Reader's Fave

I recently interviewed Ruby Hansen Murray for our 15th installment of Reader's Fave, a casual talk with someone who shares their favorite book. Ruby is a writer, photographer, and an award-winning columnist. She graciously accepted my short-notice invitation to sit and talk with her in the library.

As we began, Ruby shared about not just a single book, but rather a series of books, Little House on the Prairie, along with her thoughts about the author. Before we began discussing the Little House series and author Laura Ingalls Wilder, Ruby shared some personal interests for herself as a reader.

"It's really fun to get a book that goes way back," she said. "It's a treat to come in and find a book that people have loved for a long time." As Ruby showed me some old card pocket holders in the back of some books with stamped dates, it was evident she gets joy in finding semi-hidden treasures in a library. It was also clear Ruby enjoys reading for its own joy, along with doing research for her various writing interests. Ruby first started reading Wilder's book series 10 years ago. She never read them as a young person, but she did watch the popular Little House on the Prairie TV series with actor Michael Landon.

An Osage member, Ruby has primarily focused her reading of Wilder's books to those which include some mention of Osage or other Native Indian tribes. She liked to see what the author wrote about these people, as well as what she did or didn't include as a writer of her times.

Ruby also admired the strength of the women in the books. "They were very resilient women," she said, comparing them to women she personally knew. "I have respect for Laura. She reminds me of my aunts."

Wilder's books have a mix of pioneer spirit, resilient women, Native Americans, and failing/overcoming challenges but, as Ruby pointed out, the books share a common theme. "They're a phenomenon of a great American story," she said, noting that at the end of World War II it was felt the books would be helpful to another nation. "General Macarthur's wife recommended he take these books, these stories to Japan," Ruby said, noting it was the general's hope they would help uplift the Japanese people after such a humiliating defeat as a nation. Ruby further shared about a Little House on the Prairie Netflix series coming out and she is interested in watching it. As we sat and chatted, she shared that she had checked out three more Little House books for her to read and enjoy.

While she enjoys non-fiction, Ruby reads some fiction books as well. She mentioned having recently read Elita by Kirsten Lunstrum, an American take on the Nordic noir genre. She also discussed The Cassandra by Sharma Shields, a WW II novel of a woman and her work in a top- secret facility.

As we came to a close, Ruby had made it clear from the outset of our talk that "it's really cool" to come to this library. "I check from home online whether the library has a book," she said. While Ruby reads all her books in hard-copy form, she will listen sometimes to audio books, usually by using the Libby app. May you wonderful Wahkiakum readers enjoy an interesting book this week. Maybe it might even be a book which reveals more about the American past.