Book Seven: THE LAND OF LITTLE RAIN

The Land of Little Rain, by Mary Austin. Published in 1903.

TTR: Started 2/2/13 and Finished 2/3/13 (just in time to watch the Superbowl).

Comments:

Oh, you actually want real comments because I was a slacker and didn't give you comments on books five and six you've heard about this book a million times and you're wondering what all of the hype is about?

Let me put it this way: Mary Austin was the National Geographic channel before television and cable existed. If you like naturalist writers like Emerson and Thoreau, you'll love this. If not, you might fall asleep. More than once. And drool all over this beautifully written book.

Austin does an excellent job painting us a picture of the Ceriso and the land around her home--mostly California/Nevada. I really love her descriptions of coyotes and, at the end, her sketches of a couple of settlements/villages. She really captures the weather, the flora, and the fauna. I mean REALLY. I've lived in the West/Southwest for most of my life and ALL of my adult life, so I would know.

Don't be fooled--this is not a novel, there really isn't a plot, and the action is minimal. Despite all of this, it is definitely worth the read. It's also in the public domain, which means I'm linking to a free ebook rather than my typical Amazon link (just click on the title at the top of this post).