Lynne J. (Doughgirl) reviewed on 6/1/2014 + 138 more book reviews

Bailey White is a regular commentator for the NPR show "All Things Considered". She grew up in the latter part of the 20th century in rural southern Georgia with her eccentric mother (her father having taken off to live his life elsewhere), and continued to live at home with her Mama as an adult while she was a schoolteacher.

The picture on the front cover of the book gives us a peek as to what might be coming in the essays that are included in the book. It's a picture of a typical small rural house painted white with a big front porch. What's not typical is that there is a classic car parked on that front porch. And a big clawfoot bathtub. And a swan wandering through the yard. It makes the reader curious to find out WHY they are in the picture. And Ms White's very entertaining essays tell us that and more.

Some of my favorite essays ... "Porsche", in which we find out why that car is parked on the porch, "The Bed", about a Murphy bed that refused to behave and would sometimes trap its occupants in the wall, and "Gardening" in which the author details her efforts to create the wildflower garden of her dreams.

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