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Small Wonder
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
In this collection of essays, the author of High Tide in Tucson brings to us (out of one of history's darker moments) an extended love song to the world we still have. From its opening parable gleaned from recent news about a lost child saved in an astonishing way, the book moves on to consider a world of surprising and hopeful prospects ranging from an inventive conservation scheme in a remote jungle to the backyard flock of chickens tended by the author's small daughter. Whether she is contemplating the Grand Canyon, her vegetable garden, motherhood, adolescence, genetic engineering, TV-watching, the history of civil rights, or the future of a nation founded on the best of all human impulses, these essays are grounded in the author's belief that our largest problems have grown from the earth's remotest corners as well as our own backyards, and that answers may lie in those places, too. In the voice Kingsolver's readers have come to rely on - sometimes grave, occasionally hilarious, and ultimately persuasive - Small Wonder is a hopeful examination of the people we seem to be, and what we might yet make of ourselves.
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Lcsmcat
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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Pickpick

Like with most collections some essays spoke to me more than others, but as a whole it was lovely. Hopeful and uplifting even as it dealt with difficult and serious situations. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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Lcsmcat
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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It may be an unpopular opinion today, but this is a truth I try to live by.

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jlhammar
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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Pickpick

Glad I finally got around to this thoughtful essay collection. Turned out to be a good companion to my Demon Copperhead reading (though I think I‘m ready for a Kingsolver break). Some of these essays aged better than others (published in 2001), but overall a worthwhile read.

She touches on a myriad of topics so I‘m just going to use this as a free space for #NaturaLitsyBingo2023.

AllDebooks Oh my, I'm going to have to seek that one out. I didn't know she had an essay collection published 2y
75 likes1 stack add1 comment
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LeafingThroughLife
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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Pickpick

Published in the wake of 9/11, these essays remain startlingly relevant. I felt a bit preached at on some topics but more often, as Kingsolver chronicles the small wonders that keep hope alive in a darkening world, the circuitous route her life takes to helping her understand motherly love, and the way stories can be and are woven into the fabric of our lives, I was cut to the heart and brought to tears.

Belated #AuthorAMonth

Soubhiville It‘s a lovely cover. I‘m glad you enjoyed some of it. 3y
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vlwelser
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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Pickpick

Barbara Kingsolver is amazing. I had only read her novels before this month. This one is essays and she covers a lot of ground. Environmental issues, sustainable living, politics, motherhood, etc. She has a degree in biology apparently and you can tell. I didn't learn anything exactly but she made me think about stuff.

#AuthorAMonth @Soubhiville

#BookSpin done! @TheAromaofBooks

Prairiegirl_reading I‘ll have to get this one. Animal Vegetable Miracle is amazing! I learned a lot!! 3y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 3y
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blurb
Scochrane26
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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1. My parents named me Shannon after one of my mom‘s friends. Cochrane, my middle name, was my Irish grandmother‘s maiden name.
2. I‘m grateful that we are still doing Halloween trick-or-treating as far as I know. It‘s a bit of normalcy that many people need, esp kids. #thankfulthursday @Cosmos_Moon

Cosmos_Moon_River Yes! The kids do need that. I‘m glad we were able to do some normal Halloween things, too. Hope you had fun! 4y
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Jen2
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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Pickpick

Really enjoyed her essays.

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LWagoner
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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Pickpick

Wonderful collection of essays that make you think, make you feel, and remind you about what is truly important in life. Published 16 years ago, these essays are still relevant to our times and world today. Kingsolver is one of my favorite wordsmiths!

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jetspins24
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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Thinking about this today.

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MemoirsForMe
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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My #bookspiral is looking more like a staircase. 😁
#uncannyoctober
@RealLifeReading

SilversReviews Love the spiraling. 7y
43 likes2 comments
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jetspins24
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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This.

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rockpools
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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WanderingBookaneer ❤Shadow of the Wind ❤ 8y
rockpools @WanderingBookaneer 😊I have yet to experience that one! 8y
WanderingBookaneer You will never forget the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. 8y
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TheLushMama
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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I love this quote and book!

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Loreen
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
Mehso-so

It's an okay read. Some of the essays are a wee bit condescending, and a few of the others just illustrate how little we've come since 9/11. And in fact, things may even be worse. But the essays about travel, family, and gardening are quite good.

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jetspins24
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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#funfriday - Bright, happy parrots on the cover! And this is the best book of essays ever. I love it so much! About tragedy, resilience, how cultures respond to moments of great adversity, the meaning of patriotism, growing up female, being a mother, being a daughter, nature and science, writing and reading, and what particular stories and places can mean to individuals and humanity in general. A diverse range of lovely, thoughtful writing.

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jetspins24
Small Wonder | Barbara Kingsolver
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"Looking out on a clean plank of planet earth, we can get shaken right down to the bone by the bronze-eyed possibility of lives that are not our own."

Wishing I could be outside today instead of at my desk....

This is from an amazing essay collection by my favorite author of all time.

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