The Book Bag: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

Showing posts with label The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Show all posts

Thursday, April 30, 2026

New Release! The Mountains We Call Home by Kim Michele Richardson ~ My Thoughts #TheMountainsWeCallHome

Congratulations Kim Michele

on the recent release of

The Mountains We Call Home!

The Mountains We Call Home: The Book Woman's Legacy by Kim Michele Richardson

(The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek #3)

Historical Fiction, 384 pages

Published April 21, 2026 by Sourcebooks Landmark

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek comes a triumphant tale of a librarian's fight to bring literacy to the prisons of Kentucky and the underserved neighborhoods of downtown Louisville, revealing a story of fierce love, quiet strength, and the healing power of books.

When Cussy Lovett, a Packhorse Librarian famed for bringing books to the people of Appalachia, is unjustly incarcerated, she finds a new calling as a prison librarian, bringing hope to downtrodden women and voiceless city residents alike, finding a home even while separated from those she loves. A vivid portrait of mid-century Kentucky, from the hills and hollers of Appalachia to a vibrant city neighborhood on the cusp of urban renewal, The Mountains We Call Home explores the effects of criminalization and incarceration on the poor and powerless, while tracing the societal consequences of fractured family bonds.

Gritty, heartbreaking, yet infused with hope, The Mountains We Call Home is an authentic American tale and a powerful testament of strength, survival, and the magic of the written word.

My thoughts about The Mountains We Call Home ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—"Somewhere among the nestled fissures and cradling dark-blue bluffs, between towns such as Hazard, Hell-fer-Sartain, Kingdom Come, and Troublesome, comes the Book Woman."

This whole series is such an amazing set of stories. And now in The Mountains We Call Home, the reader is taken back to the strong and wonderful women that we met in the previous books. Book one is all about Cussy Lovett and her struggles to bring books to the people of Appalachia. Book two continues with her daughter, Honey, taking over the mission when her parents are thrown in jail.

The Mountains We Call Home takes us back into Cussy's storyline, as she endures prison life and all that that has thrown at her. I didn't realize how much I missed being a part of her life until I started reading this book and it all came back to me. Cussy once again shows her resilience and strength as she endures the unthinkable, and just keeps going, never losing her beliefs and goals.

The Mountains We Call Home is a beautifully written, heartwarming story about strong women and the lengths they will go to to overcome adversity. This is a must-read for all lovers of books and reading. I highly recommend it, as well as this whole series.

I received an ARC of The Mountains We Call Home from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion of the book.

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About the author

The NEW YORK TIMES, LOS ANGELES TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling author, Kim Michele Richardson is a multiple-award winning author and has written five works of historical fiction, and a bestselling memoir.

Her critically acclaimed novel, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a DOLLY PARTON RECOMMENDED READ, a Goodreads Choice award nominee, and has earned the 2020 PBS Readers Choice, 2019 LibraryReads Best Book, Indie Next, SIBA, Forbes Best Historical Novel, Book-A-Million Best Fiction, and is an Oprah's Buzziest Books pick and a Women’s National Book Association Great Group Reads selection. It was inspired by the remarkable "blue people" of Kentucky, and the fierce, brave Packhorse Librarians who used the power of literacy to overcome bigotry, hate and fear during the Great Depression. The novel is taught widely in high schools and college classrooms.

Her fifth novel, The Book Woman’s Daughter, an instant NEW YORK TIMES, USA TODAY and INDIE NATIONAL bestseller, is both a stand-alone and sequel to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek.

Kentucky-born native, Kim Michele Richardson, lives with her family in the Bluegrass State and is the founder of Shy Rabbit, a writer's residency scholarship. ~ Goodreads

Connect with Kim Michele

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

Saturday, September 18, 2021

This OR That #Giveaway Week 29 ~ The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson OR How to Walk Away by Katherine Center #HowToWalkAway #TheBookWomanOfTroublesomeCreek

I have sooooo many books!

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the many books I have. It's a way for me to cull my collection and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

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The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

by Kim Michele Richardson

Paperback ~ May 2019

In 1936, tucked deep into the woods of Troublesome Creek, KY, lives blue-skinned 19-year-old Cussy Carter, the last living female of the rare Blue People ancestry.

The lonely young Appalachian woman joins the historical Pack Horse Library Project of Kentucky and becomes a librarian, riding across slippery creek beds and up treacherous mountains on her faithful mule to deliver books and other reading material to the impoverished hill people of Eastern Kentucky.

Along her dangerous route, Cussy, known to the mountain folk as Bluet, confronts those suspicious of her damselfly-blue skin and the government's new book program. She befriends hardscrabble and complex fellow Kentuckians, and is fiercely determined to bring comfort and joy, instill literacy, and give to those who have nothing, a bookly respite, a fleeting retreat to faraway lands.

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How to Walk Away

by Katherine Center

ARC ~ May 2018

Margaret Jacobsen has a bright future ahead of her: a fiancé she adores, her dream job, and the promise of a picture-perfect life just around the corner. Then, suddenly, on what should have been one of the happiest days of her life, everything she worked for is taken away in one tumultuous moment.

In the hospital and forced to face the possibility that nothing will ever be the same again, Margaret must figure out how to move forward on her own terms while facing long-held family secrets, devastating heartbreak, and the idea that love might find her in the last place she would ever expect.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!

Monday, September 28, 2020

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? September 28, 2020

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's an opportunity to visit other blogs and to comment on their reads. And ... you can add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are!

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This is two week's worth of reading. I was on vacation in The Black Hills last week and didn't get a chance to get a post ready for last Monday. I didn't get in as much reading as I had hoped to but what I did read were books that have been on my TBR pile for quite awhile and ones that I've really been wanting to read. I threw them in my bag and ignored all those other books that I 'should have' been reading. Sometimes ya just gotta do that, right?

I have to share a couple or pictures from our vaca. We drove through the Wildlife Loop in Custer State Park and saw masses of buffalo. It took us about 2 hours to get past all of them but it was such a great experience, seeing them so close. They are such majestic, beautiful creatures.