Show Boat by Edna Ferber, 398 pages

Show Boat had been an answer on Final Jeopardy and I realized I'd never read it, or even really heard of it. This book showcases the Cotton Blossom, one of the river's traveling theaters, bringing a little spark of the stage to towns each year. Fun-loving Captain Andy, his puritanical wife Parthy, and their dark-eyed daughter Magnolia buy the boat, and spend a good part of each year floating up and down the river. One thing I found extremely interesting that Magnolia's daughter was named Kim because she was born between Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri and the name Kim was considered outrageous and odd. Now you see a ton of women named Kim. This was an old fashioned book, but was a good read.