Sunday, February 28, 2016

29 days of book love...


I stopped. Why bother, I thought, when no one is listening?  It's frustrating I admit it but do I want to admit defeat?  No.

After that struggle I reassessed; I'm not really writing for anyone else. It's important for just me. Do I want people to read? Absolutely.  Do I want people to comment?  Absolutely. Yes, please. Say something, tell me what you think.  I love discourse and dialogue.

But even if I'm just talking to myself it's okay.

So I cam back to book love.  Barbara Kingsolver.  Anyone else love her?
I've read almost all of her books.

Here are my favorites in reading order:

1. The Bean Trees (1988): Goodreads wasn't around but I read this one first and fell in love with the way it was written and the characters.  I kept reading the series as I found them.

2. Prodigal Summer (2000): An amazing character driven tale that takes place in Appalachia.  I loved Lusa because she was struggling with her place in the world. I could relate.

3. The Poisonwood Bible (1998):  Wow.  Ten years after The Bean Trees and this is a big leap up.  A totally different kind of story.  Quite good and I made it through all 546 pages.

4. Animal Vegetable Miracle (2007): She said everything I wanted to hear about food.  Changed the way I thought about meat.  My son was so happy. Local, healthy food and funny stories along the way.

5. The Lacuna (2009): Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Harrison Shepherd jaunt through Mexico and the U.S. during the 1930s. Beautiful and 508 pages.

6. Flight Behavior (2012): Goodreads says it like this "Contemporary American fiction at its finest..." I agree. This story blends interesting characters with an environmental message that made it easily my favorite of all her books.

Thank you Barbara for writing. I love your work.



2 comments:

Paige Y. said...

I read your blog every day but because I read on feedly, I rarely comment on anyone's blog. I understand what you mean by wanting comments, though.

I absolutely adored Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and though I don't always buy local, it certainly has encouraged me to do so as often as possible. I also loved The Poisonwood Bible.

Shelley said...

I love her writing! I have not read her more recent ones yet though. Bean Trees and Poisonwood Bible are my favorites.