log become filled not only with simple medical records, but also with his wishes, fears, and the thoughts he consoles himself with, imagining what the house or the family rabbit might say to him, and wondering if the strange lights he sees in the sky belong to a spaceship. An unusual premise and format lead to a surprisingly touching conclusion. - Michelle (Sunset)

Staff Picks: Native American Authors

Talking Leaves: Contemporary Native American Short Stories, edited by Craig Lesley
“Great appetizers by various Native American authors.” There are 30 or so authors who have been included, some Lucy liked better than others. There were various themes such as folklore and life on the reservation, and in some stories the landscape takes on the role of a character.

Ohitika Woman, by Mary Crow Dog
“Everyone should read this to see their life.” Betty felt that by reading this book you could gain a better understanding of how the native people have been treated. Follow the life of Mary Crow Dog and see what happened to the Native American people, their issues with diabetes and alcoholism, and how they have lost their culture and their language.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
“There's a bitter-sweet flavor to this book - Sherman Alexie has a sense of self depreciating humor, the sort of humor I love.” This is a story of a boy who wants to go to the white school when he sees that his mother’s signature is in the history book he is using in class. It follows him through all the trials that ensue.

Code Talker, by Chester Nez
The autobiography of the last living Code Talker, who devised the actual World War II code. “It’s written as if you were sitting and talking to this man. Just a gentle voice all the way through this book. It’s a fascinating read that is very inspiring.” There were only 32 original Code Talkers.

Book review: The Butcher and the Vegetarian

Can meat eaters and vegetarians ever understand each other? That's what Tara Austen Weaver is forced to find out for herself when she, a lifelong vegetarian, is given doctor's orders to eat meat in order to address chronic health issues. The Butcher and the Vegetarian is Weaver's memoir of her meat-eating experiment, from her first perplexing visit to the local butcher shop, to a savory cooking session with a barbeque chef, to an exploration of small-scale meat producers, including a visit on "slaughter day." In an engaging and honest voice, she describes both her detailed objections to meat production and the luscious experience of eating well-prepared beef and pork, struggling to balance her desires to live ethically and to savor life through food. It's a well-rounded approach that has something to appeal to readers from both camps, and might even help them gain some understanding of one another. - Michelle (Sunset)