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12th out of 853 books
—
1,222 voters
A Girl Named Zippy (Zippy #1)
by
Haven Kimmel
When Haven Kimmel was born in 1965, Mooreland, Indiana, was a sleepy little hamlet of three hundred people. Nicknamed "Zippy" for the way she would bolt around the house, this small girl was possessed of big eyes and even bigger ears. In this witty and lovingly told memoir, Kimmel takes readers back to a time when small—town America was caught in the amber of the innocent...more
275 pages
Published
(first published March 20th 2001)
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[Ack -- 3 out of 5 stars seems so vague, as meaningless as ratings in general; 3 out of 5 is so ... Rolling Stone.]
Anyway, true or false: Are male memoirists seen as witty, pithy, and insightful while female memoirists are derided as self-involved or -indulgent? Food for thought, and not just pertaining to lit. I have everything in mind from Anne Lamott vs. Donald Miller to Justin Timberlake's career arc vs. Janet Jackson's relative plummet (think Super Bowl '04).
Now to this memoir about "Growin...more
Anyway, true or false: Are male memoirists seen as witty, pithy, and insightful while female memoirists are derided as self-involved or -indulgent? Food for thought, and not just pertaining to lit. I have everything in mind from Anne Lamott vs. Donald Miller to Justin Timberlake's career arc vs. Janet Jackson's relative plummet (think Super Bowl '04).
Now to this memoir about "Growin...more
This is an absolutely hysterical down-home kind of memoir of Haven Kimmel’s growing up years in Mooreland, Indiana. She’s goofy and strange, and full of spunk and energy. Listen to the audiobook, which is read by the author, as she really brings her own experiences to life. She’s got a childlike innocence still that resonates in this work. The scene where her dad borrows all of the hunting dogs to get back at a cranky neighbor is truly one of the most amusing things I have ever heard. This is no...more
Zippy was a mottled mess of mixed up and metastasized memories. The whole time I was reading it I kept wondering why it is that I liked it. But I did like it, despite it's obvious flaws. Any book that can make me laugh out loud is worth reading. I enjoyed the author's flippant, unceremonious style of writing. Her character, Zippy, was bright and reckless, loveable and startling all at the same time. I found it interesting how well she wrote from a teen, tween, child's perspective. I got sucked i...more
This is one of the most enjoyable books I've ever come across. I tore through it, often laughing OUT LOUD in inopportune public places (you know, when you are reading something funny and you kind of guffaw and then catch yourself, stifle the laugh, and look around to see if anyone is watching?).
It's hard to explain what it is about, because it is really just what the subtitle says: "Growing Up Small In Mooreland, Indiana." It's an autobiographical collection of impressions, moments, memories, fu...more
It's hard to explain what it is about, because it is really just what the subtitle says: "Growing Up Small In Mooreland, Indiana." It's an autobiographical collection of impressions, moments, memories, fu...more
I had completely mixed feeling about this book. One minute I was laughing out loud (I loved the part when the cat falls down the chimney and gets drop-kicked out the front door by the nast old lady neighbor), because there are some awfully funny bits, and the next I was feeling very awkward and wanted to escape this girl's terrible environment.
What is wierdly endearing though is how she seems to be blissfully unaware/unaffected by events any one of which would have caused me some emotional scar...more
What is wierdly endearing though is how she seems to be blissfully unaware/unaffected by events any one of which would have caused me some emotional scar...more
I just reread this book and remembered how much I love it. I give it five stars even though I like the sequel, "She Got Up Off the Couch", a bit better...both are so very beautifully written. I love the narrator's clear-eyed child's view of the people around her, and the fact that this tells the story of a different world than most of us know, the mostly idyllic small town many years ago. Serious issues are hinted at, not avoided, but neither are they dwelled upon. I loved the characterization o...more
This book was pleasurable enough to read, but because it wasn't very plot driven, it took me forev-ER to complete. Zippy's narration is amusing and I enjoyed her descriptions of a more innocent time of small town Americana, when farm animals were kept in backyards, and kids could ride their bikes (complete with streamers and horns) to the corner drug store for a 26 cent lemon phosphate. But beyond that, I'm not entirely sure what she was trying to convey in her memoir, and I wasn't compelled to...more
May 20, 2007
Jennifer
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone
Shelves:
grownupbooks
This is the book I reach for when I need a pick-me-up...a reminder that life is humorous and wonderful and that even the everyday moments are meaningful…that even the quietest, smallest life is worth living. Haven Kimmel's childhood memoir is more than a stroll down memory lane...she pieces together her life, her family, and her town until the reader sees her so clearly, you may feel convinced afterwards that you grew up with her! The writing is sharp, witty, and refreshingly uplifting. You will...more
I have always been terrible at taking notes. I don’t often do it, and, when I do, my scrawlings typically consist of whatever a speaker or text says verbatim. Once my notes are completed, they’re never consulted again. Because of this, I’ve never shown any aptitude for language acquisition, science, math, or history.
This “problem” (if it can be called that) has bled into my recreational reading. When I was in high school, I had a teacher (and another in college) who was a strong advocate for wri...more
This “problem” (if it can be called that) has bled into my recreational reading. When I was in high school, I had a teacher (and another in college) who was a strong advocate for wri...more
You know that moment in life when you realize that stories of the things that loom large in childhood -- like your absolute terror of the woman who lives next door or your absolute certainty that some of the cards in a deck of playing cards are female and some male -- can be condensed, as if through a trash compactor, into little nuggets of pure cuteness and innocence that you can then hand to others for the rest of your life in one long show-and-tell, knowing they are obligated to laugh nostalg...more
Anyone who grew up in small town America in or around the 1970's will most likely enjoy this book, if only for the fact that he/she will find it so relatable. Like a good comedian, the author finds light and humor in the mundane, daily activities of small town life. Haven Kimmel is both cynical and quick with her assessment of her childhood experiences as well as describing the individuals with whom she had those experiences. Just when you think Kimmel is devoid of any faith in humanity and the...more
Absolutely a wonderful, funny, insane, clever book. Read it, read it, read it.
May 14, 2009
Marie
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
fans of memoir and short stories; anyone who grew up in a small town
Shelves:
memoirs,
nonfiction
I must say that it is refreshing to read a memoir in which the author does not grow up in a dysfunctional family or face overwhelming odds in his or her life.
This is the story of a normal, small-town childhood. Zippy was an odd little creature of a child, but I found her adventures to be amusing and the descriptions of her family and neighbors to be well drawn.
I grew up in a suburb rather than a small town, one year before Haven Kimmel, so I could relate to the cultural references. (Although I'v...more
This is the story of a normal, small-town childhood. Zippy was an odd little creature of a child, but I found her adventures to be amusing and the descriptions of her family and neighbors to be well drawn.
I grew up in a suburb rather than a small town, one year before Haven Kimmel, so I could relate to the cultural references. (Although I'v...more
Jun 07, 2008
Desiree
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who grew up in a small town or wants to know what it's like
This book is guffaw-out-loud-on-the-subway-despite-the-stares funny!!!
From the book...
"The distance between Mooreland in 1965 and a city like San Francisco in 1965 is roughly equivalent to the distance starlight must travel before we look up casually from a cornfield and see it." (From A Girl Named Zippy, p. 2.)
Haven Kimmel may be older than me but we both grew up in small towns and I found her literary musings about said life to resonate very deeply. I remember growing up in rural Maryland and...more
From the book...
"The distance between Mooreland in 1965 and a city like San Francisco in 1965 is roughly equivalent to the distance starlight must travel before we look up casually from a cornfield and see it." (From A Girl Named Zippy, p. 2.)
Haven Kimmel may be older than me but we both grew up in small towns and I found her literary musings about said life to resonate very deeply. I remember growing up in rural Maryland and...more
Mar 12, 2008
Cynthia
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Michelle, Erin, Karen
Recommended to Cynthia by:
book club book
I absolutely loved this book. It is a very funny, light, sweet book.
A Girl Called Zippy is a childhood memoir of Haven, aka Zippy. She tells stories from her babyhood till about 10-12 years old. She lived in a small town in Indiana with about 300 people. Unlike other biographies, it did not involve this serious tone with serious topics about death, illness, war, love, etc... Instead Zippy told oridinary, yet hilarious stories from a child's point of view. She told stories and exaggerated like a...more
A Girl Called Zippy is a childhood memoir of Haven, aka Zippy. She tells stories from her babyhood till about 10-12 years old. She lived in a small town in Indiana with about 300 people. Unlike other biographies, it did not involve this serious tone with serious topics about death, illness, war, love, etc... Instead Zippy told oridinary, yet hilarious stories from a child's point of view. She told stories and exaggerated like a...more
Sep 09, 2007
Tracey
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone with an interest in childhood memoirs that lean more towards the amusing than the tragic.
A pass-along from my mom, I read through A Girl Named Zippy in just a few hours over the past couple of days.
A memoir along the lines of Jean Shepherd (of A Christmas Story fame), Kimmel recalls vignettes from her rather bizarre childhood in the tiny town of Mooreland, Indiana. She was "an afterthought" with siblings 10 and 13 years older than she; slow to talk (her first words -- actually a complete sentence - coming at age three) and by her own description, funny-looking. She was also quite th...more
A memoir along the lines of Jean Shepherd (of A Christmas Story fame), Kimmel recalls vignettes from her rather bizarre childhood in the tiny town of Mooreland, Indiana. She was "an afterthought" with siblings 10 and 13 years older than she; slow to talk (her first words -- actually a complete sentence - coming at age three) and by her own description, funny-looking. She was also quite th...more
Considering that I have just finished the final book of a 10 book series that has had me obsessed for the last 5 years, and the philosophical implications of said series have kept me thoughtful for a week now, any other book that engrossed me as much as Zippy has got a lot going for it! Funny, thoughtful, evocative of the times in which I too was growing up, I can't wait to read Haven's newest, and discover who Zippy has become as an adult.
Jul 28, 2007
Sfdreams
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
no animal lovers! but all essay lovers
Shelves:
reviewed
Some of the parts involving animals were pretty brutal and hard to get through, for this animal-loving vegetarian.
Otherwise, I found it interesting to read. Haven writes with an interesting style, and she seems to remember how she felt and saw life as a child. I envy that,as I cannot. Her parents seem quirky and likeable. Her mother reads Asimov and sci-fi and her Dad is more like the adults I knew as a child. Haven seems to have a special relationship with her Dad that I enjoyed reading about....more
Otherwise, I found it interesting to read. Haven writes with an interesting style, and she seems to remember how she felt and saw life as a child. I envy that,as I cannot. Her parents seem quirky and likeable. Her mother reads Asimov and sci-fi and her Dad is more like the adults I knew as a child. Haven seems to have a special relationship with her Dad that I enjoyed reading about....more
This was a fun biography for me to read because Haven Kimmel was born in 1965 and grew up with many of the same experiences and expressions that I did. She grew up in a small town called Mooreland, Indiana where people helped their neighbors, went to church on Sunday and kept barnyard animals in their backyard - just like the town I grew up in. Haven was nicknamed "Zippy" because of how quickly she would zip around when she was little. She was especially recognized for her huge eyes and big ears...more
I read this book at night in bed. More than once my husband has given me the "how in the name of all that is holy have I ended up married to a woman this unstable?" look as I hooted and laughed while I read Zippy's story. High-larious.
Memoirs, especially of people who aren't famous for anything, and even more especially by young first authors, usually suck. Too much excitement about nothing interesting, mostly. It's hard to make it through unless you have some forceful reason to finish, like you know the person or you have a very similar experience.
This is the exception. I can't figure out why, just yet. The author is young, not unusual, first-time writer, yet this just glows. I picked it up because I needed something quick t...more
This is the exception. I can't figure out why, just yet. The author is young, not unusual, first-time writer, yet this just glows. I picked it up because I needed something quick t...more
Picked this up a while back at the Goodwill to release. Glad I actually did read it first, and didn't let barren shelves at the OBCZ frighten me. Someone stepped to the plate and filled the shelf, and I got to read a quirky memoir.
I somehow missed all the hype when it came out, so had no expectations for the book. Instead, Zippy was able to tell her tale, presenting her life in a way that anyone who ever was an inquisitive, mischievous child can at once recognize.
I didn't live in Mooreland, nor...more
I somehow missed all the hype when it came out, so had no expectations for the book. Instead, Zippy was able to tell her tale, presenting her life in a way that anyone who ever was an inquisitive, mischievous child can at once recognize.
I didn't live in Mooreland, nor...more
Last night I finished reading a lovely little memoir from 2001: A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel. My good friend "Kenneth in the 212" forced it on -- loaned it to -- me a while back, and I admit that I was reluctant to dive right in. Not sure why.
Actually, I know the reason. "Who the hell is Haven Kimmel?!" I said to myself. Yes, I shamefully buy into the "only celebrities can write memoirs!" thinking that a lot of people have... Or am I the only one who believes this?
The book's subtitle is "G...more
Actually, I know the reason. "Who the hell is Haven Kimmel?!" I said to myself. Yes, I shamefully buy into the "only celebrities can write memoirs!" thinking that a lot of people have... Or am I the only one who believes this?
The book's subtitle is "G...more
This is a story of growing up in Mooreland, a town of 300 in eastern Indiana, center to farms and home to some industrial workers. Who would care to read about Mooreland? At most, the author's sister Melinda felt,
" a person lying in a hospital bed with no television and no roommate. And then here comes a candy striper with a squeaky library cart and on that cart is only one book--or maybe two books, yours and Cooking with Pork."
Give that lady this book and brighten up her gloomy day; but not...more
" a person lying in a hospital bed with no television and no roommate. And then here comes a candy striper with a squeaky library cart and on that cart is only one book--or maybe two books, yours and Cooking with Pork."
Give that lady this book and brighten up her gloomy day; but not...more
It's one of those books that you just sit back and totally enjoy. Why? Perhaps it's the truth among the pages that makes you laugh, or the stories that you wished you could have been a part of or the adventures that Zippy writes about that leave you with the "Really, that actually happened?" feeling. Nevertheless, this memoir will leave you smiling and give you a new perspective on life when you are finished. Growing up in the late 60’s and 70’s Zippy writes from a child’s perspective and it is...more
Dear Goodreads Group,
Yes, your correct in thinking that I give almost every book I read five (5) stars, and this one is no acception. The reason for them almost always getting five (5) stars is because I only read for pleasure, and/or edification, which is also pleasing for me!
Therefore; if I begin reading a book, and by the 2nd or 3rd chapter I am not taken away with it, then it goes into the give away pile, never to be thought of again.
I found this author so honest, and trusting of her readers...more
Yes, your correct in thinking that I give almost every book I read five (5) stars, and this one is no acception. The reason for them almost always getting five (5) stars is because I only read for pleasure, and/or edification, which is also pleasing for me!
Therefore; if I begin reading a book, and by the 2nd or 3rd chapter I am not taken away with it, then it goes into the give away pile, never to be thought of again.
I found this author so honest, and trusting of her readers...more
I did not like it at first because I thought the language was a little crude. I wasn't going to finish it, but it was a RS Book Club selection. However, I did like some of the later chapters. The writing seemed a little disjointed. Again, I thought some of the later chapters had more continuity and were better written. I so enjoyed "The Glass Castle" that it is hard to read a memoir which is written through the eyes of a child without comparing. There didn't seem to be a point to many of the ref...more
Oct 03, 2011
Arika
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who loves to laugh and/or reminisce memories.
"A Girl Named Zippy offers a rare and welcome treat: a memoir of a happy childhood."
I am not a big reader... at all, so for me to say the following a rare occurrence. This book was actually assigned to me by my creative writing teacher for a memoir project we were working on. I was not looking forward to reading it, but once I started, I couldn't stop. This book is a wonderful, fast, and easy read. The beginning starts out describing the town Zippy lived in, her childhood, and how she was give...more
I am not a big reader... at all, so for me to say the following a rare occurrence. This book was actually assigned to me by my creative writing teacher for a memoir project we were working on. I was not looking forward to reading it, but once I started, I couldn't stop. This book is a wonderful, fast, and easy read. The beginning starts out describing the town Zippy lived in, her childhood, and how she was give...more
First of all, my entire life I've known that Mooreland, Indiana exists. It is a very small town, a dot on a map in east central Indiana, and my dad's old stomping grounds. He is a Hoosier through and through, and Mooreland is the center of his web of tales involving his own childhood and growing up in a small Indiana town (John Cougar Mellencamp has nothing on my dad's stories ;)
So I'm at a family reunion and all weekend I'm hearing snippets of "that book". "That book" turns out to be Haven Kimm...more
So I'm at a family reunion and all weekend I'm hearing snippets of "that book". "That book" turns out to be Haven Kimm...more
"Didn't you feel that rabbit biting you?"
"I reckon I was hypnotized."
Dad looked at mom, stricken. "She thinks she was hypnotized by a rabbit."
"Mom, mom, mom. Hey. Mom."
One of Sissy's front teeth always pointed north... I wanted to see what the relationship would be between her tooth and that bread and butter...Sissy leaned close to me. Her tooth arrived first.
"I'll tell you the Less Fortunate Child I'm going to donate my bike to, she's sitting right here on the couch with you, so don't even star...more
"I reckon I was hypnotized."
Dad looked at mom, stricken. "She thinks she was hypnotized by a rabbit."
"Mom, mom, mom. Hey. Mom."
One of Sissy's front teeth always pointed north... I wanted to see what the relationship would be between her tooth and that bread and butter...Sissy leaned close to me. Her tooth arrived first.
"I'll tell you the Less Fortunate Child I'm going to donate my bike to, she's sitting right here on the couch with you, so don't even star...more
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Haven Kimmel was born in New Castle, Indiana, and was raised in Mooreland, Indiana, the focus of her bestselling memoir, A Girl Named Zippy: Growing up Small in Mooreland, Indiana .
Kimmel earned her undergraduate degree in English and creative writing from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and a graduate degree from North Carolina State University, where she studied with novelist Lee Smith....more
More about Haven Kimmel...
Kimmel earned her undergraduate degree in English and creative writing from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana and a graduate degree from North Carolina State University, where she studied with novelist Lee Smith....more
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More quizzes & trivia...
“I later discovered that in order to be a good athlete one must care intensely what is happening with a ball, even if one doesn't have possession of it. This was ultimately my failure: my inability to work up a passion for the location of balls.”
—
51 people liked it
“That cat doesn't have a lick of sense,' I said, sighing.
Well, honey, he's not right in the head,' Dad said, flipping his cigarette into the front yard.
I glared at him. 'And just what do you mean by that?'
Dad counted on his fingers. 'He's cross-eyed; he jumps out of trees after birds and then doesn't land on his feet; he sleeps with his head smashed up against the wall, and the tip of his tail is crooked.'
Oh yeah? Well, how about this: he once got locked in a basement by evil Petey Scroggs in the middle of January and survived on snow and little frozen mice. When I'm cold at night he sleeps right on my face. Of that whole litter of kittens he came out of he's the only one left. One of his brothers didn't even have a butthole.'
I stand corrected. PeeDink is a survivor.”
—
47 people liked it
More quotes…
Well, honey, he's not right in the head,' Dad said, flipping his cigarette into the front yard.
I glared at him. 'And just what do you mean by that?'
Dad counted on his fingers. 'He's cross-eyed; he jumps out of trees after birds and then doesn't land on his feet; he sleeps with his head smashed up against the wall, and the tip of his tail is crooked.'
Oh yeah? Well, how about this: he once got locked in a basement by evil Petey Scroggs in the middle of January and survived on snow and little frozen mice. When I'm cold at night he sleeps right on my face. Of that whole litter of kittens he came out of he's the only one left. One of his brothers didn't even have a butthole.'
I stand corrected. PeeDink is a survivor.”
Mar 17, 2010 02:13pm