Day 84 of the "What are you reading, and why?" project. Karen is reading Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver, after reading The Poisonwood Bible with her book group. I hope she will comment here on what her book group thought of Poisonwood Bible, as they were also looking into another book mysteriously similar in construction, as I recall!

Karen is my neighbor, so I know we are both experiencing the spring-as-herald-of-summer- coming-on in its full Midwestern lushness. The grass is tall, violets are spreading, dandelions are rampant. Karen and I both like dandelions; they are pretty, and you can eat them. Our other neighbors are not so fond of dandelions, so it's best to dig them out or mow before they get to the wish-puff seed stage.

Of course, most of the other neighbors use pesticides and lawn services. We do not. Rabbits love it here. (And I expect a return of praying mantis, Karen!) The lawn service guy for the neighbor on the north now scoots some of his little pesticide balls into our side yard, but it's OK, and he hasn't killed any lily-of-the-valley, oh so sweetly blooming right now, along with the mountain bluets.

Blue hosta and two-toned hosta are thriving, their leaves jubilant, raucous. Clematis is opening on the fence, while the bleeding heart is dripping to earth. On Mother's Day weekend I'll choose a few more blooming plants for the garden beds--from a Kiwanis fundraiser garden event that will send kids to camp--and then just try to keep up with the weeding and gentle maintenance of perennials. Next, if they are as astonishingly accommodating-to-the-printed-human-calendar as last year, day lilies will start opening, right on time, starting June 21, the first day of summer.

Wasn't there going to be some talk of a book? Yes! Prodigal Summer is set in Appalachia, with plants and bugs and coyotes. I fondly recall a big fallen hollow tree. The neighbor/pesticide issue weaves into the plot. Here's a book you can judge by its cover (pictured above) and its beautful endpapers, illustrated with moths, including the lovely green Luna.

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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!

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