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By: NELS 020
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2025-07-09 14:35:17 |
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Easy to read, interesting and disturbing account of poverty, prejudice and misogyny. Fascinating to read about the Kentucky 'blue' people. |
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By: LOWER 008
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2025-06-30 14:57:33 |
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What an amazing and engaging story of a Pack Horse Librarian delivering books to people in remote areas, giving such pleasure and a joy of reading with these books. |
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By: AUCK 277
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2025-06-23 10:06:05 |
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Our group found this to be a powerful and moving story, causing some to shed tears. It led us to research various aspects of the story, and to ponder on the question of whether such poverty and lack of education inevitably leads to the racism and mean-spirited behaviour some characters displayed. |
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By: SUTHER 001
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2025-05-12 10:26:50 |
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Great book, if a bit depressing. Some members are reading the sequel now. |
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By: HAMIL 003
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2025-04-16 10:16:10 |
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All enjoyed the book and the insights into the lives of people living in isolation. The harshness of life, suspicion and ignorance contrasted with the joy of the librarians' visits, and the opportunity it gave to connect with the outside world. |
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By: RICH 010
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2025-03-20 09:47:29 |
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Fascinating insight into the horrors of small, isolated, poverty-stricken communities in which breeding is rife and so-called 'Christian values' go hand-in-hand with extreme prejudice against anyone who is different. We all enjoyed learning about this community, and the saving graces of the book women as well as the astonishing disease of methemoglobinemia. |
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By: CHCH 449
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2025-03-07 15:23:10 |
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Enjoyable and enlightening. Led to discussion on several topics... 'blue people', racism, discrimination, historical America. |
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By: LOWER 025
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2025-03-06 12:06:35 |
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This was our least favourite book so far. We all found it difficult to get into, and while there was something we all learnt from the novel this wasn't enough to make us love this story. We had not heard of the blue people of Kentucky nor did we know about the pack horse librarians' project, but this was not enough to sustain our reading pleasure. Whilst there was some beautiful writing, there was too much of it, and the characters felt stereotyped and one dimensional. |
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By: COOKS 001
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2024-10-30 13:32:38 |
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A lot of 'punch' has been packed in this book, most enjoyed it. Provides an insight into both a period of history, a part of America rarely portrayed and the discrimination against the Kentucky 'blue people'. The other historic topics brought up were the importance of the mobile library service to isolated communities, 'relief work' for the unemployed during the depression, the dominance of the mining company and store in isolated areas, the rise of the fledgling union movement and women's place in society. Some felt the romance too contrived. |
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By: DUNED 059
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2024-10-29 23:12:40 |
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Those that read the book enjoyed it immensely, fascinating from an historical point of view - topic was new to all of us. Moving story. |
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By: TAUR 059
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2024-08-04 18:00:41 |
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All enjoyed the book, all found the characters could have had more depth. All appreciated the history behind of it, for most it was something they knew nothing about. |
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By: AUCK 472
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2024-07-24 16:26:13 |
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This was our first book as a group and some struggled with it. Although it was a great story overall and included a lot of interesting historical facts, some found it overly descriptive and waffly. |
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By: CHCH 363
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2024-06-30 16:04:03 |
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Most of us loved this book and found it fascinating. It was a great read and so interesting to find out about the blue people. |
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By: WELL 060
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2024-06-17 13:54:46 |
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Quite a hard read in that there was so much poverty and prejudice. Fascinating about the library service and the blue people. |
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By: CHCH 570
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2024-03-04 11:25:37 |
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People found the author's style quite different, and in parts, too descriptive. The majority really enjoyed the book. |
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By: NAP 026
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2024-01-23 11:40:23 |
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We were all very interested in this book. We loved learning about the medical side, the social conditions, and the WPA programme. The way the book was written gave it real life, and the language used helped create this atmosphere. Very enjoyable, we all learnt a lot! |
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By: CHCH 282
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2023-08-17 09:25:32 |
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Of the 11 people who scored this the average was 4.5/5. Without exception we all enjoyed this book - best this year - read in one sitting - wonderful. Very educational - about blue blood and about life in the Appalachians. We would have liked to know more about the library scheme. Very real descriptions of poverty and starvation and the courting candle. Some did feel there were parts that didn't gel, but on the whole it was so interesting and so well-written that we were very happy to think there is a follow up called 'Honey'. |
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By: TAKA 001
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2023-08-15 17:32:52 |
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Reading about the 'blue people' was an eye-opener for all of us, and the discrimination they experienced because thay were seen as 'coloured'. We were interested in reading about the 'book people' and the hardship for people living in the back blocks of Kentucky, especially the women. It was hard to think that people died of starvation in the 1930s in the US. We are all pleased to have read it. |
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By: TAUR 060
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2023-07-26 12:17:08 |
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This was a polarising book for our group. Some found it to be depressing while others saw it as a story of hope. It provoked discussions about the place of books in children's lives, and also the lives of women in those days. |
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By: AUCK 412
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2023-04-16 11:03:50 |
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A wide range of ratings but everybody found the story thought-provoking, especially learning about the rare genetic condition causing blue skin. All concurred on the ongoing plight of all marginalised people in society today. |
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By: PAIHIA 001
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2023-04-10 13:02:21 |
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Everyone loved this, enjoyed the history and the remarkable feat of making the library work, the hard times post the Great Depression and the hope that books brought. The 'blue' people were interesting to know about too. |
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By: AUCK 422
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2023-03-05 17:20:10 |
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This was a topic no-one knew anything about, so was an eye-opener for the 21st century reader. While we thought the characters were not very well developed, and there were mixed feelings about the way the book was written with odd lapses into a hillbilly dialect, it was probably written in that style to give greater veracity to the story. It remains relevant with issues that are still with us today, such as the plight of the poor and the indifference of the wealthy. |
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By: CHCH 202
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2023-02-27 11:53:19 |
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Everyone in the group was very pleased to have read this book. All learnt things we didn't know - about the Pack Horse Library, about the Blue People, and about the mountain folk. Although harrowing at times, it was descriptive without being overpowering. Several members said it was the best book they'd read from the BDS. Some have reserved the sequel from the Public Library. |
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By: CHCH 257
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2023-02-13 11:18:06 |
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Instructive; great depth of characters. Really interesting and enjoyable read. |
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By: WHANGA 002
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2022-10-05 13:56:32 |
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'The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek' was thoroughly enjoyed by our entire Group. The novel was well-written and the factual information made it particularly 'special'. Our discussion was vibrant. The notes were helpful. |
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By: AUCK 335
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2022-09-09 15:53:06 |
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A very interesting book based on sound historical research, this introduced us to a time and place about which we knew little if anything and to the blue people about whom we had never heard. Some enjoyed the lush passages of description while others thought these were overwritten. We generally agreed that there were a few too many deaths and disasters: rape, assault, suicide, death by starvation, in childbirth, and in a mining accident. The extreme poverty, hardship, ignorance and prejudice rang true as did the courage and commitment of the book women. |
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By: HAMIL 029
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2022-08-05 10:56:47 |
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This is a fascinating study of a very rare condition that makes its sufferers appear blue. And the account of life in Kentucky in the 1930s among the poor in remote parts is also moving and interesting. Most of us felt that the book is over-written - too many adjectives, too many horrible events in a very short period of time. But the material makes the book well worth reading - and it's clear that many people love the style of writing. |
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By: AUCK 448
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2022-05-12 08:08:26 |
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The descriptive prose in this book was absolutely divine. The group enjoyed the historical element of the story and were surprised by the racism and poverty experienced. The discussion notes sparked some interesting conversations about the nature of racism. We agreed the pacing of the book was a little off. However everyone loved the inherent goodness of the main character. |
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By: NAP 032
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2022-05-07 20:53:42 |
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Our favourite book so far. The sheer courage and strength exhibited by Cussy Mary amidst the prejudice and dangers she faced made her an instantly likeable and unforgettable character for us all. |
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By: NELS 075
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2022-05-05 15:17:11 |
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Fascinating read about a State in America that we knew little about. In awe of the women who worked for the library programme, and the benefits they provided which went beyond providing books - much like our libraries today!! |
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By: BLENH 003
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2022-04-29 11:50:44 |
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Everyone enjoyed this story though we found it very sad in parts. We would recommend the book strongly as probably the best and most interesting so far. We appreciated the notes and photos which added to the background. |
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By: HOKITIK 004
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2022-04-28 21:41:40 |
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Very readable, well-researched and a fascinating history we hadn't come across. An amazingly brave female spirit. Everyone enjoyed this and it elicited much discussion in our group. |
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By: ASHB 009
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2022-03-28 12:47:01 |
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Everyone loved the book. Was easy to read, and the author had carefully researched her subject matter and carefully woven the facts into a fascinating novel. None of us knew anything about the Packhorse Library or the 'blue people' of Kentucky, so we learned a lot. One member even bought a copy of the book for herself! |
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By: LITRIV 001
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2022-02-15 13:47:20 |
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We all thoroughly enjoyed this book. As well as being an easy read it was very informative, a real insight into the past times of rural Kentucky. |
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By: CHCH 001
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2022-02-08 10:12:21 |
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An amazing, memorable story of how a determined young woman overcame the challenges of poverty, bigotry, racism and cruelty. The commitment to her tasks and compassion for the families she served was amazing - an informative, educational book. |
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By: KATIK 001
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2021-11-24 13:22:19 |
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A bittersweet account of the Kentucky blue people and their lives during the Great Depression. A well-written novel, the author skillfully used atmosphere to place the reader into the heart of their troubles. Much discussion followed about coloured and disadvantaged folk from our perspective of a hundred years of social and medical improvements. |
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By: WELL 041
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2021-11-15 10:35:31 |
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We all loved this book and enjoyed reading it, and learning of the 'Blues', and the history of the travelling librarians in Kentucky. It was a beautifully written book covering the history and traditions, as well as some extreme poverty and social injustices that the hill people suffered. We unanimously gave this book 5 stars. |
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By: PUTAR 001
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2021-11-15 10:33:03 |
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Enjoyed by all and created an evening of varied discussion - words like sad, brave, bleak, endurance, realisation. Thoroughly recommend. |
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By: ASHB 004
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2021-10-11 10:21:33 |
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Great discussion. Book enjoyed by all! |
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By: PALMN 001
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2021-09-22 12:03:36 |
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Very good book. Some found it rather raw but all were glad to have read it. Good discussion. Recommended. |
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