Kim Michele Richardson

The New York Times and USA Today bestseller! "...a hauntingly atmospheric love letter to the first mobile library in Kentucky and the fierce, brave packhorse librarians who wove their way from shack to shack dispensing literacy, hope, and — just as importantly — a compassionate human connection."—Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants The hardscrabble folks of Troublesome Creek have to scrap for everything—everything except books, that is. Thanks to Roosevelt's Kentucky Pack Horse Library Project, Troublesome's got its very own traveling librarian, Cussy Mary Carter. Cussy's not only a book woman, however, she's also the last of her kind, her skin a shade of blue unlike most anyone else. Not everyone is keen on Cussy's family or the Library Project, and a Blue is often blamed for any whiff of trouble. If Cussy wants to bring the joy of books to the hill folks, she's going to have to confront prejudice as old as the Appalachias and suspicion as deep as the holler. Inspired by the true blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a story of raw courage, fierce strength, and one woman's belief that books can carry us anywhere—even back home. Additional Praise for The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek: "A unique story about Appalachia and the healing power of the written word."—Kirkus "A timeless and significant tale about poverty, intolerance and how books can bring hope and light to even the darkest pocket of history."—Karen Abbott, New York Times bestselling author of Liar Temptress Soldier Spy "Emotionally resonant and unforgettable, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a lush love letter to the redemptive power of books."—Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Almost Sisters

A Novel

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

From the New York Timesbestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek! Bestselling historical fiction author Kim Michele Richardson is back with the perfect book club read following Honey Mary Angeline Lovett, the daughter of the beloved Troublesome book woman, who must fight for her own independence with the helpf of the women who guide her and the books that set her free. In the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned, Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good. Picking up her mother's old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn't need anyone telling her how to survive. But the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren't as keen to let a woman pave her own way. If Honey wants to bring the freedom books provide to the families who need it most, she's going to have to fight for her place, and along the way, learn that the extraordinary women who run the hills and hollers can make all the difference in the world. "In Kim Michele Richardson's beautifully and authentically rendered The Book Woman's Daughtershe once again paints a stunning portrait of the raw, somber beauty of Appalachia, the strong resolve of remarkable women living in a world dominated by men, and the power of books and sisterhood to prevail in the harshest circumstances. A critical and profoundly important read for our time. Badassery womanhood at its best!"--Sara Gruen, #1 New York Timesbestselling author of Water for Elephants "Fierce, beautiful and inspirational, Kim Michele Richardson has created a powerful tale about brave extraordinary heroines who are downright haunting and unforgettable."--Karen Abbott, New York Timesbestselling author of The Ghosts of Eden Parkand Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy

The Book Woman's Daughter

Book Woman's Daughter

Patsy Butler disappears with her date on prom night, never to return. Twenty years later, her twin sister Flannery begins to solve the mystery and uncover secrets of her small Kentucky town.

The sisters of Glass Ferry

Investigating strange clues surrounding her mother's suspicious death, 17-year-old Muddy traces the story of a friend's slave ancestor to confront the hatred and corruption that have overshadowed their 1970s Kentucky hometown. Original. A first novel.

Liar's Bench

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek! Bestselling historical fiction author Kim Michele Richardson is back with the perfect book club read following Honey Lovett, the daughter of the beloved Troublesome book woman, who must fight for her own independence with the help of the women who guide her and the books that set her free. In the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned, Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good. Picking up her mother's old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn't need anyone telling her how to survive. But the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren't as keen to let a woman pave her own way. If Honey wants to bring the freedom books provide to the families who need it most, she's going to have to fight for her place, and along the way, learn that the extraordinary women who run the hills and hollers can make all the difference in the world. Praise for The Book Woman's Daughter: "In Kim Michele Richardson's beautifully and authentically rendered The Book Woman's Daughter she once again paints a stunning portrait of the raw, somber beauty of Appalachia, the strong resolve of remarkable women living in a world dominated by men, and the power of books and sisterhood to prevail in the harshest circumstances. A critical and profoundly important read for our time. Badassery womanhood at its best!"—Sara Gruen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Water for Elephants "Fierce, beautiful and inspirational, Kim Michele Richardson has created a powerful tale about brave extraordinary heroines who are downright haunting and unforgettable."—Abbott Kahler, New York Times bestselling author (as Karen Abbott) of The Ghosts of Eden Park

A young woman in 1969 Kentucky imagines what life can be through the gorgeously designed, handmade paper fortunetellers she distributes to the townsfolk while she tries to deal with the prejudice and hardship faced by an African-American neighbor she befriends.

GodPretty in the tobacco field

A rural Kentucky teenager comes of age in the summer of 1969 in this novel by the New York Times–bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Nameless, Kentucky, in 1969 is a hardscrabble community where jobs are few and poverty is a simple fact—just like the hot Appalachian breeze or the pests that can destroy a tobacco field. RubyLyn Bishop is luckier than some. Her God-fearing uncle, Gunnar, has a short fuse and high expectations, but he’s given her a good home ever since she was orphaned at the age of five. Yet now a month shy of her sixteenth birthday, RubyLyn itches for more. Maybe it’s something to do with the paper fortunetellers RubyLyn has been making for townsfolk, each covered with beautifully wrought, prophetic drawings. Or perhaps it’s because of Rainey Ford, her black neighbor who works alongside her in the tobacco field and with whom she has a kinship—despite the disapproval of others. RubyLyn’s predictions are just wishful thinking, not magic at all, but through them she’s imagining life as it could be, away from the prejudice and hardship that ripple through Nameless… “A voice rich and authentic, steeped in the somber beauty that defines life in the South.”—David Joy, author of When These Mountains Burn “Richardson’s brilliant writing made me feel as though I were transported back in time…and actually there witnessing this poignant heartfelt story.”—Charles Belfoure, New York Times–bestselling author of The Fallen Architect “A reader always recognizes when the author has poured her soul into a body of work. [This] is a tender, beautifully written second novel.”—Ann Hite, author of the Black Mountain series

GodPretty in the Tobacco Field

Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

Abuse of children is always appalling and unforgiveable. There's an added layer of disgrace to the crime when the perpetrators abuse not only children but their own authority and religious power. Such was the case with the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth at the St. Thomas-St. Vincent Orphanage in rural Kentucky, where more than a dozen nuns, a resident priest, and several other male employees routinely abused the boys and girls in their care.

A Story about Forgiving the Unforgivable

The Unbreakable Child

«Un'indimenticabile eroina dalla pelle blu. Magnifico.» The Booklist Honey Lovett ha sedici anni ed è l’ultima discendente di un Popolo, realmente esistito, che un’insolita pigmentazione dell’epidermide ha relegato ai margini. Da sua madre ha ereditato il coraggio, la fede nel potere dei libri e la convinzione che nessuna legge potrà mai dirti chi puoi amare. Nessuno meglio di Honey sa che tradizione può essere solo il nome che gli uomini danno alla loro paura. Sono le vecchie tradizioni che le hanno imposto di vivere nascosta con la sua famiglia per la maggior parte della sua giovane vita. Ed è sempre per quei pregiudizi che i suoi genitori stanno per essere imprigionati. La colpa di sua madre, Cussy Mary, è di avere una rara alterazione genetica che dà alla sua pelle una sfumatura blu cielo, pronto a scurirsi a ogni emozione. Quella di suo padre Jackson è di averla sposata, nonostante la legge vieti i matrimoni misti. Se non fugge, Honey rischia di finire in un riformatorio, ai lavori forzati. E in quanto discendente dei Blu del Kentucky, perfino di peggio... Da sua madre, però, Honey ha imparato a non darsi mai per vinta. Così, tornata a Troublesome Creek, il posto dove tutte e due sono nate e da cui avevano dovuto fuggire, riprende ciò che Cussy aveva cominciato. La chiamavano la Donna dei libri, perché percorreva senza sosta gli impervi sentieri di quelle montagne con le bisacce piene di volumi. E ora, in sella alla stessa vecchia mula, anche Honey diventa una libraia ambulante. Ben pochi vedono di buon occhio una giovane donna istruita e indipendente, per di più del colore “sbagliato”, e dovrà combattere duramente per trovare il proprio posto nel mondo senza lasciarsi sopraffare. Ma sebbene le catene che la vorrebbero inferiore e sottomessa siano gelidamente tenaci, Honey Lovett non smette di credere che i libri sono un’arma potente di lotta e di libertà.

La libraia blu

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Victoria Christopher Murray

Fiona Davis

C. W. Gortner

Brit Bennett

Chanel Cleeton

Anna North

Min Jin Lee

Stuart Turton

Maggie O'Farrell

Kristin Harmel

Erika Robuck

Jennifer Ryan

Kaitlyn Greenidge

Lauren Fox

Janet Skeslien Charles

Taylor Jenkins Reid

Maggie Shipstead

Jessica Anya Blau

Dennis Lehane

M. J. Rose

Lisa Wingate

James McBride

Yangsze Choo

Anita Diamant

Lauren Willig

Kelly Rimmer

Alka Joshi

Sarah Penner

Madeline Martin

Lynda Rutledge

Pip Williams

Karin Tanabe

Afia Atakora

Bryn Turnbull

Nathan Harris

Sadeqa Johnson

Vanessa Riley

Camille Aubray

Denny S. Bryce

Nicola Harrison

Sara Ackerman

Kaia Alderson

Marisel Vera

Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar

Historical Fiction

Kindle

The Sisters of Glass Ferry

Become an expert on everything in the Soul Guardians world with this must-have guide to the series. It contains everything a rookie needs to know about the Legion and includes a detailed map and a thorough glossary of supernatural beings, weapons, and mystical objects found in the award-winning series. Fans of the Soul Guardians series will adore this companion book, a unique volume with illustrations by the author Kim Richardson.

Soul Guardians Survival Guide

Through generations of a Kentucky bourbon family, this novel of sisterhood, secrets, regret and absolution “is rich with drama and family intrigue” (Publishers Weekly). For the Butler family of Glass Ferry, Kentucky, bourbon has been a way of life for generations. Beauregard “Honey Bee” Butler, was known for making some of the best whiskey in the state. Only one person was entrusted with Honey Bee’s secret recipes before he passed on: his daughter Flannery. But Flannery is harboring other secrets too—about her twin sister Patsy, older by eight minutes and pretty in a way Flannery knows she’ll never be. Then, on prom night, Patsy disappears along with her date. Every succeeding year on the twins’ birthday, Flannery’s mother bakes a strawberry cake, convinced that Patsy will finally come home. But it will be two tumultuous decades until the muddy river yields a clue about what happened that night, compelling Flannery to confront the truth about her sleepy town, her family’s past, and the choices she and those closest to her have made in the name of love.

Kim Michele Richardson

About

Books

Join the club