Oscar's No Slouch

When Mayor Lee Leffingwell announced his first pick for the Mayor's Book Club on Wednesday, Dec. 9, for the first time in the citywide reading program's history, the author of the selected book was in attendance at City Hall. Then again, Amigoland author Oscar Casares didn't have very far to travel: The critically acclaimed writer and University of Texas professor is a fixture of the Central Texas literary community. Casares first came to attention with his 2003 collection, Brownsville: Stories, which was inspired by his upbringing in the Texas border town of the title. Casares revisits the same border space in his well-received novel Amigoland, which was published this summer and should occupy the time and minds of Austin readers through to spring. (See our interview with Casares, "The Town Crier," Aug. 7.)

Oscar Casares (Photo by Jana Birchum)

Copies of Amigoland will be widely available at the Austin Public Library and at Austin-area bookstores. The Keep Austin Reading campaign runs this January through April, with related community workshops, film screenings, and other special events planned. For more information, visit www.cityofaustin.org/library.