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Nothing with Strings: NPR's Beloved Holiday Stories
A holiday collection of short fiction shares vignettes that capture the eccentric lives of the inhabitants of a small Southern town, from an efficiency expert who gets Christmas down to forty-five minutes flat, to a woman who claims John James Audubon is living in her attic.
193 pages, Hardcover
First published October 28, 2008
40 people are currently reading
376 people want to read
About the author
Bailey White
36 books222 followersBailey White was born in 1950 in Thomasville, Ga. She still lives in the same house in which she grew up, on one of the large tracts of virgin longleaf pine woods. Her father, Robb White, was a fiction writer and later a television and movie script writer. Her mother, Rosalie White, was a farmer, and worked for many years as the executive director of the local Red Cross Chapter. She has one brother, who is a carpenter and boat builder, and one sister, who is a bureaucrat. White graduated from Florida State University in 1973, and has taken a break from teaching first grade to pursue writing full-time. She is the author of Sleeping at the Starlite Motel, Mama Makes Up Her Mind, and Quite a Year for Plums.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
December 6, 2016
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover. Fair enough. But there are some books that you should be able to make a fairly accurate guess about the subject matter based on the title. For example, if you picked up a book titled “The Life and Times of George Washington, First President of the United States,” you would probably be surprised, and more than a little upset, if the book turned out to be about Millard Fillmore.
Now we come to the title of the book being reviewed: “Nothing With Strings: NPR’s Beloved Holiday Stories” by Bailey White. Even if you were not familiar with White’s witty National Public Radio commentaries on life in the Deep South, it would not seem too much of a stretch for the Fearless Reader to expect heartwarming holiday stories. And this is where the cover does come in to play. For the cover shows a red-cushioned window seat with an open box surrounded by a string of Christmas lights. A beat up old red pickup truck (the universal hieroglyph for rural southern environs) is driving off in the distance. These two pieces of evidence would seem to suggest that the book’s stories are rural in nature and that Christmas is very likely the holiday noted in the title. But, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I submit to you that even though it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, what we have here is one big turkey of a book.
In fact, Nothing With Strings has nothing to do with any holidays. Instead these stories are concentrated on the themes of aging, dementia and death. Not exactly the kind of stories that make you want to deck the halls. But it's the marketing department that should be faulted, not Bailey's writing. In fact, most of these stories, in a compilation with a different title, would be—if not exactly enjoyable—at least capable of being appreciated for their literary merit. Two stories, “The Bus Ride,” in which the lives of five bus passengers and the driver are slowly revealed, and “Almost Gone,” about the last memory of an Alzheimer’s patient, are wonderfully crafted. However, as holiday entertainment, they’re more likely to make you want to stick a candy cane in your eye. Buyer beware.
Now we come to the title of the book being reviewed: “Nothing With Strings: NPR’s Beloved Holiday Stories” by Bailey White. Even if you were not familiar with White’s witty National Public Radio commentaries on life in the Deep South, it would not seem too much of a stretch for the Fearless Reader to expect heartwarming holiday stories. And this is where the cover does come in to play. For the cover shows a red-cushioned window seat with an open box surrounded by a string of Christmas lights. A beat up old red pickup truck (the universal hieroglyph for rural southern environs) is driving off in the distance. These two pieces of evidence would seem to suggest that the book’s stories are rural in nature and that Christmas is very likely the holiday noted in the title. But, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I submit to you that even though it looks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, what we have here is one big turkey of a book.
In fact, Nothing With Strings has nothing to do with any holidays. Instead these stories are concentrated on the themes of aging, dementia and death. Not exactly the kind of stories that make you want to deck the halls. But it's the marketing department that should be faulted, not Bailey's writing. In fact, most of these stories, in a compilation with a different title, would be—if not exactly enjoyable—at least capable of being appreciated for their literary merit. Two stories, “The Bus Ride,” in which the lives of five bus passengers and the driver are slowly revealed, and “Almost Gone,” about the last memory of an Alzheimer’s patient, are wonderfully crafted. However, as holiday entertainment, they’re more likely to make you want to stick a candy cane in your eye. Buyer beware.
December 31, 2013
I think my rating has more to do with the book being different than my expectations than the actual quality of the book.
I downloaded the audio version of this from my library for my christmas trip because I wanted something holidayish for the holiday season. Yeah. This is not that. At all. All the stories seemed really similar, and some really quite tragic. Tragic stories aren't necessarily a bad thing, but you have to make the reader care about the people you're writing about. I was apathetic.
Both the title and the cover make it seem like a fun little christmas book, but that is not the case.
I downloaded the audio version of this from my library for my christmas trip because I wanted something holidayish for the holiday season. Yeah. This is not that. At all. All the stories seemed really similar, and some really quite tragic. Tragic stories aren't necessarily a bad thing, but you have to make the reader care about the people you're writing about. I was apathetic.
Both the title and the cover make it seem like a fun little christmas book, but that is not the case.
December 24, 2019
These are a collection of wonderful stories about some wonderful Southern characters. Ms.White reads her stories on NPR every Christmas, but these aren't Christmas stories. They are a little look into some of the characters on might meet in the South.
Bailey White is another Georgia author that I have discovered. I'll be reading more of her book.
Bailey White is another Georgia author that I have discovered. I'll be reading more of her book.
February 6, 2020
These stories may have broadcast around the holidays, but the actual stories have nothing to do with Thanksgiving or Christmas. And if you are looking for heartwarming and cheerful tales, keep looking. These poignant snapshots of people’s lives are well written, but are so sad they verge on being depressing. Abandonment, dementia, and death figure largely in them. And don’t expect the collection to be neatly tied up in a satisfying end, either. I wish whoever titled it and chose the cover art had picked something more descriptive to the book and less misleading. Perhaps dead roses on a grave in a cemetery would have enlightened readers as to what lay inside its cover. Yes, it’s well written for what it is, and the narrator is quite good, also, but in keeping with the holiday theme, I’m thankful it was only five hours long.
November 27, 2020
True enough—no holiday stories. 🤷🏻♀️
However...
If you’re from South Georgia or north Florida (and have a sweet attachment to either place), the sentimental value of these stories may be great. ❤️If not, you may not LOVE the stories. They’ll be funny and happy and tear-jerky enough, though.
However...
If you’re from South Georgia or north Florida (and have a sweet attachment to either place), the sentimental value of these stories may be great. ❤️If not, you may not LOVE the stories. They’ll be funny and happy and tear-jerky enough, though.
December 16, 2018
This book left me feeling confused, frustrated, even deceived.
First off - Can someone please explain to me what was going on in the story “The Long Black Veil”?? I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure that one out and still it eludes me.
This is my first experience with the writing of Bailey White, so I had no clue of her writing style. But it says very clearly on the cover that it’s a collection of “beloved holiday stories” by NPR, along with a charming drawing of an unwrapped present and Christmas lights on a window seat. I generally trust NPR to provide high quality content, and - now here’s the crux of the issue - to provide at least a somewhat accurate description of what I’m about to experience. But they couldn’t have been further off the mark, which is why I feel deceived. Yes, I know that’s a strong word, and maybe I’m making too much of the whole thing, but the description provided is just so blatantly wrong that I half wonder if it got put on this book’s cover by mistake.
These stories (or at least the first three, which is as far as I read) are sad, confusing, feel like they didn’t have a proper ending, and in no way related to any holiday, Christmas or otherwise. I gave it two stars because the narration for the audiobook was pleasant and White does seem to have a way with words even if it’s not my style.
First off - Can someone please explain to me what was going on in the story “The Long Black Veil”?? I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure that one out and still it eludes me.
This is my first experience with the writing of Bailey White, so I had no clue of her writing style. But it says very clearly on the cover that it’s a collection of “beloved holiday stories” by NPR, along with a charming drawing of an unwrapped present and Christmas lights on a window seat. I generally trust NPR to provide high quality content, and - now here’s the crux of the issue - to provide at least a somewhat accurate description of what I’m about to experience. But they couldn’t have been further off the mark, which is why I feel deceived. Yes, I know that’s a strong word, and maybe I’m making too much of the whole thing, but the description provided is just so blatantly wrong that I half wonder if it got put on this book’s cover by mistake.
These stories (or at least the first three, which is as far as I read) are sad, confusing, feel like they didn’t have a proper ending, and in no way related to any holiday, Christmas or otherwise. I gave it two stars because the narration for the audiobook was pleasant and White does seem to have a way with words even if it’s not my style.
July 31, 2020
"For more than a decade, Bailey White has delivered a story each Thanksgiving to National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" listeners. Long awaited by her many fans, "Nothing with Strings" is the entire collection of these Thanksgiving stories, published together for the first time.With wit and charm, Bailey White writes about an almost-gone little town where a spoon player is a guardian angel, an old woman fears that John James Audubon is living in her attic, and a homely governess wins a baby bull in a raffle and loses her heart. It's the kind of place where Heavenly Blue morning glories grow in through the windows of old houses and funeral food is shared on a Greyhound bus on a fall afternoon. You may not have ever been there, but you will feel right at home in these pages. Bailey White's beautifully written stories, teetering on the edge of the unreal, are sure to bring back memories you don't really have."
Funny little stories, mostly about the South.
Funny little stories, mostly about the South.
May 17, 2009
I love everything Bailey White has written. She is from my hometown and all of her stories and characters are so familiar. I feel as if I've met each one. I cherish most that she see the beautiful quirkiness of common southerners.
November 5, 2016
I love easy reading short stories that don't have murder and mayhem. This writing is clever and takes you places you couldn't have imagined. Enjoyed it a lot!
February 16, 2017
I really like her books. Each story makes you think and gives you a warm feeling.
December 27, 2019
I missed the boat with Nothing with Strings: NPR's Beloved Holiday Stories. First I have never listened to Bailey White on NPR; I took the jacket's praise as good enough. Second, I didn't find the essays, or at least those that I read to be holidayish? If the short stories in this little book were to be humorous, that too was lost on me. The 'local color' was good. Just not my interest.
December 17, 2022
I always love Bailey White's stories, and these did not disappoint!
February 2, 2021
First off, these aren't necessarily holiday stories, as you may think from the title and cover. They are a printing of a collection of Bailey White's Southern stories, which were read on NPR, on Thanksgiving. All that to say, don't expect a lot of lovely, heart-warming holiday tales. Having said that, they are good. I read the whole short little book on a Saturday afternoon in late January, sitting in my armchair as the light dimmed. By the time I got to the eponymous story "Nothing with Strings", I had to turn on the lamp and settle back down. It turned out to be my favorite of the bunch. They're different, thought-provoking, somewhat puzzling at times. And for taking on such heart-rending, difficult subject matter, they didn't leave me aching the way some "Southern" authors do (I'm looking at you, Ron Rash). But really, they're all good reads, and easy, engaging reads, too. What a great way to spend a chilly day.
July 11, 2011
A collection of short stories from Bailey White, a featured contributor to NPR's All Things Considered. I haven't heard Ms White on radio tho' having read these, I can see why they may have her telling her little vignettes rooted in life in a small Southern town. They're charming, intriguing, on occasion whimsical, with a few twists and the right atmosphere for warm and winning all-American story-telling.
I was browsing at the library, looking for something else, and the idea of shorts was pretty appealing so I took a chance. A few will probably stick with me -- Miss Wiggleworth's Bull, in which an homely resident school teacher wins a bull. At first, she seems almost an object of ridicule, but the twist made me rethink my view of her...and I liked the low-key surprise of it. Another story, Return to Sender, features an old lady still trying to order from an ancient Sears catalog, much to her daughter's dismay...and surprise. I think my favorite was called The Garden, simply tracing a section of garden carved out by one person then worked on, changed, lost, and rediscovered over succeeding generations. Made me wonder what history and story I pass by without ever thinking of what might be there.
So a pleasant and enjoyable read,good for tucking into in bed at night. Good enough to make me pick up another collection: Mama Makes Up Her Mind.
I was browsing at the library, looking for something else, and the idea of shorts was pretty appealing so I took a chance. A few will probably stick with me -- Miss Wiggleworth's Bull, in which an homely resident school teacher wins a bull. At first, she seems almost an object of ridicule, but the twist made me rethink my view of her...and I liked the low-key surprise of it. Another story, Return to Sender, features an old lady still trying to order from an ancient Sears catalog, much to her daughter's dismay...and surprise. I think my favorite was called The Garden, simply tracing a section of garden carved out by one person then worked on, changed, lost, and rediscovered over succeeding generations. Made me wonder what history and story I pass by without ever thinking of what might be there.
So a pleasant and enjoyable read,good for tucking into in bed at night. Good enough to make me pick up another collection: Mama Makes Up Her Mind.
July 31, 2012
Though I haven't heard her in a long time, I've always enjoyed Bailey White's stories on NPR. "Nothing with Strings" is a compilation of her Thanksgiving stories.
Because I've heard her on the radio, I was able to hear her voice in my head as I read the stories. (This is an added dimension to my enjoyment of reading Garrison Keillor as well.) The cadence and intonation of her South Georgia accent is a real pleasure.
But the sound of the stories is only an added treat. The real enjoyment is in the stories themselves. The characters are sometimes quirky, sometimes sad, sometimes courageous, sometimes imaginative, but always, always real. Having grown up in a small Southern town, I feel like I know all of these people personally, the joyful Meals on Wheels lady, the happy-despite-his-unarchived-dream bus driver, the little boy who misses his mom.
You'll laugh; you'll cry; you'll giggle; you'll sigh. You'll enjoy "Nothing with Strings."
Because I've heard her on the radio, I was able to hear her voice in my head as I read the stories. (This is an added dimension to my enjoyment of reading Garrison Keillor as well.) The cadence and intonation of her South Georgia accent is a real pleasure.
But the sound of the stories is only an added treat. The real enjoyment is in the stories themselves. The characters are sometimes quirky, sometimes sad, sometimes courageous, sometimes imaginative, but always, always real. Having grown up in a small Southern town, I feel like I know all of these people personally, the joyful Meals on Wheels lady, the happy-despite-his-unarchived-dream bus driver, the little boy who misses his mom.
You'll laugh; you'll cry; you'll giggle; you'll sigh. You'll enjoy "Nothing with Strings."
December 6, 2014
I gave this compilation of short stories a two-star rating because Bailey White is very good at what she does. I would love to be a gifted writer such as she, but I would choose to write about things that are uplifting, not downright depressing. I had to watch a Hallmark movie to offset the gloomy feeling I had after I turned the final page. If you believe even *remotely* that happy endings are possible, don't read this book.
January 1, 2023
Absolutely do not recommend this on Audible. In what I can only describe as a travesty, they had some other woman read Ms White’s stories for the Audible edition. While her writing and story telling skills are excellent, quite a bit of the pleasure from the stories was hearing Bailey White herself deliver them on NPR.
She reads several of the stories here
https://youtu.be/X36L27ZAFpQ?t=468
She reads several of the stories here
https://youtu.be/X36L27ZAFpQ?t=468
December 28, 2019
A collection of holiday stories that aren’t your traditional holiday stories, but do feature love, miracles, & visits from spirits. The stories, all set in the South and featuring a cast of interesting characters, make you think about what’s important and what’s real.
From Bailey White of National Public Radio's All Things Considered, these stories were delivered on Thanksgiving to kick off the holiday season. This book is the entire collection of these stories, published together for the first time.
3 stars because I have mixed feelings about the book. Mostly because I expected more traditional holiday stories (the tag line and the cover are a bit deceptive).
The narrator, Lorna Raver, does an excellent job. But if Ms. White read these on the air, then why did she not narrate her own book?
From Bailey White of National Public Radio's All Things Considered, these stories were delivered on Thanksgiving to kick off the holiday season. This book is the entire collection of these stories, published together for the first time.
3 stars because I have mixed feelings about the book. Mostly because I expected more traditional holiday stories (the tag line and the cover are a bit deceptive).
The narrator, Lorna Raver, does an excellent job. But if Ms. White read these on the air, then why did she not narrate her own book?
January 22, 2018
From the title, I was expecting a collection of holiday stories. Nope. Not here. Only one story revolved around the holiday season. What I got was a collection of random stories that would be classified as Southern fiction. Most of the stories left me wondering what just happened. A lot of them felt incomplete. Most of them went over my head. I wouldn't have finished the collection, but I needed it for a challenge. The one story I did enjoy was "Bus Ride". It was a simple story that revolved around a group of strangers on a bus ride together.
October 10, 2019
As a few other reviewers have noted, this title was very misleading. I was expecting some heartwearming stories about holidays in the south, but this was nothing of the sort. Most revolved around dementia or death in the family setting. And while some of the stories were interesting, I'm not sure I'd say any reached the level of "beloved" for me. I felt some of the stories ended very abruptly, which isn't how a short story should work. It's not just a longer story that is cut off, it's supposed to be full fledged story, just shorter. So some of those missed the mark for me in that regard. Maybe they worked on the radio format, but even listening to them as an audiobook I didn't feel invested as a listener in any of the stories.
December 23, 2022
Listening to Bailey White’s stories on NPR on has always been a Thanksgiving tradition for me. This compilation of some of those stories was an enjoyable read. The writing is very character- and setting-driven rather than plot-driven, and the slow pace of the writing allows the reader to settle in next to the characters and get to know them.
Some of Bailey Whites other compilations appeal more to me; I really enjoy her sense of humor and it wasn’t as prominent in these stories.
Overall, this is a pleasant read, but not one I’ll come back to again and again.
Some of Bailey Whites other compilations appeal more to me; I really enjoy her sense of humor and it wasn’t as prominent in these stories.
Overall, this is a pleasant read, but not one I’ll come back to again and again.
February 12, 2023
It is wrong to judge a book by comparing it to previous works by that author, but in the case of Nothing with Strings, I couldn't help it. Mamma Makes Up Her Mind and Sleeping at the Starlite Motel are two of my favorite books. The characters are so quirky and real that I couldn't stop cheering for them. The characters in Nothing but Strings felt like distant cousins, many times removed. The stories are well-written and evocative of a particular place and time, but the characters don't resonate with me.
February 23, 2024
Bailey White is a national treasure. She's a natural story teller who sews stories about humanity. Maybe its the people in her back yard, or her mother, or a bizarre aunt - yet they are people living their lives in an eccentric yet very real manner. No, Nothing With Strings is NOT necessarily a holiday book - so let that go. Publishers decision - not hers. However, these stories were aired on NPR's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED on Thanksgiving (so yes, a holiday)... Regardless, I yearn for those days when we used to hear a wonderful author read her yarns on America's holiday.
November 13, 2020
While I would not call this a collection of holiday stories AT ALL, I did enjoy the small nuances & vivid small moments inherent in Bailey White's writing.
Yes, several stories had a darker cast to them, but so do many people's tales & lives. I grew up knowing many of these folks (albeit in small town farmland Illinois, Tennessee & Kentucky) and it was a pleasure to meet & see the commonalities of small town American towns & townspeople.
Yes, several stories had a darker cast to them, but so do many people's tales & lives. I grew up knowing many of these folks (albeit in small town farmland Illinois, Tennessee & Kentucky) and it was a pleasure to meet & see the commonalities of small town American towns & townspeople.
January 1, 2018
I didn't care for this book as much as the 3 other books that I've read by Bailey White. It was enjoyable, but I had a hard time figuring out what was going on in some of the stories and then it would be over and I'd have to read or listen again just to understand what happened.
I do love Bailey White's quirky sense of humor and unusual characters.
I do love Bailey White's quirky sense of humor and unusual characters.
March 25, 2019
Nothing with Strings is a delightful collection of short stories of small town Southern life; these stories, by Bailey White, were originally herd on NPR - one each Thanksgiving. While each story is complete on its own, together they provide a picture of life in a small town where nothing much happens - or rather, where all the complexities of human experience may be found.
August 23, 2019
I have to say that this audiobook was just okay. I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. But it was such a hodgepodge of things that I had trouble keeping track of what was being read. There were some quirky stories and characters that had you chuckle, but for the most part it was just meh.
October 16, 2023
A collection of Bailey White stories. The usual interesting characters set in the small town deep south. I listened to the audio book, which unfortunately was not narrated by Bailey, although the narrater did a fine job. Some of the stories were fascinating and endearing, but some seemed a little tired.
December 23, 2023
Thought this would be a little wintery romance, but it was not. This book, I feel is more directed to an older age group. It had stories of different ones in the book talking about their dementia, dating life or lack of, and life stories. A short read still took me a few days to get through because it seemed hard to follow along with, causing me to keep getting distracted
June 14, 2025
Gentle Southern Gothic
Every town has people.Some are more interesting, some less. Bailey White’s characters are drawn deftly, revealed through bits of conversations, a few gestures, some scraps of revealed history. They seem more poignant, a little sadder, a bit defeated, but sometimes exultant, and more than once, a bit creepy.
Every town has people.Some are more interesting, some less. Bailey White’s characters are drawn deftly, revealed through bits of conversations, a few gestures, some scraps of revealed history. They seem more poignant, a little sadder, a bit defeated, but sometimes exultant, and more than once, a bit creepy.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews