I’d Rather Roll Than Rattle

Liz Kingston Bettle
AuthorHouse (2010)
ISBN 9781452051437
Reviewed by Marissa Libbit for Reader Views (09/10)

 

“I’d Rather Roll Than Rattle” by Liz Kingston Bettle is a collection of over seventy, short true stories from the life of the author or her friends.  She shares simple tales such as the one about how her Grandpa Bill would argue with umpire’s calls while listening to a baseball game on the radio or how an aunt’s organization system was fully realized after her death with the discovery of a box labeled, “Pieces of string too short to use.” 

My favorite tales read like a section in “Parents Magazine” that includes bloopers by young children.  Ms. Bettle’s young daughter Anna complained after a long time playing on the playground in the heat, “Look, Mommy.  My skin is leaking!” 

Many of the stories in “I’d Rather Roll Than Rattle” are but a paragraph or two with the longest being only a few pages.  There is no chronological sequence, and the stories seem dropped into the reader’s lap as if in conversation with Ms. Bettle.  I read the whole book in about an hour and found a few chuckles along the way.  However, as far as universal appeal, I really believe that those who know the author best will most benefit from the stories.  We all have similar stories in our lives, but I’m not sure how much mass interest they have except to the people that know us best.  Ms. Bettle seems like a nice woman with a nice family, and I wish her well.

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