I read this book on the recommendation of a friend and I must say that I absolutely loved the book. My mother grew up in the hills of Appalachia and the book brought back memories and stories my mother used to tell. Ms. Rice's abilities and stories are fascinating. I now recommend the book to others.

Janet's book has two parts. First she remembers growing up in the hills. Several interesting stories and lessons. She has me smelling the air for rain and cucumbers. Her journey to a fortune teller I found very interesting. I am someone who would love to have her talents but I never knew the work she put into it. What determination!!

Second part has some very, very interesting stories about clients she has had over the years. They are stories that make you gasp, cry and laugh out loud.

Janet's book was very well written and easy to read. I was pleasantly surprised and entertained.

Janet lovingly describes her years of growing up in a small town environment. Her family roots gave the basis for her book. I could identify with a lot of the "superstitions" as I also heard them when I was growing up. The book flows very well and Janet did an excellent job in pulling it all together......Good Job!!

One of the most touching and beautiful stories I have ever read! A little girl loses the father she so deeply loves, but never forgets the important lessons he taught her or the love he had for her. Her dream is to go to school, but her family can't buy her a coat. Finally, kind friends of her mama help make her a coat out of quilt pieces. Her excitement at wearing her new coat to school and sharing it with her new friends quickly changes to sadness when she is taunted by her playmates. But she remembers her father's lessons and his love and helps her friends come to see how special her coat is--to ALL of them! This story is part of the reading series I teach from and when I read it for the first time last year, my class was staring at me in amazement as I sobbed my way through the end! I had to get a copy for myself and my little girl!

I must confess, I was not prepared to read my 5 year old a book on death...and I was a little shocked to find out during my first time reading it to her (I guess I should have pre-read it). Even so, I loved it, and so did she! This story deals with the sorrow of death and the humiliation of poverty in a real and positive way, without being sentimental. It is beautiful to see a child come up with a loving solution to her problems.

I am adding this book to my collection of favorite children's books. I'm storing them up for grandchildren (when they come along). This story teaches a humbling lesson about making judgments without all the facts. It's touching and the illustrations are beauitiful.

Bil Lepp and his brother have put together a collection of new "Tall Tales" that is not to be missed. Not buying this book is akin to bypassing Twain in his day. (O.k.-Maybe that's a little much, but you get the point.) The storytelling is superb, always compelling and surprising, twisting around hysterical subjects and impossible(?) settings. In this day and age you don't get many chances to read a new author with as much talent as Bil has for spewing forth untruths that sound so believable! Take my word for it, this one is a keeper! You won't be disappointed!

If Mark Twain, John Steinbeck or Ernest Hemingway had been twins we'd be alot better off, but since that didn't happen we need as many W.V. Lepps as they had Waltons.

The Lepps have pieced together a hilarious array of short stories and tall tales that you'll want to share with everyone from your preacher to your parole officer. These stories capture a vanishing part of Americana in a way the old Andy Griffith show did, except that the Lepps lie alot.

Can't wait for them to get a book on tape, but until they do I'm sure glad they wrote this book.

This is really a fantastic book. I read a friend's Rev. Regina Spring's that she bought it directly from Rev. Bil ar her course of studies. I am purchasing this book for a Christmas present. I would recommend it to anyone! Funny! I would recommend it to all preachers!

James Still has exquisitely and intricately chronicled what it is like to be born, live, and die in the hills of eastern Kentucky. Natives of the region will read the book and feel attached to the book if by nothing else but the geography. Others will be drawn into the book by the sincerity and realism of the characters. Still, the poet laureate of Kentucky, beautifully relates the attachment of eastern Kentuckians to the mountain soil in spite of the poverty and hard living that they must endure. More than that, however, it is a story of inspiration and coming of age. I highly recommend it to anyone.

In my opinion, River of Earth deserves to be celebrated among the best works of 20th century fiction. James Still not only evokes the setting in depression era Kentucky, but he also captures the spirit of the people and the point of view of his young narrator. This is not a sentimental rendering of an idealized past but rather a pure slice of life cut down to the bone with a real sharp knife. The story is full of humor and hard times, and the language is akin to poetry. "Where ARE we bound on this river of earth?"

Both my grandfathers mined coal in eastern KY. My parents and I were born there too. I have always had a longing to know more about life during my grandfathers' lifetimes. Now thanks to James Still and his Book,"River of Earth" that longing has been filled. Thank you Mr. Still.

I loved the continuing story of Tuesday and Jacob. The author captures the evil and control Jacob had over the women and children on the mountain. He took everything away from them so he could control them and when he wasn't around Aunt Aggie took on the role as tyrant. You want to dislike Aunt Aggie and Big Bessie, but then again you must remember they were controled as much as the others.
The author offers twist and turns throughout the story. I can't hard wait to read the next book of this series.

I am addicted to The Cabin Series! I cannot wait for the 4th novel to come out. I met the author, C.J. Henderson, and she is a wonderful compliment to her books. A lovely lady.

My husband bought me "Cabin II" for my
birthday. I was happy, but his ulterior
motive was obvious when I caught him reading
"The Cabin Misery on the Mountain!"

Sandy

I enjoyed reading about Elizabeth and her life with Roy Freeman. I live in Richmod Kentucky close to the areas described in this book. I enjoyed reading about familiar places. This book made me think about life and all that I hold dear family, children, education etc. I recommend this book to everyone. Don't miss it!

I, Aunt Nanciana, am reading DETOUR for the third time.

It's beautifully written. Each time I read DETOUR I learn something new about life, love, and religion.

Nothing negative; all true and beautiful for all readers to consume and try to live by.

I, Nanciana Wallick Bonebrake, am ever so proud of my dear neice, Debra Wallick Stone.

Thanks for this opportunity to let my family and friends know about her book: DETOUR.

DETOUR is one in a line of many books I have read in the last year, and I enjoyed each and every minute of it. It gets to what I believe to be at the heart of every human being,...the desire to get back to the basics of life.

It tells of the lives of two people deeply in love with each other, each on two totally opposite fields of life when reunited. When "The Operation" decides the detours they must each take from their familiar lifestyles leads them to an Amish community, both find out that the things that matter most in life are the things that money cannot buy.

Very educating on the Amish lifestyle. Very respectfully written, informational, and enlightening.

I loved it !!!!!!!!!!

Celia Miles has written a charming novel about the sturdy, independent people of Appalachia. She immerses the reader in authentic mountain language, as shown by these chapter titles:
"Almost More than A Body can Bear, Watson's Old Ram, Springtime Came A-gushing Misery, and Backsliding and Baptizing."
As the story opens, young June has been left by her parents with her Aunt Mattie. Aunt Mattie's husband, Sheriff Cade Greer, has rushed off before dinner to stop a fight and has just been shot. Mattie's prepared dinner is still on the table uneaten as she learns of her husband's death. The story open with her response to the news--"He went off hungry."
There follows a tale of interactions of the mountain folks as seen through the eyes of nine-year-old June, an obedient and innocent child who tries to understand the actions of the adults around her. It's also the story of her best friend, Pee Dee Rednell, the daughter of old man Rednell and sister to a peck of brothers whom the righteous church people call "rapscallions."
The reader is treated to descriptions of old mountain customs such as making lye soap, dowsing for water, wringing chickens by the neck, and killing hogs in the autumn.
The book is made richer by the author's knowledge of the history of the English language and her years of teaching on the college level. She has a unique facility with this rapidly disappearing American dialect. At the same time, the book reveals her considerable writing skill at weaving a complex plot with believable characterizations.

Young Mattie grows up in a natural world rich in sky, plants, and fresh air. Her Appalachian mountain home and her innocence are a breath of fresh air. Having grown up in an urban setting, with the busyness and security concerns that entails, I couldn't help but envy Mattie. Kudos to author Celia H. Miles for rendering such rare "you are thereness." A gentle, poetic read.

Mattie's Girl is a must read book for adults and young people. No matter what part of the world the reader grew up in, Mattie's childhood adventures will bring back memories. It is not a children's book but will be enjoyed by readers' of any age.

Mattie's Girl offers fascinating details about growing up in Appalachian North Carolina--stimulating anyone's imagination.
Also, the story of Mattie's experiences keeps the reader turning pages to the very end.

Years ago I lived in Virginia, and this cookbook brings back a lot of memories of something rooted to the land. It's about the people, the hills, and the lifestyle -- all intertwined inseparably from the food. There's something rich going on here -- and I don't mean in dollars. The author's done a fine job. The recipes presented are not abundant (the first recipe doesn't appear until page 103), but they are as "American" as you can imagine, if not exactly contemporary. Included are country recipes with names that will intrigue many of us now: elderberry wine, pot likker dumplings, Cherokee hominy, Blue Ridge fried corn, cherrylog scuppernong pie, sorghum taffy, and mule ears. I don't know how many of these recipes I'll make, but boy do I love reading this book!

Great recipies and great stories. Truly reflects the relatinship between food, culture and the heritage of the region. Even if I do not want to make a particular dish, I enjoy reading about its local historical importance. I read this book to imerse myself in the "feeling" of the region. I have about 200 cookbooks, but this is one of my favorities -- I sent it to my cousin in West Virginia so that she can better understand the background of her neighbors. To summarize: I just love this book.

One of my true regrets in life is that I did not write down the treasured "old timey" way of doing things before my grandparents passed away. Things like making homemade apple butter and planting by the signs are now, sadly, a thing of the past. I want to thank the author for recording these things from others in my grandparent's generation. I am truly indebted.

Kentuckiana is a brilliant novel, and I urge everyone to read it. Payne presents the Miles--a suburban family forced to exist solely for the whims of his metafictional narrator--in an enrapturing, entertaining, and challenging manner, and by doing so, offers a provacative glimpse into the basic yearnings and darkness of the human heart. We are given well-crafted characters existing within the same collective conscious as the reader and, remarkably, in such an intricate and detailed manner that one can't help but empathize with the characters who face some of the most dreadful events life can throw at them, and with the narrator whose own bleak life compels him to create them. The dark appeal of this novel resides in the somewhat naive hope that they will eventually escape their dysfunction and, if not exist in happiness, at least not cause any more suffering, either to themselves or to each other. The comic undertones are bleak and disturbing--this is N OT a novel for the faint of heart (In one episode, a live cat is incinerated--ghastly and sickening, and one of the most brilliant bits in the novel). Nor is this book an easy read; it requires concentration, a suspension of disbelief, and the willingness to identify with and care about a set of characters incapable of caring about themselves. If you're up to the challenge, this novel will be a wonderful literary event for you.

Not since reading styron's Lie Down in Darkness years ago have I had such an emotional response to the power and absoluteness of someone's writing as I felt upon reading Payne's Kentuckiana. From the first page, I was absorbed and caught dead center by the honesty that resonated for me in the words I read. What the author gives readers here is a staggering, intensely persuasive, and haunting perspective of a flesh-and-blood American family. Despite the "metaphysical" premise of the opening chapter that we are to meet and interact with the smoke and mirrors of fiction, the characters proceed instantly to create their own dynamics and come alive in the mind of the reader. It doesn't matter who they are, but that they are. Alive, real, in the complexity of their relationships with one another in the settings that enclose/thwart/sustain/catalyze/compel them. Their immediacies, attitudes and behaviors are made compelling by the articulateness, the lyrical intelligence, the richness of their thoughts and words, so that their tragedy lies not in their disability (as distinct from inability) to communicate emotional pain, protest, anguish or joy within the family framework or the confines of other relationships. It is, rather, a sense of the inchoate, the unspokenness underlying the whole fabric of the straightforward context of the "ordinary" family unit from which they spring (and with which they are irrevocably enmeshed) that comprises the tragedy here--a bright sadness or gap of silence that remains mysterious, haunting to the mind and heart, even as their words flow on and on, over and through the misactions, the skewed attempts, the growths, acceptances, failures, compromises and intractabilities. I heartily recommend this novel for the insights it offers into the failures and successes of modern families.

If folks didn't catch the hyperbolic comedy of Payne's novel, then people are as humorous as the skiffy people that Harlan Ellison disdains. Kentuckiana creates wonderful personalities; often disturbing, but more often exposed with comic anecdotes that struck me with familiarity and resourceful curiosity. Johnny Payne is one of the finest storytellers in the field today; he cuts into the deep pathos of the Miles family with remarkable precision and insight. I high recommend this book.

If you want to read a great book then read Silver Packages because it will just touch your heart. It all started when no one had anything so every Christmas a man came and threw silver packages out the back of the train. Chris Soentpiet's illustrations are colorful and interesting.

I like Chris Soentpiet's book called Silver Packages. The pictures he drew were OUT OF THIS WORLD!!! The book was outstanding! I like the part when the boy is holding his first one in front of the Christmas tree.

My favorite part in the story is where Frankie does not get what he wants. I like the illustrations, because they are very realistic. I give this book five stars. Read this book to find out what are in the Silver Packages.