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Jul 03, 2011

Joel rated it:

Sometimes I think I have a mild form of prosopagnosia. When people say kids look like their parents, I always have to smile and nod, unless we're talking Martin Sheen/Emilio Estevez levels of facial similarity. And then there's this thing I do where I think someone I know looks like a famous person, or I think two actresses look alike, and I'll say something and be gently corrected by my girlfriend ("Yes, well, I suppose both of them do have two eyes...").

When I got about h More...

80 comments like (28 people liked it)

Feb 05, 2011

karen rated it:

okay, i am going to try to harness this simmering undercurrent of interest in donald harington that i spy with my little eye here on goodreads.com to build it into a rolling boil!!!

yes. donald harington. yes.

do i frequently get enthusiastic here on goodreads.com?? do i bark at the mailman, chase balls, and develop a fondness for legs? guilty, yes. but besides dfw, who is my soul, who are the big three?? jonathan carroll, thomas hardy, and dear donald harington. that is n More...

64 comments like (35 people liked it)

Feb 25, 2011

Jen rated it:

This book deserves an award. I loved it. It should be the first thing someone should see as a link for the term "American Myth," and it could bypass all that other stuff about dreams of success, achievement, melting pots, etc. Simply put, this was perfection. It was architecture, literature, tall tales, history, sex...everything was in there but in a state of grace. This book makes me less embarrassed to be an American. Harington makes a respectful case for all primitive and bac More...

41 comments like (12 people liked it)

Aug 29, 2007

Jae rated it:

I picked up this book because I liked Harington's Butterfly Weed. Like most of Harington's books, TAOTAO is set in the small town of Stay More way back in the valleys of the Ozark Mountains. Beginning with the arrival of the first settlers in what would become Stay More, brothers Jacob and Noah Ingledew, TAOTAO meanders through the history and growth of this hamlet. It is part historical fiction, part tall tale, with a stong dose of folklore, explaining why Rotary and Lions clubs generally meet More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 02, 2011

Glee rated it:

I don't really know where to start with this one. It was charming, informative (about things that are of little or no interest generally, but become so with this author), playful, snarky, and above all, affectionate in the portrayal of the settlers/citizens of the hamlet of Stay More, Arkansas. (Happily referred to as Stay Morons.) I have to admit to a personal bias here, having been born in northwest Arkansas to a native Arkansan and a DamnYankee (who had only ventured out of the Hudson Vall More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 27, 2010

Mary added it

The first white settler, a woman-shy bachelor, to the Arkansas Ozarks discusses with the last Indian their first batch of Arkansas sour mash whiskey:

"Why do we drink this stuff?" [Fanshaw, the Indian, asks.:]
"You don't lak it?" Jacob said. "I 'low as how it aint near as good as that I brung from Tennessee, but..."
"Oh, it is fine. Ripping stuff, old boy. I simply raise the philosophical question: why do we drink it?"
Jacob pondered. More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 27, 2012

Rosa rated it:

If you happen to be someone who says they no longer have the patience for reading books, this one will change your mind, for you might not be able to put it down.

An imaginative, hilarious yarn very loosely based on American history and the culture of the Ozarks’ more remote reaches, The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks is a thoroughly entertaining saga, allowing us to witness the stories of five generations of Ingledew men, and those who chose to make the town of Stay More their h More...

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Feb 12, 2011

Jeri rated it:

This is one of the funniest and yet poignant books I think I've ever read. It takes place in the Arkansas Ozarks in a town called Stay More and follows at least five generations of the Ingledew family. The family and those that come and go in Stay More experience the beginning of "civilizing" America, the Civil War, all the way through WW II -- and the "PROG RESS" that comes in between. The characters are very real, some too close to persons in your own family tree, and the More...

0 comments like

Feb 01, 2011

Eh?Eh! rated it:

I'm one of those idiots* who laughs when someone says "deliverance" and has heard a few jokes about, um, dishonored sisters. I've heard a little about the poverty and lack of education in some nonspecific mountain ranges over towards the east (this includes all the mountains east of the Rockies for me). I'm sorry for my ignorance. I've made my last pretty mouth joke and sent my last dueling banjos video link.

This is not to say that there may not be truth behind the lamen More...

34 comments like (21 people liked it)

Feb 04, 2012

Bill rated it:

this wonderful book covers pretty much the whole history of the fictional town of stay more, where harington's novels are set.

he must have thought at the time that he was done with the story, because he didn't write another novel for 11 years. i, for one, am truly thankful that he eventually decided to revisit stay more, because i am so looking forward to reading the rest of his novels.

i owe my knowledge of the existence of harington entirely to karen, so i strongly advis More...

2 comments like (8 people liked it)

Nov 15, 2009

Carolyn rated it:

I stumbled upon this novel more than twenty years ago and loved it. Having read seven more Harington novels in the interim, this one remains my favorite. A 140 year history of Stay More, an isolated hamlet deep in the Ozarks, the novel is amazingly historically accurate while at the time resonating of such picaresque novels as Huckleberry Finn and Don Quixote. I recently read the book for the second time and loved it even more. If you haven't read anything by Donald Harington, this novel is a gr More...

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Jan 12, 2008

MaryAnn rated it:

Donald Harington, the author of this novel, grew up summering in the Ozarks, and his great love of them shows throughout the entire novel, and that is what makes it such an enjoyable book to read. He narates the history of the invented town Stay More with the air of one describing the grand history of Rome, which contrasts marvelously with the coloquial dialogue of the characters. Harington uses his grand tone to poke fun at the generally less educated society of the Ozarks, but the thing that More...

0 comments like

Feb 07, 2012

Richda rated it:

When you enter the world of Stay More, Arkansas, you enter a world of absurd creativity, vivid characters, humorous situations, and the origin of expressions that older people of Southern regions have heard most of their lives. If you decide to leave, you will be encouraged to "Stay More," and in so doing, you will become a fellow Stay Moron. You won't regret it.

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Apr 20, 2009

Stephanie rated it:

Mythic tale of what we imagine the Ozarks are like. The characters are likeable and recognizable to the setting without being stereotypical. Best of all, this is a funny book. Worth reading more than once. It's the novel of six generations of the Ingledews, framed by their buildings.

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Nov 17, 2008

David rated it:

This is a novel, not a guidebook. It's a trip to another time in another place, both imaginary, though the title is at least partially informative in a vague sort of way. As fanciful as it is, his small localized world is tangible and nuanced; the words convey the landscape, the buildings, the people, all the senses. Thoroughly absorbing and full of small stories threading through the mythic history of Harington's mythic place, this book is an obscure wonder and by far his best work; a synopsis More...

0 comments like

Jan 18, 2012

Jim marked it as to-read

Daily deal for Kindle today (1/18/12), 99 cents. I haven't read it or heard of it before today, but highly respected friends and reviewers have, and it is highly rated overall by reviewers on goodreads. Worth a look, for those who read historical fiction. -Jim

0 comments like

Jan 04, 2012

Kathy rated it:

Don't let the title of this book stop you from reading it. This is NOT just about architecture. Donald Harington has a gift of making characters you will love. You can feel what they feel and enjoy the scenery of the Ozarks through their eyes.

0 comments like

Dec 28, 2010

Bridget rated it:

This is the most "scholarly" of Harington's books. A detailed history of the Ozarks, but a great addition to his fictional history of Staymore. A slog at times, but well worth the effort.

0 comments like

Mar 22, 2010

Karen rated it:

Love Harington's writing...he just sucks you into the world of Stay More, Arkansas from it's beginning. Have read this one severl times and seem to find "new" things each time.

0 comments like

Feb 03, 2012

MaryHelen rated it:

This humorous book depicts the Arkansas Ozarks folks in all their glory through five generations. The author has a great way with spinning a funny, irreverent work of fiction.

0 comments like

Jan 28, 2012

Karen rated it:

This book is hysterical!!! It is way racier than I like to read but -- the story had me lauging out loud on several occasions. Reminded me of Forrest Gump - famous people, famous sayings. It was a great read.

0 comments like

Jan 24, 2012

Candy rated it:

this book is a hoot! I caught myself laughing outpouring on the bus! entertaining and very informative

0 comments like

Feb 17, 2012

Gretchen rated it:

I'm amazed that no one I know has ever heard of this book as it is a good read. It is witty and intelligent. I bought it as the Kindle deal of the day, deciding to take a chance on it. Architecture is used as a vehicle for advancing the story line as the first settlers of Stay More and their descendants live through the rise and fall of the small town.

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Nov 25, 2011

Anne rated it:

Deserving of it's "ten best novels by the American Library Association"

0 comments like

Feb 19, 2012

Sue rated it:

Loved this! Laughed! Felt affection for characters! As if Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote a book for grownups after having a few too many. (And extended it into 20th c.)

2 comments like

Aug 25, 2009

David rated it:

Just read it.

0 comments like

Nov 17, 2008

PD rated it:

This was an extremely amusing read. Yes, it does talk about the architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks. But it is really a history of one of the first families to settle in this region. The characters in this book a rich and colorful, and their escapades are a joy to behold. I have always thought Harington should have a much bigger following.

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Feb 22, 2012

Lianne is currently reading it

Loving it, laughing hard.

What?! 13 books about Stay More, Arkansas. Why have I never heard of Donald Harington? Now I have to read them all. *sigh* Oh, the delicious anticipation.

0 comments like

Oct 03, 2011

Brittany rated it:

Nostalgic and very fun -- one thinks of Lake Wobegon and Garrison Keiler while reading. Traces the "history" of the Arkansas Ozarks from the white settlers (two brothers) to the most recent citizens through the houses and stores they built. Quickish read and hilarious.

0 comments like

Jan 23, 2012

Manuel rated it:

I haven't ever finished the book and am not sure if I will or not. In places it was quite entertaining, but in other spots I found it dragged on. Its a book I pick it up now and then to finish, but can't seem to get there.

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