More reviews are in!

“Thoughtful, provocative, and infused with a kind of joy that’s needed right now.”

–Melanie Springer Mock, in Mennonite Life.

Shirley Showalter’s blog presents a “hopelessly Granola Mennonite” specimen, an envelope sent by her husband Stuart, and, well, you should just see it yourself. Of the book, she writes, “Frankly, I wasn’t sure I would like a book with this title, but I found myself admiring the author’s honesty, grit, and determination to craft her own kind of life, connected to family and faith, but not determined by them. The voice is quiet on the surface but fierce underneath. The humor bites your ankles as you recognize both satire and praise song.”

But that’s not all! My dad, who volunteers at Booksavers, tells me that a copy of Martyrs and Chickens has arrived on the shelves. We’ve made it to the used book circuit, now. Buying books used? +3 on the Granola Mennonite scorecard. Used books that support MCC? +5!

What a lovely, warm reception Confessions had at the EMU Writers Read this week! Here’s a write-up in Harrisonburg’s Daily News Record. Maybe Esther Stenson’s lovely book review in the Harrisonburg Citizen drew in the crowd. She writes, “Whether you are Mennonite or not, young or old, a parent or not, you will keep turning the pages because the language, the humor, the wisdom, and the surprises will keep you fascinated throughout.”

When I was an undergrad at Eastern Mennonite University, the Writers Read series was one of my favorite events. At the time, it included a fancy dinner with tablecloths and the opportunity to hear a real author read. As a professor, I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to invite and visit with various authors, and I absolutely loved getting to have conversations with New York Times bestselling poet Kate Baer and Rachel Yoder, author of Nightbitch. And now…I get to do my own Writers Read to celebrate the release of Martyrs and Chickens: Confessions of a Granola Mennonite. I hope you can join us on April 22!

Writers Read with Kate Baer