When I ran into my 8th grade biology teacher about a month and a half ago (my favorite science teacher of all time, hands down), we naturally had a discussion combining the subjects that we teach: science and literature. Once we professed our mutual love for Barbara Kingsolver, she recommended Sue Hubbell to me.
What an awesome book. Maybe I appreciate it more because she reflects on life in the Ozarks and observes the flora and fauna I'm familiar with, but her calm and intriguing style is accessible to all. I say anyone who has lived in Missouri should read this book in order to either acquaint themselves with the natural habitat or to foster a deeper understanding and appreciation for the state. She loves and is acutely aware of her surroundings--bees, fixing trucks, dogs-domestic and wild, termites, Good Old Boys and Simple Lifers, copperheads vs. cottonmouths, carpentry, chicken telepathy, serviceberry, water politics, just to name a few. This is an easy-going read with easy-going language and chapters of easy-going length. And while she wrote this coming out of a divorce, she examines her connection as a strong and independent woman to the natural world rather than taking on an "Oh, God, what do I do now?" stance, which I also appreciated.
You should read it. ( )

I only wished there had been more articles per season. Her contemplative look at individual days and events each season were a restful glimpse into a life lived at a graceful pace. ( )

Ms. Hubbell shares glimpses of her life as a solitary beekeeper in the Ozarks of Missouri. Suddenly single in her middle age, this book is an exploration of what it means for her to be living on her farm, interacting with the multitude of life that shares her environment. Just enough curious facts make the book a revelation and the prose is straightforward and lovely. ( )

Sue, bióloga y bibliotecaria y su marido deciden dejarlo todo y marcharse a vivir a una solitaria y destartalada granja en los bosques de las montañas Ozarks, en el Medio Oeste de Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, al poco de llegar, el marido de Sue decide abandonarla. Ésta es, por tanto, la historia de una mujer enfrentada a las montañas, al invierno, a los coyotes, a las motosierras y, algunos días, a la soledad, pero sin perder jamás el sentido del humor y una mirada infinitamente curiosa y prendada por la belleza salvaje que la rodea. ( )

Sue Hubbell is a national treasure. Was. She died last year. Her memoirs are a poetic homage to life in the country and farming by a particularly extraordinary woman. Both an active participant and keen observer of the natural world around her and the people she encounters in it. Just fantastic. ( )