Haven Kimmel

Any fan of good writing should read Haven Kimmel's work but certainly every Hoosier should. I just finished reading The Used World which I picked up at Big Hat Books in Broad Ripple. http://bighat.booksense.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp) Maybe it is just because she is an Indiana native and so am I, but she writes with such a descriptive sense of place and people. I've seen these places that she is talking about and I know exactly the characters who she describes. This particular book is fiction and the "Used World" is an antique store in a small Indiana town. The story revolves around 3 ladies, Hazel, who owns the store, and Claudia and Rebekah who work there. It is one of those books that gets you involved in one storyline, leaves you wanting more as it starts in with another, and you get completely engrossed in that one as it goes back in time and back and forth with each character. I have read all of her books (except the children's books) and, even if they are slow to start, they are always fascinating and I am always sorry to leave the characters at the end. This one was certainly no exception. Lucky for us, from her website (http://www.havenkimmel.com/), it looks like she has another book coming out in August.

As a side note, a visit to the Big Hat Books website informed me that David Sedaris is coming there on June 10th at 6:30PM. That is big news for all of you Sedaris fans. When I was there for the Haven Kimmel reading/signing I was part of the overflow who couldn't even get past the doorway. However, it looks like Big Hat is going to have a tent outside and, if you pre-purchase your book, you will receive a ticket for a pre-assigned seat. Details are here: http://bighat.booksense.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=regionalcatalog