Best Southern Literature
Our favorite works of Southern literature.

(Books that are set in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.)
1 To Kill a Mockingbird
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4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 1,438,932 ratings
2 Gone with the Wind
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4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 473,498 ratings
3 The Help
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4.44 of 5 stars 4.44 avg rating — 772,081 ratings
4 The Adventures of Huckleber...
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 710,891 ratings
5 Fried Green Tomatoes at the...
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4.19 of 5 stars 4.19 avg rating — 101,431 ratings
6 The Secret Life of Bees
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3.93 of 5 stars 3.93 avg rating — 587,631 ratings
7 The Color Purple
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4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 202,257 ratings
8 The Sound and the Fury
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3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 77,523 ratings
9 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
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3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 243,047 ratings
10 Midnight in the Garden of G...
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3.83 of 5 stars 3.83 avg rating — 90,419 ratings
11 Their Eyes Were Watching God
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3.79 of 5 stars 3.79 avg rating — 101,830 ratings
12 The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 38,427 ratings
13 As I Lay Dying
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3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 54,727 ratings
14 The Prince of Tides
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4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 82,250 ratings
15 A Good Man is Hard to Find ...
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4.27 of 5 stars 4.27 avg rating — 16,126 ratings
16 A Confederacy of Dunces
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3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 100,516 ratings
17 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya...
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3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 avg rating — 315,678 ratings
18 Cold Sassy Tree
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 43,650 ratings
19 A Streetcar Named Desire
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 100,717 ratings
20 Cold Mountain
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3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 avg rating — 97,407 ratings
21 The Notebook
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 600,913 ratings
22 A Time to Kill
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3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 355,191 ratings
23 Absalom, Absalom!
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 17,932 ratings
24 Dead Until Dark (Sookie Sta...
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3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 262,064 ratings
25 All the King's Men
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4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 26,309 ratings
26 Bastard Out of Carolina
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 18,935 ratings
27 Interview with the Vampire ...
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 245,479 ratings
28 Roots
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4.37 of 5 stars 4.37 avg rating — 60,782 ratings
29 The Awakening
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3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 avg rating — 72,070 ratings
30 Beloved
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3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 avg rating — 138,471 ratings
31 I Know Why the Caged Bird S...
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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 116,120 ratings
32 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
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4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 avg rating — 25,061 ratings
33 Everything That Rises Must ...
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4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 9,067 ratings
34 Uncle Tom's Cabin
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3.73 of 5 stars 3.73 avg rating — 74,094 ratings
35 The Glass Menagerie
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3.59 of 5 stars 3.59 avg rating — 47,169 ratings
36 All Over But the Shoutin'
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4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 11,527 ratings
37 Garden Spells
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 35,332 ratings
38 Sophie's Choice
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4.15 of 5 stars 4.15 avg rating — 35,316 ratings
39 Forrest Gump
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3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 17,371 ratings
40 I Talk Slower Than I Think:...
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4.31 of 5 stars 4.31 avg rating — 13 ratings
41 Cane River
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 21,202 ratings
42 The Pelican Brief
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3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 158,355 ratings
43 The Member of the Wedding
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3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 avg rating — 5,799 ratings
44 Look Homeward, Angel
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 4,945 ratings
45 Light in August
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3.9 of 5 stars 3.90 avg rating — 26,042 ratings
46 North and South (North and ...
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4.11 of 5 stars 4.11 avg rating — 22,886 ratings
47 The Firm
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3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 237,833 ratings
48 The Client
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3.86 of 5 stars 3.86 avg rating — 158,289 ratings
49 The Lords of Discipline
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4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 avg rating — 11,355 ratings
50 The Complete Stories
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4.48 of 5 stars 4.48 avg rating — 15,587 ratings
51 Steel Magnolias
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4.06 of 5 stars 4.06 avg rating — 4,196 ratings
52 Prodigal Summer
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3.92 of 5 stars 3.92 avg rating — 48,299 ratings
53 The Great Santini
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4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 11,712 ratings
54 Wise Blood
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 9,968 ratings
55 The Ballad of the Sad Café ...
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4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 4,654 ratings
56 The Water Is Wide: A Memoir
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3.97 of 5 stars 3.97 avg rating — 7,575 ratings
57 The Violent Bear it Away
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4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 3,816 ratings
58 South of Broad
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3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 avg rating — 19,900 ratings
59 Beach Music
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4.08 of 5 stars 4.08 avg rating — 19,692 ratings
60 Saving CeeCee Honeycutt
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3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 35,044 ratings
61 Summer of My German Soldier...
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3.6 of 5 stars 3.60 avg rating — 8,852 ratings
62 The Collected Stories
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4.29 of 5 stars 4.29 avg rating — 3,347 ratings
63 Blood Meridian, or the Even...
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4.21 of 5 stars 4.21 avg rating — 35,071 ratings
64 Song of Solomon
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3.94 of 5 stars 3.94 avg rating — 34,752 ratings
65 Fair and Tender Ladies
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4.13 of 5 stars 4.13 avg rating — 3,094 ratings
66 Dead to the World (Sookie S...
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4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 132,128 ratings
67 The Red Badge of Courage
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3.12 of 5 stars 3.12 avg rating — 43,853 ratings
68 From Dead to Worse (Sookie ...
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 111,040 ratings
69 Mudbound
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 24,535 ratings
70 Tobacco Road
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3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 avg rating — 5,252 ratings
71 The Witching Hour (Lives of...
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4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 avg rating — 52,595 ratings
72 A Christmas Memory
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4.23 of 5 stars 4.23 avg rating — 4,640 ratings
73 Charms for the Easy Life
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3.99 of 5 stars 3.99 avg rating — 6,138 ratings
74 Dead and Gone (Sookie Stack...
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4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 avg rating — 107,050 ratings
75 Other Voices, Other Rooms
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3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 5,508 ratings
76 Welcome to the World, Baby ...
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3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 avg rating — 9,861 ratings
77 Narrative of the Life of Fr...
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3.87 of 5 stars 3.87 avg rating — 24,786 ratings
78 Mid Ocean
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4.24 of 5 stars 4.24 avg rating — 120 ratings
79 Suttree
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4.2 of 5 stars 4.20 avg rating — 6,743 ratings
80 The Rapture of Canaan
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3.77 of 5 stars 3.77 avg rating — 17,497 ratings
81 Scarlett
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3.18 of 5 stars 3.18 avg rating — 21,886 ratings
82 The Moviegoer
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3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 9,953 ratings
83 The Feast of All Saints
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3.76 of 5 stars 3.76 avg rating — 11,089 ratings
84 Deliverance
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3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 avg rating — 14,776 ratings
85 Go Down, Moses
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 4,699 ratings
86 Gods in Alabama
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3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 9,079 ratings
87 Between, Georgia
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3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 6,286 ratings
88 A Lesson Before Dying
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3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 avg rating — 21,754 ratings
89 Little Altars Everywhere
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3.48 of 5 stars 3.48 avg rating — 19,273 ratings
90 The Girl Who Chased the Moon
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3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 22,886 ratings
91 Heaven and Hell (North and ...
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3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 4,998 ratings
92 Love and War (North and Sou...
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4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 avg rating — 6,783 ratings
93 The Sugar Queen
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3.96 of 5 stars 3.96 avg rating — 22,186 ratings
94 Oldest Living Confederate W...
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3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 avg rating — 2,742 ratings
95 Crazy in Alabama
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3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 avg rating — 2,222 ratings
96 Delta Wedding
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3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 avg rating — 1,211 ratings
97 The Kitchen House
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4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 avg rating — 54,090 ratings
98 Big Stone Gap (Big Stone Ga...
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3.84 of 5 stars 3.84 avg rating — 18,012 ratings
99 Stories, Essays, and Memoir...
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4.27 of 5 stars 4.27 avg rating — 135 ratings
100 The Widow of the South
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3.69 of 5 stars 3.69 avg rating — 7,391 ratings
604 books · 1,429 voters · list created June 23rd, 2008 by JG (The Introverted Reader) (votes) .
 · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 500 seconds.


JG (The Introverted Reader)
JG (The Introverted Reader)
2353 books
291 friends
Jessica
Jessica
1812 books
91 friends
Jay
Jay
413 books
19 friends
Natasha
Natasha
2708 books
120 friends
Jennifer
Jennifer
1208 books
43 friends
Lara
Lara
936 books
121 friends
Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!*
Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!*
1428 books
3950 friends
Todd
Todd
264 books
67 friends

More voters…


Comments (showing 1-37 of 37) (37 new)

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message 1: by TexasMargarita (new)

TexasMargarita I think Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil could almost make it in here, and some day maybe some James Lee Burke


message 2: by [deleted user] (new)

And what about Kathleen Anne Porter?!


message 3: by Sunita (new)

Sunita these books are cool and Ilike them



message 4: by Sunita (new)

Sunita cool book peoples and I like them very much you rock
lvu you people very much and how you keep voting for these book and as for the people who don't do it now and when I say do it now I mean it just do it now .For those people who collect these books u rock so much that I can't say how much it must be for you to read and that is the one things that is the mager thing about collecting books and I hope thatyou keep collecting these books
thank you
sunpoo0994


message 5: by pendy (new)

pendy ditto about james lee burke


message 6: by Joann (new)

Joann The Known World by Edward P Jones


message 7: by [deleted user] (new)

Is The Plain Truth really Southern? Jodi Picoult lives near my sister in VT. I read it but don't remember much about it now. Wasn't it about the Amish?


message 8: by Maxine (new)

Maxine Dexter Aaaw no All the Pretty Horses? That's my favorite Cormac McCarthy book.


message 9: by Susanna (last edited Mar 29, 2010 08:42pm) (new)

Susanna The Prince and the Pauper? It's set in Tudor England!

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is set in a fantasy English Dark Ages.


message 10: by Hayes (new)

Hayes Susanna wrote: "The Prince and the Pauper? It's set in Tudor England!"

Yes... *Southern* Tudor England! ;-)


message 11: by Susanna (new)

Susanna Ah dew declare!


 ~☆ Alice☆~ Gone with the Wind is listed twice.


message 13: by Susanna (new)

Susanna I told it to check for duplicates, which hopefully got it.


message 14: by Susanna (new)

Susanna Is this list for works about the South, or by Southerners?


message 15: by Bettie (last edited Oct 20, 2011 12:06pm) (new)

Bettie Hayes wrote: "Susanna wrote: "The Prince and the Pauper? It's set in Tudor England!"

Yes... *Southern* Tudor England! ;-)"


hahaha - you are right, the title doesn't say Southern North America now does it; a touch arrogant n'est pas!?


 ~☆ Alice☆~ Susanna wrote: "Is this list for works about the South, or by Southerners?"

Well, Southerners do tend to read books about the South, honey chile.


message 17: by Susanna (new)

Susanna Yes, indeedy they do!

And I myself interpreted it as "books about the South." But "books by Southerners" is the only way I can think of that Prince and the Pauper, A Tramp Abroad, or A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court could qualify, so I thought I'd ask!


message 18: by Bettie (new)

Bettie Susanna wrote: "Yes, indeedy they do!

And I myself interpreted it as "books about the South." But "books by Southerners" is the only way I can think of that Prince and the Pauper, A Tramp Abroad, or A Connecti..."


I'll wait for an answer to your question before voting
:O)


message 19: by holly (new)

holly Plain Truth takes place in Pennsylvania and the author is from New York...


message 20: by David (new)

David Ernest Gaines's novels should be added to this list. So should books by Gayl Jones and Nikki Finney.


message 21: by Susanna (new)

Susanna You could add them; it's easy to add books to lists. At the top of the list, at the tab next to "all votes."


message 22: by David (new)

David Thanks, Susanna.


message 23: by Beth (last edited May 12, 2012 08:15pm) (new)

Beth Susanna wrote: "Is this list for works about the South, or by Southerners?"

I took a course called "Southern Literature" at the University of Georgia when I was working on a graduate degree. Southern Literature was defined as literature that was written by a Southerner AND set in the South. I have always found this definition to be very helpful.


message 24: by Shawnee (new)

Shawnee I didn't see West Virginia in the list of states but I added books with author and setting from WV. Most of the state is below the Mason-Dixon line and we mountaineers consider ourselves southerners.


message 25: by Eddie (new)

Eddie Whitlock Forgive my crass marketing here. I've written a book called EVIL IS ALWAYS HUMAN that's been compared to Flannery O'Connor and Cormac McCarthy. I invite you to take a look at it.


message 26: by Tina (new)

Tina Lovell Eddie wrote: "Forgive my crass marketing here. I've written a book called EVIL IS ALWAYS HUMAN that's been compared to Flannery O'Connor and Cormac McCarthy. I invite you to take a look at it."

Beth wrote: "Susanna wrote: "Is this list for works about the South, or by Southerners?"

I took a course called "Southern Literature" at the University of Georgia when I was working on a graduate degree. South..."


TexasMargarita wrote: "I think Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil could almost make it in here, and some day maybe some James Lee Burke"

thank you for the information! I loved "midnight in the garden Of good and evil"


message 27: by Tina (new)

Tina Lovell ~☆ Alice☆~ wrote: "Susanna wrote: "Is this list for works about the South, or by Southerners?"

Well, Southerners do tend to read books about the South, honey chile."
Yes we Do! Tina L.

Eddie wrote: "Forgive my crass marketing here. I've written a book called EVIL IS ALWAYS HUMAN that's been compared to Flannery O'Connor and Cormac McCarthy. I invite you to take a look at it."

Shawnee wrote: "I didn't see West Virginia in the list of states but I added books with author and setting from WV. Most of the state is below the Mason-Dixon line and we mountaineers consider ourselves southerners."


message 28: by Pat (new)

Pat W. Virginia separated from Virginia rather than be part of the South. So, that's a done deal.
"Sophie's Choice" takes place in Europe with no mention of 'the South' so, multiple people putting it on the list is just sad.
Including William Tecumseh Sherman's biography several times is wrong. While a work about only his maniacal acts in the South could be included, it would hardly seem to merit "the Best Southern Literature".
These mistakes aside, the list is enjoyable.


message 29: by Beth (new)

Beth Well stated!I completely agree.


message 30: by Themis-Athena (new)

Themis-Athena Pat wrote: ""Sophie's Choice" takes place in Europe with no mention of 'the South' so, multiple people putting it on the list is just sad."

Well, in their defense it might be mentioned that the author is from Virginia. Which, owing to the book's setting and subject matter, doesn't make it a "Southern" novel IMHO either, though ... nor, based on the description now added to the list, in the opinon of the list's creator.

JG, do you want the list to be pruned back to books actually set in the states you mentioned?


message 31: by Jeff (new)

Jeff Oh my god, how is "The Sound and the Fury" not number 1, fuck you Goodreads, this is not debatable


message 32: by Beth (last edited Dec 31, 2012 10:01am) (new)

Beth Lists are made by Goodreads members/readers. Goodreads provides the arena for its readers who can vote for the various books listed in any Listopia. In other words, people have voted for these books and their rank is the result of these votes. Several books on the list would have been ranked differently for me personally. Nevertheless, it is interesting to see where different books line up after votes are calculated.


message 33: by Steve (new)

Steve Yep, those that like southern lit should vote and/or add their favorites. The list will sort out over time.


message 34: by Susanna (last edited Dec 31, 2012 09:52am) (new)

Susanna The one that makes me scratch my head currently is #36: I Talk Slower Than I Think: An Antidote to Helicopter Parenting, as it looks to be non-fiction?

Also, 5 ratings and 33 votes???


message 35: by Shawnee (new)

Shawnee West Virginia separating from Virginia had more to do with perceived unfair distribution of state resources and divisive beliefs on slavery and nothing to do with whether it wanted to be part of the south. More important, the U.S. Bureau of Census states West Virginia as part of the South Region. I think my position is valid and West Virginia should be included in this category list.


message 36: by Themis-Athena (new)

Themis-Athena Susanna wrote: "The one that makes me scratch my head currently is #36: I Talk Slower Than I Think: An Antidote to Helicopter Parenting, as it looks to be non-fiction?

Also, 5 ratings and 33 votes???"


The voting pattern is highly suspicious (1 of 1 or, at most, 1 of 2, all of them).

It being nonfiction alas doesn't seem to be a reason for exclusion on this particular list, though (the list title says "literature," not "fiction," and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil -- currently ranked no. 12 -- is nonfiction as well) ...


message 37: by Sandy (new)

Sandy Pat wrote: "W. Virginia separated from Virginia rather than be part of the South. So, that's a done deal.
"Sophie's Choice" takes place in Europ..."


Sophie's Choice does not take place in Europe,it takes place in New York. Only the memories of Sophie take place in Europe. One of the main characters "Stingo" is a very southern boy who comes to New York to write.


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