What do I think of the passages…

1. Wonderful fresh description. Nicely telling. I like the image I see in my head.

You’re right, exo, that it’s merely a nugget, not a meal. But it’s a sign of the author’s ability to spin words in an original and fun way, and that makes me want to read more.

2. This one seems more personal. As someone who knows you, I can see why this would appeal to you, and I can also see why it would make you think of me. We haven’t canned garden produce yet, but it’s in our future, like maybe next weekend.

3. My aunt used to say, “I have a figure just like yours under all this fat,” so once again, I have a personal connection to the passage from the git-go.

I like the strong determined person it conveys, and I like the way she is conveyed through her trials and accomplishments. It’s so much more interesting and effective than, “My mother was an incredibly determined woman, and her determination gave me courage.”

4. This is my least favorite because the tire thing misses me, but it *is* effective. I get a sense of Dad through his discomfort with events. The final sentence makes the passage, in my opinion.

They all work for me. But, then, we all know that I enjoy reading and writing, passages and quotes. “Trifles are the sum of life,” which is my version of something Dickens wrote that I’ve never looked up for accuracy.

I eat this stuff up, and I found all of these morsels tasty, both the nuggets and the meals.

And I want to read more, so I searched “Haven Kimmel” on ListenAlaska, the library audio book service. (It’s the fastest way to get my hands on a book.) I will be downloading “A Girl Named Zippy” tonight while I sleep.

Thanks, Shell!

These quotes are from Kimmel’s second book of memoirs, which picks up where the first left off. The original book is *A Girl Named Zippy: Growing Up Small in Mooreland, Indiana.” I enjoyed her writing so much that I quickly went out to purchase the second one: *She Got Up Off the Couch and Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana”.

Kimmel also writes fiction, but I haven’t read any of that yet. Thanks for the comments.

Shelly, I found #1 & #4 confusing because I do not have the background story of these quotes. #1 is a description of a woman’s eyes and nothing else. Great for a writing class it but does not get me to read the book. #4 is about a man who did not enjoy being in church but, at least in this excerpt, no explanation or solution is given. And I did

#2 & #3 are complete enough to enjoy fully. They make me want to read the book(s) they are taken from. That’s why I am asking where these excerpts came from originally.
Thanks.

About the passages from the book…I think Haven Kimmel’s writing is fantastic. She writes her experiences as a child, through a child’s eyes, and I can not only remember those feelings, but also actually feel them. I think she has a true gift.

However, when I reread the passages here, they’ve lost some of their zest, it seems. When reading the book, I fnd them exceptional. How do they read to folks who aren’t in the middle of the book?