The Needle in a Haystack

A Thousand Mile walk to the Gulf by John Muir..~ Bok Across the states KY, TN, GA, FL

I'm a bit behind in my book postings, there is TONS of reading going on...

 I bought this book a couple years ago along with a couple other John Muir writings but for some reason I never picked them up.  When Ken Burns'  Our National Parks aired, I remembered the books and began to read... What a fascinating man!

This book is his waking trek from IN to eventually Cuba  , back to NY and on to CA... not just the flor and fauna... but also the people and cultures.....

This is a short read and a must read if you follow the National Parks series....

Pray for the troops.. if you live in the Raleigh/Durham NC area there will be a visitation at the Brown Wynne funeral home Wed evening from 4-9 for Captain Seth Mitchell...another mama to face the loss of her boy to this war...

Hard Times In Paradise by David and Micki colfax~ Book Across the States ~ CA

This book was a bit of a cheat for me.... but it is California's read none the less...

Since the beginning of our marriage Chris and I have poured over magazines, books and online publications on homesteading and the back to the land movement.  It wasn't  a surprise that around 1994ish we began writing articles and become familiar with the Countryside  magazine crowd... one of our contacts led us to Dave and Micki Colfax.  As a family they foraged a functional homestead in the hills of California with plenty of blood, sweat and tears.  On a purely back to the land level Chris and I were intrigued with this book. ... but it also began to hit us on another level as we shifted to homeschooling the boys.  The Colfaxes were on the frontier of homeschooling  having raised 4 boys and sent three to Harvard.  We were over the top that year when the Colfaxes flew to NC in 1993 for a homeschool conference and we were able to sit and spend time with them... it inspired us even more... they were( are) simply down to earth, intelligent folks ....and when we need a push... out comes this book...

  If you like homsteading, homeschooling, human interest, geographic books..

Hard Times in Paradise by David and Micki Colfax is a must read...

Pray for the troops... the sick... those struggling... and have a fine day...all day long

Pioneer Woman by Joanna Stratton~ Book Across the States ~ Kansas

   I am a huge history buff and can read through even the driest of history stuff with enthusiasm... that being said... I had a hard time with this book... compiled of interviews and short snippets from those interviewed who left the East and settled Kansas, I feel the author didn't do a bit of justice to some of the fine stories these women told..

  This book did not hold my attention and I found the content mostly dry with spurts of interest.

However, you can glean what life was like on the Kansas frontier in the mid to late 1800 and early 1900s.

  If this review makes you want to jump at the chance to read it... you can find it online at google books... one of the 1000 books now available online through google reader..

Pioneer Woman by Joanna Stratton my choice for Kansas

House on Mango Street ~ Book across the states~ Illinois

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisnero is a book of happy, sad, thought provoking vignettes of a young Latino girl in the harsh suburbs of Chicago. 

I am so happy I stumbled on this book after hearing the author interviewed on NPR.  I'm not sure I would have found it on my own.  I don't know alot about the Latino community I am ashamed to say... so this book helped me see through a young girls eyes glimpses of living in those spots of America where "those with light skin" are scared to go.... the lack of beauty..the lack of green... the sounds ..the smells.... breaking free...

   I really liked this book... a quick read easily  done in a quiet afternoon...

My pick for Illinois... The House on Mango Street

Wormwood.... Book Across the States... Kentucky

I have read the previous 16 China Bayles mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert  so when book #17 came out I was anxious to get my hands on it.  Except for one, all the other books are set in TX and so I was prepared to use this one as my Texas book, however, the book is gloriously set in KY. 

    The book takes china to a restored Shaker village in Ky...and is accurate on many fronts as the Shakers really did settle in that community at a place called Pleasant Hill perhaps some where in the back of my brain I remembered this,.. but the stories and facts led me to spend a good chucnk of free time researching the Ky Shakers on my own.  It has now gone on the travel destination list which, if we can find hte time will work out beautifully since my brother, his wife, my nephew and the new babe live near by and the Creation Museum  which we have wanted to visit for a while.

  Last night while having a wonderful dinner with our freinds ( which I single handly blame for our new Trader Joe's smoked Spicey Peach Salsa addiction)
...they mentioned visiting the Natural Bridge that was also close by.. it was a head smacking moment ... I lived near there in one way or another for about 3 years of my life...and I DO remember how beautiful it was..even though I was young when I last saw it. 

SO>>>>> vacation at some point will be KY...we have about 7 vacation days to play with.... which could work.... but also college text books and a new windsheild and a beach weekend in Sept... we'll see...

back to Wormwood.... a bit different in formt then the other 16 books  in the series... but I liked it.... if you love a whodunit ..herbs... and history... read the book...

quite pleased with my KY book!

pray for the troops...and have a fine day ...all day long!

High Tide In Tucson ...Book Across the States Arizona

The book I chose for Arizona was High Tide In Tucson by Barbara Kingsolver. 

This was a slow book for me... not because it wasn't interesting, but because each essay made me think.  For that I applaud Ms Kingsolver...because that is exactly what I wanted this project to do.

There were many times when I disagreed with a passion over the statements and ideals stated and almost put the book down..but what would I learn by doing that?  its very comfortable to live in a small group of folks that think and believe what I do... but the truth is a live in a big world with all sorts of different beliefs and while this book didn't exactly match mine...it did make me strengthen some of my own, change my opinion on a couple of things....and get a tad angry over others... in the end .. I do think we are still friends though...~smile~

  as far as Arizona is concerned, there were many things I learned and put on my bucket list of travel.  One is the Heard Museum, which seems like a fairy land of Native American culture and history... and the second is the Titan Missile Silo  the "front line of the cold war".....

we have traveled through AZ but haven't had the time to visit the nooks and crannies.... Kingsolver also vividly describes the wild life, moods, and seasons of the Tucson area..I especially appreciate her last essay describing a pond she constructed int eh middle of the desert ... good stuff!

  So, this book is not a light mindless read...Jamie mentioned to me that this book was required reading for a couple of his classes..... so if you need something to tuck int he bag for beach reading... this is not it...

  If you want a book that gives you a few new brain wrinkles ...this is your book.....

I leave you with a quote  by Carl Sagan from the book that has stuck with me....
"we are all locked together in a room filled with gasoline vapors, insisting that because they have 200 matches, we won't be safe until we have 300."

.....sometimes... this is true....

Pray for the troops, stand on what you believe, be careful with your matches....and have a fine day...all day long!

Nights in Rodanthe ~ Book Across the states~~ North Carolina

A few years back Chris preformed a wedding ceremony on the beach in Rodanthe .  It was lovely!  seagulls dipping down to snatch newly strewn rose petals from the beach.. the sun rising over the ocean and setting over the sound... the quaintness of the general store ...the liveliness of the local bar and grill.... the ice cream shop at the hub of it all.... accessible only by the two lane road running through the middle.... Rodanthe was untouched... and we fell in love with it...

   Nights in Rodanthe by Nicolas Sparks    has been on our bookshelf since it came out, but neither of us are fans of that genre so it sat there for sentimental reasons since 2002.  This is the year of new reading for me so I dove in.... and came out 36 hours later I came out.... having been to Rodanthe I could feel the places sparks wrote of... I knew hte general store.... I had walked the beach... I knew the wind...... and the love story... whoa honey! Makes you just want to snuggle up with your sweetie with a cuppa hot coffee and smile at each other,,

  If you're over 50 it reminds you you're not dead yet.... romance... courage....

read it....

Not sure if I'll see the movie or not.... I sometimes am disappointed with movies not living up to my mind pictures in books.....

....and if you happen to wind your way south of the Bodie Island Light on the Outer Banks of NC and find yourself in Rodanthe, stop by the general store and ell em Chris and Lea sent you..... because Amy and Ian, the lovely couple we married that day in Rodanthe own it.... they fled the busyness of Raleigh to live everyday as a Night  in Rodanthe....

Pray for the troops.... that everyone might love and be loved at least once int heir lives.... and have a fine day...all day long....

Cross Creek~ Book across the states~ Florida

I'm really not sure why I shied away from this book in the past because whoa honey! This was right up my alley..

Many have read The Yearling also by Marjorie K Rawlings ..probably her most famous work. Cross Creek moves to the top of my list.

  True story of her life...comings and goings in Fl in the 1930s.. Rich in word pictures of the scenery , the people, the wildlife, fauna and foliage.  Added bonus is the out and out interaction during that time with her black neighbors.  a rich rich story that truly made me appreciate the nature God gave us to live in.  T ales of her hunting trips, fishing expeditions, travels and stories.....

Recommended.....highly....

 Now that I have read the book I'm ordering the movie from Netflix....

so for Fl... Cross Creek... Marjorie K Rawlings

pray for the troops...and have a fine day ..all day long!

Book Across the States.... Oregon... The Shack

   Was I the last person on the planet to have read this book???   It was sent to me by some one...anonymously last year during the trials and tribulations period and because of the controversy surrounding it I opted out of it.... I'm a bit old fashion that way.... but this year I promised myself to stretch my reading horizons... stepping into more pop culture so I dove in....

   Bottom line.... I liked it...

 I make no bones about the fact I follow reformed theology... so there were parts that disturbed me in the depiction ..but I reminded myself I was reading a book of fiction.... and the whole story made me feel good.

   Sometimes I think we reformers tend to be a little top heavy in the justice and righteousness of God, and we forget the other equal tributes that tend to be more personal... love on a personal level....while God's mercy and grace are his greatest love gifts... but what I walked away from this book with , God cares about me on a very very personal level.... not just my sins or do good actions.... but the fact my leg hurts, or I enjoyed watching the bluebird flit around the back yard or I like cheesecake.... so this work of fiction led me to dig out the passages in the greatest nonfiction book to ponder and contemplate this very very personal God of mine..

  so there you have it.... my book for Oregon.... The Shack

I have read a few more books that have nothing to do with my Book Across the States and will probably put those reviews up too....

  we are headed to Winston Salem for the East West All Star basketball game this afternoon.... it will be good to visit old friends... and Christopher always likes seeing basketball friends from across the state..

  Pray for the troops... and have a fine day... all day long!

Dewey....book across the states~ Iowa

....I like cats...ok...I LOVE cats... I like them in bunches...When I first heard Vicki Myron on NPR a few months ago, I knew this was the book I would read for Iowa. 

  Its not a classic novel read... you won't suck a brain full of knowledge from this book.... but if you love cats...and understand cats.... then you will love reading this book... it confirms...
 ..I have heard a rumor its being made into a movie... with Meryl Streep ( probably playing Vicki...not Dewey)....

Dewey Readmore has his own webpage

..and a facebook page
(yes, I'm a fan)

   This book not only tells the tale ( or tail) of a cat... but also the struggles and challenges of a small Midwestern town...

  I really enjoyed it!!

So....because its Easter, I'm doing a bloggy give away with the book Dewey... simply post a comment and on Easter night we'll shuffle all the names and pick one....the winner gets their own copy of Dewey!

we are off to Chapel Hill today for Christopher's post op appointment... hope things have simmered down from the basketball win... things can get a tad crazy in Chapel Hill... even on a normal day!!

Pray for the troops... and those having surgery  ..and have a fine day...all day ..long!