The annual Michigan Notable Books list features 20 fiction or nonfiction books published in the previous year set in Michigan or on the Great Lakes, or written by a native or resident of Michigan. These books highlight the culture and diversity of the state and region. For lists of each year's honorees, search for Michigan Notable Books at www.michigan.gov/hal.

Each year the library hosts a visit from one of the authors. Co-hosted by the Alzheimer's Association-Upper Peninsula Chapter, Mary Ellen Geist, author of Measure of the Heart: A Father's Alzheimer's, a Daughter's Return, will visit at 7 p.m. April 30 in the library's Community Room. In her memoir, Geist describes the hardships of the disease and factors that influenced her decision to return home to Northern Michigan to care for her Alzheimer's-stricken father.

Other Notable Books this year include:

Wreck of the Carl D.: A True Story of Loss, Survival, and Rescue at Sea by Michael Schumacher is a tribute to the men who died when the boat sank on Nov. 18, 1958 in one of the most violent storms in history on Lake Michigan. Schumacher's powerful narrative explores the circumstances of the shipwreck itself and the resulting devastating impact on the small community of Rogers City, home of many crewmembers.

The Toledo War: The First Michigan-Ohio Rivalry by Don Faber explores the 1835 fight between Michigan and Ohio over a narrow slice of land known as the Toledo Strip. Faber used newspaper accounts of the era to explore the roots of the conflict, the politics that contributed to Michigan's delayed admission to the Union, and the many personalities involved. Ohio maintained possession of the strip, but Michigan received a large portion of the Upper Peninsula.

In Roadie: The Misunderstood World of a Bike Racer, author Jamie Smith uses a keen sense of humor and a wealth of experience as a cyclist to explain the wonderfully addicting yet strange world of bicycle racing, including many of its charming habits and obsessive practices. Training, diet, several of the Michigan courses, cycle repairs, race strategies, and why cyclists wear Lycra are all outlined. Jef Mallett's comic illustrations complement the narrative.

The greatest years of the storied football rivalry between the University of Michigan and Ohio State University took place in the late 1960s and early 1970s amidst campus unrest, Vietnam War protests and great political and social upheaval. War as They Knew It: Woody Hayes, Bo Schembechler, and America in a Time of Unrest by Michael Rosenberg is more than a history of that rivalry; it integrates the story of the two iconic coaches with the unfolding national dramas of the era.

A Picturesque Situation: Mackinac Before Photography, 1615-1860 by Brian Leigh Dunnigan is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of Mackinac Island and the people who have lived there. Dunnigan's impressive collection of prephotographic images of the region draws from decades of research. Rare maps, plans, drawings, sketches, engravings and paintings, all in full color, are enhanced by the highly readable text.

The English Major, author Jim Harrison's 14th book of fiction, is a humorous novel exploring a man's journey to self-discovery. After his wife dumps him, Cliff, 60-ish former English teacher turned farmer, hits the road in his old Ford Taurus with a plan to rename all the birds and all the states. The story describes his attempt to shed his former life, and cross the boundaries of as many states as he can in a year.

The Expeditions: A Novel, the debut novel by suburban Detroit native Karl Iagnemma, is set in historic 1840s Michigan. Elisha Stone, a 16-year-old runaway, heads to Detroit to get away from trouble at home. He winds up working with a party of naturalists, embarking on a voyage to the Upper Peninsula to discover treasure and prove theories about the origins of man. Iagnemma skillfully describes the interactions of the unstable research party, the historical attitudes and conditions of this frontier era, and the interaction between father and son, as Elisha's father comes in search of his son.

- Caroline Jordan

Collection Development