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Summary: A Country Year: Living the Questions
Review: A poetic collection of prose about living in the Ozarks. The author manages to capture how it feels to live in such a magical place--makes one feel that this is still one of our national treasures--the book taps into the enjoyment of small things, of every day life, of some of the cultural nuances of the region, and of Nature's rhythms. The book is a real feel good read.
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Summary: Bee-keeper tells all, and tells it well.
Review: I almost didn't buy the audiocassette of this book because of the reviewer who said Sue Hubbell's reading was monotonous. I bought it anyway, and am thrilled to say both the content and the reading were outstanding. To my mind, the author's voice, in any tone, beats an inauthentic performance. This is one of the best works on contemporary nonfiction by women - and one of the best books on tape - I have come across in a long while. I recommend it highly, for anyone interested in how the human mind makes connections between her immediate surroundings and the larger questions of living in the world. The "bee" theme, like Thoreau's ants and Annie Dillard's creek creatures, is simply a fascinating and concrete set of phenomena through which Hubbell examines the mystical world around her, and around us all. (One last note of interest: the audiocassette - comprised of only one tape - includes a second tape on which Gary Snyder reads from his work on nature and the problem of logging in the northwest of the U.S.).
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Summary: A pleasant visit to the Ozarks
Review: I am not sure what in my life is drawing me towards books about women and beekeeping, but here is another wonderful book about both.Sue Hubbell has an easy style of writing that drew me through this book in just over a day. While she talks about her time as a commercial beekeeper, she also writes about the simple qualities and hard realities of living close to the land and close to poverty in rural Missouri. Her observant style brings back memories of my own small town upbringing. This is just the right book for curling up on a cold Winter day or lounging in the hammock trying to escape the heat of Summer.
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Summary: An artistically-written first-hand account of a natural life
Review: I found this book by accident after remembering her articles on bee-keeping in The New Yorker some years ago. What is startling about this writer is that she lives her very full life, and yet has managed to perfect the craft of writing to tell us all about that life. She has made me re-think my definition of art. While I have always seen art as communication (some may disagree with this), I have grown to be less impressed with people who are artists first and livers of life second. Sue Hubbell reminds us that you have to have something to communicate first and foremost. It's just wonderful that she has the ability to give us insight into something prosaic as beekeeping (others have written of the country life) and show us the magic that lives within.
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Summary: I found this book to be quietly inspiring and thoughtful.
Review: I read "A Country Year" long ago. I am very happy to see it back in print, as I'd wanted to share it with several friends. The book was warm, sensitive and complete in its bringing of one woman into her environment, both internal and external.
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Summary: A Country Year Living the Questions
Review: I read this book because, as a single, middle-aged woman I identified with this author and was looking for inspiration to enter the rural lifestyle. I enjoyed Ms. Hubbell's detailed descriptions of what she encountered living in the country, her positive, loving outlook on this type of solitary life and the respect she has for all of nature. She confronts the challenges with calm logic and creativity and certainly inspired me to forge ahead with my plans to homestead. We need more strong, gentle women like Ms. Hubbell to serve as examples to both young women and men.
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Summary: Everything you wanted to know about chiggers and more.......
Review: I read this book in one long weekend. I'll remember parts of this book the rest of my life. The author puts her life into words like few people can. She explains her job of bee-keeping and her Ozark surroundings in such a matter-of-fact way that it makes you wonder if you can do the same with your own life. (And would people find it as interesting?!)
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Summary: A wonderful reflection of changing speeds in mid-stream
Review: I read this book years ago and, unfortunately, lent my copy to someone who never returned it (but I'm not naming names, Sarah). I enjoyed Sue Hubbell's reflections on entering rural life after living primarily in the city. She gives a lyrical account of keeping bees in a dominately male environment & profession.
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Summary: A wonderful book!
Review: I really enjoyed this book--the author chronicles one year of her life living in the Ozarks as a beekeeper. She uses a series of essays to share all the elements of her life--nature, social, emotional, etc. I have great admiration for this 50 year old, recently divorced woman who was able to enjoy and appreciate the world around her at such a difficult time of her life. She definitely has a gift for writing also.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful book!
Review: I really enjoyed this book--the author chronicles one year of her life living in the Ozarks as a beekeeper. She uses a series of essays to share all the elements of her life--nature, social, emotional, etc. I have great admiration for this 50 year old, recently divorced woman who was able to enjoy and appreciate the world around her at such a difficult time of her life. She definitely has a gift for writing also.
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