Reviews (1)

Visiting the the Maine woods with John Gould
Being one who visits the Golden Road almost yearly, I purchased the book with enthusiasm. My experience was mostly positive.

Gould demonstrates vast knowledge about the area. He describes: the realities of the Maine woods experience, personalities of the inhabitants, varieties of visitors, wildlife, history and industry.

One area of disappointment was Gould's frequent choice of vocabulary and references. While reading, a dictionary had to be at my side. Also, frequently used french, latin and some historical references made reading more difficult and not fun.

Mr. Gould did at times poke fun at his intellectual perspective. However, his choice of words does not seem suited for most.

All in all, the book is a positive experience. One can take a trip to Maine's Golden Road, from their favorite arm chair. ... Read more

Book Description

Master storyteller and beloved NPR commentator Carol Wasserman shares the quirky joys and tribulations of her “impecunious, ordinary, fixed little life” among fellow Swamp Yankees in her raggedy little tourist town on the Massachusetts coast, across the water from upscale Cape Cod. In the tradition of Bailey White and Garrison Keillor, she regales us with amusing and touching stories about the colorful characters and yearly rituals—from the absurd to the sublime—that keep her so closely tethered to the town and her ancient, crumbling half-Cape house, which she describes as “a fragile, sinking, lovely old wreck of a place that I have come to confuse with my own flesh.”

In these tales that have delighted millions of listeners, she tells about the fine art of buying apples from squabbling orchard owners who impugn one another’s fruit; the wild enthusiams of her dearly departed husband, Aubrey, who was once sure he’d discovered a tiny Stonehenge by the side of the road; the pleasures of buying abandoned sewing projects while others scrape and claw at the semiannual rummage sale; the reassuring qualities of living life amid ghosts and her neighbor’s claims of witnessing ectoplasm in the upstairs hall; her several days spent in darkness because of a rutabaga casserole; her discovery of the surprising religious fervor of a good friend who prays to a guy named Wendell; the strange comforts of the sound of coyotes singing in the middle of the night; and the community of ladies who swim at suppertime, when the beach is deserted and they know “the ocean will be as warm as the primordial soup.”

Swimming at Suppertime is the remarkable debut of one of the most original and entertaining new voices writing about the wondrous daily surprises and pleasures of American life. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A wonderful book, highly recommended
As someone who lived on the island of Nantucket for 10 years, as one of the working people who cleaned the summer people's houses and worked three jobs in the summer, I know all too well the life that the author describes.But although it is a hard life, it was a wonderful one and I don't regret it.This book made me very nostalgic for that life.The author has a dream-like quality in the way that she writes.I hope she writes another (and longer) book.

thleen
Seldom do we get the chance to read a book that feels like the author is sitting next to you and telling her story, but not in a "oh, enough about me! How do you like my dress?" way.Nope, Carol Wasserman seems like an old friend.Simply put... This book rocks! It is funny, it is familiar, it is warm...the perfect after the holidays book, a perfect anytime book. I did not want it to end, but I finished it with the hopes that when I finished it, I'd hear she just published another.

More, please. And, Thank You.

Emotional Rollercoaster That I never Wanted To End
While the book really grabbed us due to it being vaguely Parallel to mine and my wife's lives, that's not the point. If you live in the rental from hell a.k.a. "A Winter Rental" and you survived, well then this is a must read. I remember years ago whe our kids were young. As the spring came the kids could play outside. The property owners would show up and start working on the house. How comfy is this when you're a little late on the rent? Carol's description of this exact situation made me cover my face with a pillow and sob. She describes the exact gut wrenching feeling that happens to all winter renters! That and her yearly visit to town hall to show Aubrey is still indeed dead are some of the most powerful moments I've seen in literature in a long time. This is such a great work that it must be spread so others will do it!

Swimming at Suppertime
I devoured this book.This writing is straightforward and graceful all at the same time. It reads like a collection of vignettes and short stories.It is powerful and entertaining all at once. A great summer read!

Marvelous little tales
Entertaining and introspective observances on life's lessons and oddities.Wasserman writes with hard scrabble honesty and emotion.Worth reading. ... Read more

Book Description

The extraordinary diary of Vermont farmer Hiram Harwood--a fourteen-volume record of personal, family, and community events from 1808 to 1837--provides Robert E. Shalhope with the material for this rich microhistory. Harwood's struggle to reach full manhood and assume his position as head of the family, his misgivings about challenging--much less displacing--his father, the changes American life brought to this traditional rite of passage, Hiram's relationships with wife and children, seasonal events, and all the day-to-day experiences of this finally tragic figure make for a fascinating story and provide a highly unusual window into antebellum American life.

Although he focuses mainly on the story of a single farmer, Shalhope also incorporates other stories from this wide-ranging chronicle. Readers glimpse the social, political, economic, and religious life of the entire New England region.Most of all, though, the story of Hiram Harwood reveals the personal price exacted of him by one family's unyielding belief in patriarchy. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The most beautiful place in New England!
This book is about a place very close to my heart. My grandparents, the Gorskis, have owned a place there for many years and my fondest childhood memories are of summers spent there (many of them are related in the Gorski chapter). Judy Fracher does a wonderful job of relating the many interesting stories of the people who dearly treasure this natural oasis. I can't wait to get back and catch some more brookies! ... Read more

Book Description

From the attempted murder of his daughters to face-to-face conflicts with witches, Russ Ely has been on the front lines of the battle for the City of Salem.This gripping book reads more like a mystery novel than the true-to-life story it is.

Rev. Russ Ely is a pastor in the "Witch City"--Salem, Massachusetts.It is the only city in the United States that has an image of a witch on the sides of every police car and fire truck, and the only city with an "Official Witch".If you think that witches, witchcraft, spells and incantations are the stuff of children's stories; this book will open your eyes to an unseen world of conflict, power struggles and, yes, even demonic attack--all for control of a city.

Salem's heritage as the "City of Peace" or her harlotry as the city of witches--which one will win the very real battle for the heart and soul of her people?Read this book to find out! ... Read more

Book Description

A dream of Baby Boomers is to walk away from their current jobs and open a luxury bed-and-breakfast inn, according to recent surveys.Like the one Bob Newhart had on TV.For the Toners—Dick, Joan and their son Daniel—this wasn't just a dream. In 1991, they bought an inn in Lenox, Massachusetts. The book Toner has written discloses a rocky adventure, a real-life anthology of the humorous events, poignant incidents, and frustrating confrontations that they encountered.

At the heart of the narrative is the Inn, which acts as a focal point for the family. The three very independent and headstrong adults who go into business together learn very quickly that compromise and consideration are not only the keys to kindred harmony, but also the keys to financial success. What eventually emerges from a "crucible of anger, resentment and bitterness," is a sense of esteem, each individual for the other, and the development of an open and mature love that hadn't existed previously.

Would they do it again?"Our immediate response," the author says, "is an unqualified, yesÂ… Despite the hard times and the occasional tears, it was the adventure of a lifetime."

Reviews (2)

Family first, business a close second.
This book reads like a Thomas Hardy novel as we see a confident young Air Force general go from commanding a 40,000 man air base to running a New England inn with a staff of two-his wife and son. He cooks, she waitresses and the son runs the front desk as they deal with the vested political interests of Lenox, Massachusetts, competing innkeepers, occasional frauds and, worst of all, whining, complaining guests from New York. (These become almost human after a weekend in the Berkshires with muffins and Belgian waffles for which he includes the recipes.) All show lots of heart as they virtually adopt a Japanese teenager, acquire a large chocolate Lab, manage the son's wedding(s) and restore calm to a teenage housekeeper who inadvertently interrupted a romantic couple. Another such couple provided the inspiration for the book's title as they began the custom in one apparently inspirational room of using its guest diary to record their activities in remarkable detail.
Overall, an essential book for anyone who is even thinking of getting into the country inn business and for everyone who wants to see how a family can hang together under stress. Jam packed with events and details, it's a very enjoyable read, too.

More, More...
This book is a great read, and a useful one for those of use who frequent Inns and B&Bs and think we would like to run one day. It is a cautionary tale, with an appropriate measure of pathos and humor, and it is well-written by a first-time author. I hope he has another book in him, but if he doesn't, he has done himself and his readers a great service. ... Read more

Book Description

Five Roads Taken explores the importance of a father, focusing on the final loss of one man, through the raw, in the moment feelings and perspectives of his five kids, told in their own words. The story has five narrators, observed as they each experience the authentic emotions that they are forced to deal with. A universal family drama of strength, wisdom, urgency, respect, and the attempt to connect with the things that matter.

Whether a child is five years old, fifteen, twenty-five, or fifty...that child's father is and will always be, their father.

Five Roads Taken brings us through the five worlds that revolved around one man...and the roads taken to get to the man they called, Dad.

A touching portrait with a variety of views. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Five Roads Taken
If you have ever doubted the impact that a parent has on their child, you will never do so again after reading this book.

This book is not written about the rich or famous. It is about the ordinary, struggling, storm-tossed life of an anonymous man and his five children. They all deeply loved one another; but, the circumstances of life have conspired to alienate them. Like many of us, they never said as much to each other as they should. They each allowed opportunities to show the depth of their feelings to slip away. Now, the life has been lived. The window of time has closed. So many things have remained undone, unsaid, un-experienced.

This book is a chance to look deep into the lives of several people. To relate to each of them. To resolve to be affected by them, and to strive to do more while you can. ... Read more

Book Description

Serialized in The Saturday Evening Post, condensed by Readers Digest in English and Spanish, this story of survival and stubborn faith in the future is back in its entirety to delight a whole new generation of readers.

“A triumph of courage illuminated by love”

—Lee Pennock Huntingon.

Best of all, it’s all true. It really happened. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Runs out of steam
This book chronicles the arrival in rural Vermont in the early 1950s of a widow and her five young children, and how they established a new life for themselves together there. Melissa Mather had been living on an army base in Virginia with her husband and children. The Korean War was looming, and it became obvious that her husband would be deployed overseas. Meanwhile, one of her children, Mike, was autistic, and his uncontrolled behavior on the base was making him unwelcome there. Melissa set off in search of a rural house that would be cheap and far from neighbors and traffic so that Mike would be safe living there. At last, in Vermont, she found a house meeting her requirements. But life seldom goes according to plan, and before she was ready to move, Mike was expelled from the base and her husband's plane went down, so it was off to Vermont in March for the grieving family, while the snow was still thick on the ground.

Mather must have had a phenomenal amount of inner strength, strength to feed, house, and clothe her growing brood. She quickly learned how hospitable Vermonters can be as neighbors, how they accepted Mike's differences without passing judgment on her or her other children. Of course, some people could still be hard to live with, like the neighbor who couldn't be bothered to fence to his cows properly, but most were fine characters.

As I read this book, I found myself drawn deeper and deeper into Mather's tragic story, and her heroic struggle. For chapter after chapter, I could not put the book down. Then, suddenly, Mather seemed to run out of steam as Vermont farm life began to define her experience, and the story began to drag. Towards the end of the book, she devotes almost an entire chapter to the detailed history of a 1950s town politics debacle over school expansion. By this point, it seemed almost as though she were clutching at any material she could to fill out the book to monograph size. On another level, however, bringing out the importance of town politics certainly demonstrates how her priorities changed once she had settled in. She was no longer focused so much on the day-to-day details of survival; she was in the slow lane at last.

Home at Last
This is a warm and tender storyof a yong war widow during the 1950's in Vermont. While living on an army base with her four young children, Melissa finds tha she is a widow and expecting another baby. with only her small nsurance policy she sets off to find a homefor her family.From the moment she pulls into the drive of the old yellw farmhouse her heart is lost and so is the readers. A story where the straykittens, neighbors, and all thepeople in the little village nearby become our friends too. ... Read more

Book Description

CULTIVATING LIFE by Helen Coll is an aptly titled narrative of a rich life in rural New Hampshire. It is a warm-hearted book about family farming-- personal and candid-- a thoughtful reflection. Through the story are woven anecdotes about everyday life; some make you smile and some make you sad. AUTHOR KNOWS THIS IS TOO LONG SHE SAYS WE CAN EDIT. ... Read more

Book Description

With humor and boyish exuberance, author Robert Webster recounts the hardships and joys of growing up in 1930's Vermont. Born to Scottish immigrants during the height of the Great Depression, young "Bobie" learns, often the hard way, how to make do in a world where even basic necessities are hard to come by. In this touching and warmhearted account of his boyhood in Montpelier, the state capital, the author reminds us of Gold Star mothers, highcuts and jar rubbers, nickel bags of pork scraps, high stakes games of marbles, visits by Tom Mix and Premo Canaro, and Saturday matinees with Lash LaRue. This is Vermont before ski lifts, the interstate highway system, television or plastic maple sugar tubing, a place where the whole neighborhood rides the cattle truck to the state park for Sunday picnics and ballgames, singing and telling stories all the way. From his earliest memories as a child to the birth of his own children, Robert Webster's memories of one of the most challenging decades in American history unfolds with sharp insight and brilliant detail to reveal a personal and historical treasure. ... Read more

Book Description

At last! A book for the bedside table, a treat to look forward to at the end of the day. "Winding Roads" by Helen Powers is the cream of a ten-year crop of newspaper columns, originally appearing in the "Citizen News" in New Fairfield Connecticut, as a relaxing escape from today's stressful living.

Helen Powers' light-hearted humor is expressed in the day-to-day situations that confront women of all ages. Her entertaining subjects include "The Queen Elizabeth Cure," "Sixty and Single," "What to Do With the Empty Nest," and "The Ultimate Revenge."

Most of all, however, Ms Powers writes about "home" with a heart-warming enthusiasm. This is a book of values and laughter as lasting as time itself. It is a redeeming quality on the American scene, a relaxing interlude that draws on the past to establish the framework for a fulfilling future. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

This book should be required reading for anyone who can read
This is a most enjoyable little book. I believe that anyone who can read can relate to at least some of this book. Most adults should be able to relate to the book in its entirety. The author encourages us to appreciate our environment wherever we are. Also, rather than sitting around wringing our hands over the mess the world is in, take action, even if it is only cleaning up a mess in our own home! It is my belief that the author points us in the right direction, in order to make a difference, to improve things where we are. This should definitely be on the required reading list.

This book picks up your spirits on the clcoudiest of days.
Helen Powers writes with canny wisdom of the ordinary things of life, lending a sense of adventure to the most potentially melancholy of topics: growing old, closing up a family home, dealing with sickness and injustice. And she leaves us laughing! Her wit sparkles, and her sometimes politically incorrect gems make me wish I'd said them, She's a pioneer of staying creative in the later decades, and a role model for anyone who's noticed more than a dozen gray hairs on the comb. Short entries make brief reading sessions enjoyable, but you'll want to devour this book, it's so funny and so philosophically adroit. Keep writing, Ms. Powers! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

AWESOME BOOK
My grandfather, Horace M. Barrett, was the illustrator of this amazing book about life on a small Island in the Narragansett Bay. My Granddad died in January, as did Josie Avery. They are both greatly missed but their lives live on through their book and through the people of Prudence Island. RIP, Granddad and Josie! And, Grace, thank you for your part in this book! I will treasure it forever.

On a small island....
...in the middle of Narragansett Bay, is a way of life almost forgotten in this day and age. Josie and Grace have captured the flavor of life on the island, in a very real and personal way. Although it helps to be from Rhode Island to fully understand all the references in the book, anyone can appreciate the trials, tribulations, and joys of living on an island. ... Read more

Book Description

A book that bares the facts and foibles of operating an Early American Inn while simultaneously answering the question: HOW TO BE HOSPITABLE WHEN THE GUESTS KEEP GETTING IN THE WAY! A unique New Hampshire innkeeper faces challenges from all sides as he does business in a 175-year old building with a parade of unconventional guests and staff. The book is filled with humorous and often unbelievable anecdotes. ... Read more

Book Description

A dreamer unafraid, even in legal defiance, to activate his dreams, J. Howard witnessed, with the exception of one, those dreams' fruition.Decades ahead of time's acceptance, he was a free-thinker in countless areas, among them politics, religion, vegetarianism, dress, home-schooling. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Yankee Summer Is Hot
This is a book I found hard to put down. It describes one summer of a boy growing up on a Vermont farm in the thirties, when farmers still used horses, housewives canned all their food, and boys and girls walked to school. Lewis Hill tells of his boyhood with wry humor and vivid detail, and the reader is right there with him building shocks of hay with a pitchfork, chasing after the family's cats to keep them away from the mower, and wondering with almost unbearable excitement how to spend his thirty cents at the Barton Fair. This book is a wonderful companion to Mr. Hill's previous reminiscence of life on a Vermont farm: Fetched Up Yankee.

Honest portrait of VT
Many books about the past in rural areas fall into the trap of painting the past as a perfect time when all was right and good in the world. Hill spares us that disservice by showing us the real Vermont he grew up in. Along with the fun and adventure of youth are the day to day worries and hard work that helped to make life what it was.

The people are portrayed so well that you might well expect to met them if you were to go to his home town. Hill is also a master of building the story and wrapping the reader into it. He delivers the local dialect accurately and amazingly enough even the cadence of rural Vermont.

Like his FETCHED UP YANKEE this book isn't only entertaining it is a window into the past. Like Hill, I was raised in rural Vermont. Much of what he tells about had begun to go by the way when I was a child. Almost all of it has gone now. Sadly, in Vermont like the rest of the country, local culture has faded as the culture of the mass media grows. Read this book and have a view into another time in an America that is fast disappearing.

"A Masterpiece of American Lore
Lewis Hill grew up in the northern farm country of Vermont during the 1930s. The town of Greensboro, Vermont was then, as it is now, a mecca for vacationers from the cities who have own summer homes there and a fascinating mix of local Yankees, French Canadians and Scots who tilled the hard soil for a precarious living. Hill, a highly respected local historian, recounts in fascinating detail life in this hybrid New England community in the years that made up the heart of the depression before another World War changed life in Greensboro and America forever. Hill allows the reader to relive those days. YANKEE SUMMER is written in almost a lyrical manner that is great fun to read and hard to put down. This work is a "must" for any student of American history.

CDaniel Metraux, Mary Baldwin College, Staunton, VA 24401 ... Read more

Book Description

A remarkable re-creation of the life and world of an 18th-century shoemaker and tanner, surveyor and clerk, trader and farmer -- profusely illustrated, for a general audience. ... Read more