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Alphabet Mystery by Audrey Wood
The Best Friend I Ever Had by David Nuffer
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
Black Rainbow by Barbara Michaels
The Bomb That Followed Me Home by Cevin Soling
Catalog by Eugene Mirabelli
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Culture Shock! California by Mark Cramer
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Duck for President by Doreen Cronin
Heechee Rendezvous by Frederik Pohl
How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo
Keeping Hannah Waiting by Dave Clarke
Little Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish
Love in 90 Days by Diana Kirschner
The Night We Buried Road Dog by Jack Cady
Of Dreams and Reality by Frank L. Johnson
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
Purplicious by Elizabeth and Victoria Kann
School Days by B. G. Hennessy
The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay
Sister Margaret by Rhonda Parrish
A Surprise for Rosie by Julia Rawlinson
Texas Bake Sale by Charles Coleman Finlay
There's a Wolf at the Door by Zoë B. Alley
Tiger Burning Bright by Theodora DuBois
Venice by Adrian Stokes and John Piper
Winding Broomcorn by Mario Milosevic
The Whole Shebang by Timothy Ferris

Ulysses:
Episode 2: Nestor: Kif
Episode 3: Proteus: Georgia Nicholson
Episode 4: Calypso: Parasites Lost
Episode 5: The Lotus Eaters: Down to the River to Pray

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Little Heathens: 03/09/09

I grew up listening to my maternal grandmother's stories of growing up during the Great Depression. She was eight when the stock market crashed so her memories were vivid. Reading Little Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish was like having a visit from my grandmother.

Mildred Kalish lived in Iowa with her mother and siblings, half the time of the year in her grandparent's farm in Garrison and the other half in nearby unincorporated Monroe county on a farm owned by the grandparents. The book is full of her memories of her large family which included aunts, uncles and cousins, the chores they did together and how the seasons dictated the timing of the chores and her family's deep roots in Garrison.

What set this memoir apart for me was Mildred Kalish's frankness. Mixed in with the schmaltz is some straight talk about what life was like for the adults (and the big kids). She has a long and very silly discussion on slang and swear words. I could have checked off most of them from the list I had learned from my grandmother. Ian had a similar reaction when I read the juicier bits to him.

Nut gathering was a big part of the family ritual from the black walnuts and hickory nuts in the family graveyard. My grandmother when she was dating my grandfather had her first experience with nut gathering. She was usually one to do things from scratch the but nut gathering and preparation was one thing that tried her patience. As soon as they were married and far away from his family, she put an end to nut gathering. So when I was reading chapter 19, I was giggling, knowing that here was one thing grandmother wouldn't agree on with Mildred Kalish.

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Comment #1: Tuesday, March, 10, 2009 at 10:31:13

Heather J.

"was like having a visit from my grandmother." Now THAT is a ringing endorsement if I've ever heard one. :)

I've been hearing good things about this book — I'll have to check it out eventually.



Comment #2: Saturday, March 14, 2009 at 17:43:31

Pussreboots

I really enjoyed the book because I felt a personal connection to it. Happy reading!



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