Barbara Kingsolver

I discovered Barbara Kingsolver because she was, briefly, in a rock-and-roll band with Stephen King. Long live rock-and-roll.

The Poisonwood Bible
According to the blurb at BarbaraKingsolver.com, "The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959." When I finish a book, I rate it using a simple system: it gets a smiley face emoticon :-) if I want to read something else by the same author. Not only did The Poisonwood Bible get a smiley face -- I started another Kingsolver title the same day. I love this book.

Prodigal Summer
This book made me fall in love with Barbara Kingsolver. I think The Poisonwood Bible is a better story, but I enjoyed reading this one more. I could not wait to start another Kingsolver book.

The Lacuna
I was disappointed. If it had not been written by Barbara Kingsolver, who I had fallen in love with, I would have given it a frowny face :-( or worse, I might not have finished it. I kept reading, hoping it would turn into a real Kingsolver  book, and telling myself that it took a while for The Poisonwood Bible to grow on me. But this one never did. I have to wonder if she enjoyed writing it. Sigh.

Other Titles by Barbara Kingsolver
I've read The Bean Trees, and I remember liking it, but I read it in one sitting, and when I do that, I enjoy the book, but tend not to remember it well. I may read this one again, because one of my colleagues is teaching it in her 10th grade English class. Pigs In Heaven is a sequel, which I intend to read -- someday.

Ana Maria liked Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It's non-fiction, and it's in my reading queue.Kingsolver has written several other books, including novels, non-fiction, and collections of short stories and poems. I would like to eventually read all of it, and I could see myself reading The Poisonwood Bible (and maybe Prodigal Summer) again. I'm still in love with Barbara Kingsolver, in spite of The Lacuna.