Chickens in the Road

Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows I am a harsh judge when it comes to the books I read.  They are too detailed, too long, too dull, too wordy.  My biggest pet peeve is when they use fancy vocabulary which requires me to look up every other word.  Write normal for crying out loud!  I am here to happily report I have found a book that I LOVE by Suzanne McMinn called Chickens in the Road.

Suzanne has written a memoir of her experiences starting a small farm in West Virginia with her boyfriend and 3 children.  There is just enough personal information to keep you informed and interested without system overload, the main focus of the book on how she started each new project, how she afforded them and how they turned out.

She has chickens, pigs, goats, sheep, a cow, dogs, cats, etc. and strives for self-sufficiency making her own cheese, bread, butter, meat, eggs and anything else she can get her hands on.  Her descriptions have just the right amount of information to give you a good idea of how she is doing it without being bogged down by too many details.

McMinn, a former romance writer, has an easy going writing style, making you feel as if you have made a new friend who is sharing her experiences with you.  I like her. I like her farm and I like her style.

This is one of the best "back to basics" memoirs I have read in a long time.  I couldn't put it down.  You can follow her on her blog at http://chickensintheroad.com.  Here she has her site separated in different interests for those of you who love recipes, or want to read about her animals, the crafts she has made or the classes she is offering.

I highly recommend this book and site.  I want to be her minus the winter driving escapades.  lol