Picked this up from the bookshelf at a local Starbucks. They have something like a crossing zone, where you can leave or take books. I like her work, so I grabbed it - after leaving several books, of course!

Finished reading this and now it's on it's way to Sherria as part of a book relay. It wasn't as excellent as Poisonwood Bible, but better than another book I'd read by her. She seems inconsistent as a writer - I never know for sure what to expect when I pick up her work. The voice is always a bit different. Anyway, I found this particularly interesting since I'm from Kentucky.

Mailed second week of Feb. to Sherria.

Thanks EvaLowrain! I really enjoyed the Poisonwood Bible and I'm looking forward to reading more Kingsolver.

What a wonderful book! I love the way Kingsolver writes; she has such a wonderful way with words, so that her writing seems almost lyrical.

This was a lovely novel was actually 3 stories (eventually inter-related on some level) in one, about 3 women in southern Appalachia, living and working and finding their balance with nature. Kingsolver does an amazing job of weaving in several issues - the impact of pesticides, predation, the moral issue oftobacco farming, and the dying family farm - without coming across as preachy or overbearing. These are simply the issues faced in the lives of the 3 women the story revolves around, and the biggest conflicts in their lives with those around them.

I loved Deanna, Lusa and Nannie right from the start. They were opinionated, strong, confident women who faced all kinds of challenges because of thier respect for the balance of nature and because they had superior knowledge of the natural environment than those around them. I especially enjoyed the "Moth Love" sections and the changes that Lusa's relationship with the Widener family goes through after Cole dies. Her interactions with Chrys were especially poignant.

Life on and around the mountains of southern Appalachia is portrayed as both more simple and more difficult than the day to day life that most of us "city folks" are used to. Things that never cross our minds are pivotal in this part of the world and can impact their very existance. The glimpse into this region made me want to visit and see the wonder of it for myself (though I could never live that life on a daily basis).

This was just an all-around wonderful book that left me feeling positive and upbeat, and made me want to take a closer look around me the next time I go for a walk. The wonder of nature is everywhere; I just don't bother to notice it most days.

Mailing to bensgrammy as a RABCK on 4/25. Hope you enjoy this wonderful novel!