Cover to Cover

Houston celebs reveal their favorite reads in bookish new series

Houston Public Media wants to help Houstonians celebrate their favorite novels. To facilitate that goal, the station is launching a new series called Cover to Cover that will serve as a companion to the Great American Read, a new PBS series devoted to the country’s 100 favorite novels.

Similar to the way Manor of Speaking provided a forum for conversation after each episode of Downton Abbey, Cover to Cover adds a local perspective to the Great American Read. Each episode airs immediately after the PBS show, starting on Tuesday, September 11 at 8 pm.

Host Ernie Manouse and a panel of local guests will discuss their own favorites within the show’s themes: Who Am I, Heroes, Villains, Love, and Other Worlds. Since the first episode of the Great American Read recaps a special that aired in May, the first episode of Cover to Cover focuses on books about Texas.

“What I always said about Manor of Speaking was, when I was watching Downton Abbey, I always wanted to talk to someone about it,” Manouse tells CultureMap. “These shows give you the opportunity to share with other people. ‘These are the books PBS came up with, but what are my favorite books?’ We had fun with it, and I think the audience will enjoy it.”

In each episode, Manouse and the panel, which includes local celebrities like Great Day Houston host Deborah Duncan, former Houston First Lady Andrea White, Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star CEO Pierce Bush, and America’s Got Talent contestant Christina Wells, discuss the merits of each individual genre. From there, each person shares a favorite book in that genre. Finally, they compete in a trivia quiz called LQ that’s inspired by the popular app HQ.

“We went around and tried to come up with four guests for each show,” Manouse says. “I wanted each show to have a recognizable name. We also wanted an author. We wanted a superfan that was kind of an everyday person . . . Each group was four fun people who had chemistry and could share their theories on those topics.”

One of those everyday people is the Houston Spider-Man, the cosplayer whose efforts to help children after Hurricane Harvey earned national acclaim. Of course, he appears on the Heroes episode, where he touts The Little Prince as his favorite book.

“It’s fun. It’s sweet,” Manouse says. “It also makes books fun, so that they’re not seen as ‘[only] boring people read books.’”

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Cover to Cover airs on Houston PBS every Tuesday from September 11 to October 16 at 8 pm.

Ernie Manouse discusses heroes with the Houston Spider-Man.

Houston Public Media Cover to Cover Spider-Man

Photo by Alex Broussard/HPM

Ernie Manouse discusses heroes with the Houston Spider-Man.

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In Memoriam

Legendary Texas singer-songwriter Joe Ely dies at 78

Joe Ely/Facebook

Joe Ely was a major figure in Texas' progressive country scene.

Joe Ely, the legendary songwriter, singer and storyteller whose career spanned more than five decades, has died from complications related to Lewy Body Dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and pneumonia. He was 78.

In a statement posted to his Facebook page, Ely died at his home in Taos, New Mexico, with his wife, Sharon, and daughter, Marie, at his side.

Born February 9, 1947, in Amarillo, Texas, Ely was raised in Lubbock and became a central figure among a generation of influential West Texas musicians. He later settled in Austin, helping shape the city’s reputation as a hub for live music.

As with many local legends, it's hard to tease out what specifically made Ely's time in Austin so great; Austin treasures its live music staples, so being around and staying authentic from the early days is often the most important thing an artist can do.

Ely got his local start at One Knight Tavern, which later became Stubb's BBQ — the artist and the famous venue share a hometown of Lubbock. He alternated nights with emerging guitar great Stevie Ray Vaughn. He built his own recording studio in Dripping Springs, and kept close relationships with other Texas musicians. Later in his career, Ely brought fans into the live music experience, publishing excerpts from his journal and musings on the road in Bonfire of Roadmaps (2010), and was inducted into the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame in 2022. Austin blues icon Marcia Ball was among Ely's friends who played the induction show.

"Joe Ely performed American roots music with the fervor of a true believer who knew music could transport souls," said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

In the 1970s, Ely signed with MCA Records, launching a career that included decades of recording and touring around the world. His work and performances left a lasting impact on the music scene and influenced a wide range of artists, including the Clash and Bruce Springsteen, according to Rolling Stone.

"His distinctive musical style could only have emerged from Texas, with its southwestern blend of honky-tonk, rock & roll, roadhouse blues, western swing, and conjunto. He began his career in the Flatlanders, with fellow Lubbock natives Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock, and he would mix their songs with his through 50 years of critically acclaimed recordings. [...]"

Read the full story at KVUE.com. CultureMap has added two paragraphs of context about the Austin portion of Ely's career.

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