Barbara Kingsolver

Day 12 of the "What are you reading, and why?" project, and I am back, via fabulous Amtrak, from birthday reading event in Chicago area.

In a comment here, Etta said she is reading The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, and I hope she will come back and tell us why, and more about her experience of the book.

Kingsolver is our topic today (and I have linked to the Amazon Barbara Kingsolver page, so you can see the whole book array!) partly because she was in demand today at the bookstore! People come in intermittently reading Kingsolver for book groups, and so we run out of Poisonwood Bible, but today we happened to have two copies, one hardback and one paperback, which made this woman very happy. Poisonwood Bible is a favorite of my pastor, and several friends recommended it, so I read and enjoyed it, too.

Also Prodigal Summer, which I loved, green dustjacket to moth-illustrated endpapers, and all. (Turns out I have a first edition of this, too. Who knew I was sort of a "collector"?) I've got to say I loved learning about moths in this book. I'm interested in how I do love this book as object, with its illustrations, as well as reading experience, which helps me understand why some people prefer the hardback first edition to the easy, light paperback reading copy.

But usually, I don't care what edition or condition a book is in. I just love the reading. I'd love to here more about this aspect of reading, too. There's a fellow I know who is waiting to read Flannery O'Connor till a nice hardback comes in to the store. "Nobody will give up their Flannery O'Connor," I keep telling him, but there are plenty of paperbacks if he just wants to read the stories.... He doesn't!