Happy New Year and welcome to 2014! I’m kicking things off over here with the first annual Southern Literature Month. My goal is simple – celebrate the American South! While the goal is to concentrate on Southern literature, all things Southern are more than welcome. And nothing fancy is required! I hope to see your posts around this January.
My own plans are to read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil with my bookclub ladies. I’d also like to do some special posts about my own experiences growing up and living in Georgia. Hopefully, I’ll be able to squeeze in some additional Southern reading. Authors I’m considering are Susan Gregg Gilmore, Eudora Welty, Beth Hoffman, Joshilyn Jackson, and Truman Capote.
Happy Reading!!
Love it! I’m planning to join in and will be reading Nowhere Else on Earth by Josephine Humphries (which has been on my TBR for ages) as well as some Eudora Welty short stories. And if something crazy happens and I have even MORE reading time than expected, I’m going to dig into some Carson McCullers, too.
Thanks for hosting, Brooke–I’m excited about reading Southern Lit this month!
Yay!! You’ve made excellent choices. I love Welty so much.
Great idea – I would love to join in! I’m from Richmond, VA and love Southern literature. I just started Joshilyn Jackson’s Someone Else’s Love Story last night and have been meaning to re-read Pat Conroy’s The Lords of Discipline (I originally read it in high school).
Awesome, awesome! The more the merrier. I’ve never read any Conroy which is a shame, I know! Thanks for joining in.
Fun idea- I look forward to discovering some new books while following along!
That’s my goal! Opening readers up to new books!
Hi Brooke, thanks so much for the mention. Happy New Year to you and yours!
Happy New Years to you as well, Beth!! I might save your newest novel (which I’ve put off far too long) for February as a birthday read! I know I’m going to love it!
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Hi Brooke,
I love it when anyone celebrates southern literature since I’ve lived my entire life in the south (with the exception of 3 years in Colorado, where I sought shade the entire time), plus I write southern fiction myself. (17 years and counting)
My second novel, The Secret Sense of Wildflower, is a southern historical coming-of-age story. It received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews and was voted a Best Book of 2012. (It still seems unreal to write that!) My main character was even referred to as an “adolescent Scout Finch.” That statement alone is enough to keep me writing for another decade!
Thanks for your love and respect of southern literature. Sending gratitude your way, and I hope you have an awesome 2014!
I’ve got As I Lay Dying on my TBR and wanted to read it before the movie comes out anyway so I guess I can start with that.
I loved As I Lay Dying so hope you do as well!!
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