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I have 230+ book credits at PBS!! As of today, I am #2 on the 7 day AND the 30 day swapper chart. I have been a very busy girl. I mailed almost all of them before the postal rates changed. I won’t be mailing much out from here on out until I get settled in the Omaha area. Remember to comment with your PBS i.d. if you haven’t already. I’ll be getting a “few” books after I move! I’d like to get them from people I “know.”
1982, 289 pp. 1983 Pulitzer Prize/1983 NBA Rating: I read this for the Banned Book Challenge, and I can definitely see why people would be against it. Some of the themes include incest, rape, lesbianism, language, and drug and alcohol use. I’m not saying it should be banned–just that if I had a teenage daughter, for instance, I would want to read and discuss it with her. All of the above (and more) happen to Celie, the main character in the book. By contrast, Celie tries to protect her sister Nettie, and Nettie ends up going with a missionary family to Africa. We see Celie and Nettie both grow in different ways through what happens to them. They are separated for 30 years but do keep in contact through letters. It is appalling, really, what men can do to women. This type of novel is always hard for me to read, but sometimes I do think it is necessary for me to venture out of my protected little world into the very unprotected world of other women. If only to appreciate and thank God for what I do have and to pray for and help other women whenever I can.
2004, 364 pp. Rating: 4 Margaret is an older woman who has lived alone in a mansion for a very long time. She finds out she has cancer and then decides to start taking in boarders. Wanda is her first boarder. Her boyfriend has broken up with her and she needs somewhere else to stay. The women hit it off and slowly reveal their secrets to one another. Margaret starts taking in other boarders and soon a surrogate family is developed. I really liked this first novel by Kallos–especially the first and and last parts of the book. The middle section I didn’t much care for, or I would have rated this a 4.5. Also, there was quite a bit of s * x and language that I didn’t like. I did like how Margaret and Wanda not only forge a strong friendship but also start “really living” for the first time after they meet each other. There is much more to this novel that I don’t want to give away. I really did like the storyline, but it did seem like there were a few too many coincidences at the end. Overall, a fantastic first effort!
This book tells Amos’ story from his capture in Africa to his years of being a slave and finally to his final years as a free black man. Amos was the prince of his tribe in Africa, and it is a shock to him when he is captured for slavery. He is very lucky, though, as his owners treat him very kindly. He serves them well, saves his money, and is able to “buy” his freedom. He also buys his wives’ (he was twice a widower) freedom. Amos is a gentle and kind man who respects both God and others. I highly recommend this story to both children and adults.
1993, 361 pp. 1995 Pulitzer/1994 NBCC Award Rating: 4.5 I loved this book. I loved the writing. It isn’t a heartwarming book, but it is a thoughtful one. These “diaries” chronicle Daisy Goodwill’s life from her birth in 1905 to her death in 199? (we aren’t told the exact year). Each chapter of her life is told from her point of view, although in the book (and sometimes even in a single sentence) she switches back and forth between 1st and 3rd person. We learn of her childhood, her marriages and children, loves and losses, work and leisure, and finally her old age and death. The “chapters” made me think of my own life stages so far and the ones that are to come. All of us have a similar beginning and ending, but it’s the middle that makes life interesting. There were many, many beautiful passages in this book. I’ll leave you with one as an example of the excellence of Shields’ writing:
Carol Shields died of cancer in 2003. She was a gifted writer, and I definitely plan on reading more of her works. 
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