June 2026 Sunriver Scene - Flipbook - Page 26
Arizona is the setting for June's book club selections at Sunriver Books
By Deon Stonehouse
As a lead up to the Fourth
of July, we have a themed
month in June to celebrate
the diversity of landscape,
culture and community in our
vast country.
There is a wealth of beauty in
the United States including the
splendor of the West Coast, the
Rocky Mountains, the Grand
Canyon, the moss draped trees
of the south and the brilliant
fall colors of New England.
Each place and community
offer something different.
In June, our book clubs will
discuss books set in Arizona.
The newsletter and our website
will feature books set in Arizona, and there will be a display
table of books at the bookstore.
Our Book Clubs are fun.
Please register to attend a discussion by emailing sunriver
books@sunriverbooks.com.
Mystery Book Club
The Mystery Book Club
will discuss “The Fallen Man”
by Tony Hillerman on June 1
at 6 p.m. via Zoom and June
8 at 4:30 p.m. in-person at
the bookstore in The Village
at Sunriver. This is one of my
favorites of Hillerman’s mysteries featuring Joe Leaphorn and
Jim Chee.
As the book opens, the remains of a climber are found on
Shiprock mountain. Shiprock
is a difficult mountain to
climb, a place limited to experienced climbers. The discovery
of the skeleton reminds Joe
Leaphorn of a missing person's
case he worked years ago that
remains unsolved. Joe has recently retired from the Navajo
Tribal police.
He no longer has official
standing, being retired and all,
but resolves to go chat with
acting Lt. Jim Chee.
This is a new dynamic for
Jim. He is used to Joe being his
mentor and superior officer. It
will take a while to get used to
the new relationship.
But he is far more interested in Joe’s suppositions
about the missing person than
his current investigation into
cattle rustling.
The dead man on Shiprock
is not going to be the last act
of violence.
This is a clever mystery.
June's book club selections are 'The Fallen Man' and 'Inland.'
Fiction Book Club
The Fiction Book Club will
discuss “Inland” by Téa Obreht
on June 15 at 6 p.m. via Zoom
and June 22 at 4:30 p.m.
in-person at the bookstore in
The Village at Sunriver. “Inland” is a western historical
fiction with a touch of magical realism that follows two
parallel storylines.
In 1893, Arizona territory
is dry and thirsty. There is no
water to be found.
Nora and Emmett live on
a lonely piece of acreage with
their three sons, Toby, Rob and
Dolan, along with Emmett’s
mother, and an orphaned teenage relative, Josie.
Emmett runs the local paper
in the nearest small town. As
the story opens, Emmett has
gone off in search of water, and
the two older sons are missing
after an argument. Nora is trying to take care of Toby, Josie,
and her mother-in-law with
what little water they have left.
Josie’s position in the household is ostensibly to help Nora
with the housework, but Josie
can communicate with the
dead, which tends to distract
her. Meanwhile across the
country, Laurie is facing some
challenging times.
Trying to get by since he
was a small child without his
father or the means to afford
anything, then becoming part
of a gang of inept desperados,
we all know how that sort of
enterprise can end.
If that didn’t make his life
complicated enough, the dead
communicate with him, conveying their wants and leading
him astray.
One of the stranger parts of
U.S. military history will play a
part in the story. No, I am not
going to tell you which strange
part and, yes, the U.S. military,
albeit a highly admirable and
proficient military, has had a
few strange episodes over the
centuries. Read the book and
discover an interesting chapter
about history.
Obreht is an inventive author
of great complexity. She has
been praised by the New Yorker, the National Book Foundation and Barack Obama.
She is able to skillfully blend
history, sadness and humor. We
discussed “The Tiger’s Wife,”
winner of the Orange Prize in
a prior book club discussion.
Sunriver Books & Music is in
The Village at Sunriver.
Call 541-593-2525 or
visit sunriverbooks.com
for information.
Please donate your cans & bottles!
Bin Location: East side of the Sunriver Marketplace
18160 Cottonwood Rd. Sunriver
Come check out the local family-owned pet store in
Sunriver! We offer a self-wash bath for your pets.
56825 Venture Lane Ste 110, Sunriver, OR 97707 | 458-666-1850
year-round Decks • Remodeling • Residential Cleaning
mydreamdecks.com • john@dreamdecksremodeling.com
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JUNE 2026 SUNRIVER SCENE
