Vermont Books

As a flatlander who is about to move to Vermont, I found this book to make that prospect all the more inviting. Husher writes warmly and, best of all, wryly about the natives of her state. Yes, Vermont is a rural state and its citizens are small-town and farm folk, but that simply doesn't begin to describe how they differ from similar kinds of folks in other states. She tries to explain how Vermonters are different. And in the process she writes fourteen chapters about all manner of characteristics that set them apart. Her descriptions of the essential tolerance by Vermonters for odd behavior make for laugh-out-loud reading. I found myself reading passages to anyone who would stand still for it. And often got an amused response and a request to read them more.

A writer for a small Vermont publication, the author obviously polishes her prose assiduously, packing all manner of detail into it, and this makes it a real pleasure to read, no matter the subject. In a chapter called 'How to Dress Like a Vermonter,' for instance, we get 'There's a general impression in the wider world that all Vermonters buy all their clothes from the fall-winter edition of the L.L. Bean catalog ... but people generally buy their clothes from each other, mostly at thrift shops and yard sales, and the overall look, if that's the right word, is one of rumpled interchangeability. This means that if you live in a small town, you can follow the progress of your child's snowsuit as it works its way through a family of five at the far end of the village, until the day it appears, as if by magic, on a different child in a different family that lives two towns away.'

This book is one that a reader who has never been closer than two thousand miles to Vermont can read with pleasure and esthetic satisfaction. For those who know Vermont it is even more rewarding.

Eagerly recommended.

Scott Morrison

John Stark Bellamy II's "Vintage Vermont Villainies: True Tales of Murder & Mystery from the 19th and 20th Centuries" contains 12 stories of disappearance, mishap, manslaughter, and murder, all of which are straight out of the annals of Vermont history. If you're familiar with the area it's a tad chilling recognizing so many names of towns, newspapers, roads and so on, but even if you aren't the stories are quite compelling.

Bellamy worked with cases at least several decades old and sometimes more than a century old. This gives the entire book a gothic, antique feel, much strengthened by Bellamy's style of writing. It's clear he did quite a bit of reading from period newspapers and journals, and that he allowed the old styles to infuse his work. This creates a beautiful and oddly enchanting hybrid of real-life and an almost otherworldly feel, rendering his subjects quite captivating.

Bellamy deliberately chose cases based on the odd and inexplicable personalities involved, or the unusual events. Many of these stories do not have clear endings. The disappearances weren't always solved; the guilt or innocence of the perpetrator wasn't always proved beyond a shadow of a doubt. We can only guess at the thoughts that went through the heads of victim and attacker alike. These stories do have a few things in common, however. They're fascinating. They're a window into another time, one we're often tempted to think of as far simpler--but which held plenty of its own dangers. They're a stark look at some of the failings and triumphs of the justice system, as well as the ways in which attitudes of the time (particularly with regard to gender and insanity) shaped justice.


[Review copy courtesy of Countryman Press]

This anthology, from a sleepy college town in the nation's smallest state capitol, is a literary gem. Featuring award-winning writers like Alica Erian, Naama Goldstein and Beth Helms, this book provides an exciting glimpse of what today's MFA Writing programs can produce. A great find!

The Book is outstanding and I remember Uncle Joe when I was a little kid, he and BB King came to Port Huron over my Grandads house, Herman Bell. Its nice to read about his accomplishments in the music business. My mother Katherine Shaw, was close to him as a child, he was her uncle and three weeks younger than she. My Great Uncle Joe just recently died in Vermont. This book is a inspiration to all of us and to read about his past is uplifting. He was truly a Great man and Sax Player. His Last band was the Unknown Blues Band... The Burrell, Bell, Shaw,and Russell family will truly miss him.

This book has photos of around 350 wildflowers with a paragraph describing the pertinent details of each. They are arranged by color and are very easy to use. If you are looking for help separating extremely similar species, or want range maps, this is not the book for you, but for putting a name to the flower you just found it is excellent.

I'm sorry this book is out of print. When I read it the first time I had just moved to New England from southern California. I had been around wood stoves in my life but never really operated one, I just knew I wanted one. Especially since this was the late '70s when fuel was a big deal. This book taught me more about wood stoves and fireplaces than I ever thought there was to know. Not only does it explain exactly why things do what they do and make sense to the layman but it tells you the theory so you can carry that information with you forever. You'll learn about air infiltration and the migration of air through houses. The light went on about a lot of things I had noticed but had no clue why it was occuring. I'm very happy I own this book. I was going to buy another one for a friend that just bought a wood stove.

I bought this book sight-unseen, because I'd seen pictures of the artist's work. At this modest price, what could I lose? I wasn't disappointed. The book is lovely. You can get a good idea of her style by clicking on the book and looking at the front & back covers. Or go to her website. If you can't buy her original artwork, the book is a nice alternative.

I really wanted to like this book but just couldn't. All the incredients were there for a wonderful story, but it fell far short of the mark. I hung in there and read the entire thing (thinking it had to get better) but I was overly optimistic.

I LOVE Vermont and have spent time in the geographic locations described. The descriptions of the area were the one redeeming feature. Having been there, it was easy to picture the locale and was fairly well described. My main complaint was the stilted language used in the book when describing how the characters interact. Conversations between them were stiff or overly sugary and painful to read. I think had this been turned into a college comp class the best grade it would have received would have been a "C".

Any comparisons to Nicholas Sparks's work does Mr. Sparks a great disservice. While Mr. Sparks doesn't write great literature that will last through the ages, his books are enjoyable. This one was not.

Unbelievable. Come on... a love story? Hooey! I bought this book because of the great reviews here. What a disappointment. The characters are not believable and neither are the choices they made. The best part is the descriptive writing about the countryside and the seasons. It's nice that the author donates some proceedes to breast cancer.

I received this book as a Christmas gift from a friend whose child has been helped immensely by the author through his Celebrate!ADHD program for kids with learning disabilities.

I had heard wonderful things about his work with kids and charities. So I was so surprised to find that he was also able to write an incredibly touching and beautiful love story.

I guess now that I have kids, I really value the simplicity, innocence and purity of love that lasts a lifetime. Maybe that's what made this book so special to me.

It's not a literary classic and at times he is a bit overdescriptive, but he does understand the human heart. Now I can see why he's so good with kids. All in all, a simple, very beautiful love story that will stay with you for days after you put it down.

I met the author a couple weeks ago. He was speaking at our school about positive ways to encourage and teach children with ADHD. It was a truly fascinating approach, and after reading his book,Celebrate ADHD, I am amazed at the difference it has made already in my classroom.

He spoke a little bit about his novels and warned the audience that they were not to be confused with the works of Faulkner or Fitzgerald--rather, they are innocent, but very heartfelt love stories. One is about the love between a father and his son (which he said is autobiographical).

I read Gifted last week, and it it truly an amazing story about three unlikely friends who battle their demons and help each other overcome them. I really, really loved this story.

And last night, I picked up Shade of the Maple. I just put it down and have to admit that it took my breath away a bit. The love between the main characters is something I haven't experienced before--it is simple, which makes it all the more appealing to me.

The main difference I've seen in reviewers isn't about the quality of the writing. As an English teacher, I can say the author is right--he's no Falkner, but he's no slouch, either. These are well-constructed stories from beginning to end. He creates lovely pictures that make it easy to see the story in your head. The main difference seems to be that those who believe in the innocence of love, peoplewho generally have a hopeful or romantic notion of love, really enjoy this book. Those who are perhaps a bit more jaded or prefer reading stories of tragedy and heartache will not like this book.

I will always treasure this story.

I suggest that if you are buying this book based on these reviews, you take the time to actually read all of them (including the one star reviews). There is a consistent theme here of either "I LOVED it" or "this is simplistic nonsense."

I am fully in the simplistic nonsense camp. Maybe you should decide what type of reviewers you are more likely to agree with - romance novel readers or, shall we say, higher-level, quality fiction readers. This book will only satisfy the most immature reader out there. I hate to be mean about it, but it really reads like something an overly starry eyed and ambitious high school freshman girl would write. It's very, very whimpy, and worse than that, very amateurish.

I can see how some people would not be excited about this story because it in not overly dramatic. To me it was simple and beautiful. The best stories capture the realness of experience...a story that feels like we can be inside. It is beautifully written and poetic in so many ways. This book is meant to be read slow and chewed on. I read a lot of books but this one is on my "to read again list" because of it's ability to make me look at my own life and question the depth of my relationships.

`How do you make a book that anyone will read out of lives as quiet as these?' asks the author of his own characters, about two thirds through Crossing to Safety; that seems to be the challenge Stegner set himself.

The novel, running from the 1930s to the 70s, revolves around the friendship between two couples, the Langs and the Morgans, in which the men are both literature professors. The Langs are rich and endowed with extended families and the Morgans are self-made and orphans. They all lead full lives in which they remain by-and-large happily married.

Stegner is erudite, and he obviously loves the places he describes, from Madison, Wisconsin to Florence and including the secluded lakeside spot in New England where much of the book is set. But it is difficult to identify with characters whose lives are so uneventful. From the beginning, one of the protagonists is dying, but because the story is told from the perspective of the old Larry Morgan, that only comes out as looking back on a life well spent. The characters barely struggle, and when they do, Stegner chooses to skirt around their conflicts. The reader is left to enjoy his detailed and moody descriptions, his poetic quotes, and the contrasts between the depression and post-war eras: pleasant because the book is well written, but not very exciting.

`You don't,' would be my answer to Stegner's question. Judging from other reviews, obviously, I've come to the wrong conclusion.

Beautifully written, provocative, and enduring. Hated for it to end. Wanted to reread it immediately.

Wallace Stegner is simply one of our finest writers and this book is great on so many levels. Remarkably little happens in the story, and yet he brings you so close to the characters that you can't take your eyes off of them. He won the Pulitzer for "Angle of Repose," which is also great, but I found Safety a far speedier, enjoyable read. If you have an intellectual bone in your head, you cannot go wrong with this.

I couldn't put this book down. However, my complaint is the self-indulgent writing of Stegner's - he always seems to be winking at himself as he describes certain scenarios, attitudes of characters, etc..

It gets to be tiring... and the writing style is totally outdated! Not timeless!

The witness is irresistible it is packed with action. It is about a little black girl and a jewish girl that are in this little town in Vermont when the KKK come to town. As the bystanders of the town watch as their town crumbles. But in the end the bystanders become the heroes. The witness is a great book to do a book report on. Karen Hesse won the New berry Award for her book "Out of the dust." The witness was written for Jean Feiwel . I recommend this book to students in 6th, 7th, and [...] because it is perfect for a book report. This book is historical fiction. I strongly recommend this book!

The witness is irresistible it is packed with action. It is about a little black girl and a jewish girl that are in this little town in Vermont when the KKK come to town. As the bystanders of the town watch as their town crumbles. But in the end the bystanders become the heroes. The witness is a great book to do a book report on. Karen Hesse won the New berry Award for her book "Out of the dust." The witness was written for Jean Feiwel . I recommend this book to students in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade because it is perfect for a book report. This book is historical fiction. I strongly recommend this book!

[...]
How would you like to live in where the KKK is like Leona and Ester had to when they were young? That was in 1924.In the book Witness by Karen Hesse, the blacks and Jews were aware of the KKK and watching there backs closely. Mr. Harish gets shot by KKKmember and dies. Ester, Mr. Harish' daughter could have got killed to if she was leaning back a little because she was sitting on her fathers lap. I can't tell you if any one else dies because of the KKK. If you're in to historical fiction you would like this book.
[...]

This is a really good book.As I was reading this book I felt as if I was in the Vermont town. It showed me that not everyone agreed with the ku klux klan and that they sometimes they had to had to join even though they really didn't agree.

In discussing the subject of Hate with my eighth grade students, I use WITNESS as an introduction to this difficult topic because of its brilliant subtleties that infuse the subject with multiple perspectives that tells a complete story. Highly reminiscent of the adult play THE LARAMIE PROJECT (which tells the story of Matthew Shepherd -- the young gay man who died after being beaten to death tied to a fence post in Wyoming), the two stories work together to weave a portrait of America that is harsh, cruel, hateful, sad and ugly, but lead to a greater Hope, where justice, clear-headedness and a deep sense of humanity will prevail.

WITNESS wisely puts the voice of the story into different characters: the innocent, the wise, the evil, the confused, the bystander, the individual whose feelings and opinions are affected by the events and people around him/her -- an individual who is tested, and passes.

Do not hesitate in introducing this book to middle- and high-school students. Discuss it with them and let them see the pain and disgusting nature of humankind. Let them discover that humankind can come to its senses and redeem itself from the terrible injustices it serves up. High school students who can handle some pretty harsh language can then move onto THE LARAMIE PROJECT and experience a similar feeling dealing with an real-life incident of Hate and its repercussions, but in modern terms.

The book (perfect as reader's theatre in the classroom) is recommended at the highest level. Excellent storytelling in a pitch perfect form.