since i started this group, i'll go first!!! i'm a 30 something wife, consipated writer, obsessed gardener & pic taker and avid reader! (i won't bore you with the nitty gritty here! feel free to take a look-see @ my profile!) now it's your turn!!!

ps ~ i'm slowly adding my fav southern fiction (& non fic) to the bookshelf ~ feel free to put your own up there too!

welcome to both LeOta and Shannon! glad to have you here!

Thank you, Jo!!! I am also in my 30's. Single with no children. I love to read. I work in the clerical field. I live in Washington state and have never been to either England or the South, but love reading about them!!! My favorite authors are Jane Austen and Fannie Flagg.

I also enjoy Michael Lee West and Rebecca Wells.

funny, i don't really have favorite authors, i have favorite books!

Oh, I have my favorite authors. Once I like a book by an author, I try to read all of their books. I like to see if they have a certain formula or trait that carries from one book to another. Sometimes there are similarities, and sometimes not.

Fannie Flagg, for example, tends to have a couple of wacky characters mixed in with some down to earth characters. Faith in God and good food seems to pop up in her books also.

i'll do the same & try to read all the books by an author who's book i like, but i think i still end up w/more fav books than fav authors!

good food ~ that could be 1 reason i'm a fan of southern fiction! there's always lots of talk of good eaten! overall, i'm not sure what draws me to it ~ there's something almost spiritual about southern writing - it just gets right down to my soul!

Hi, Jo and all. I'm Melissa Delbridge, a Southern writer from Tuscaloosa. I live in NC now and work in Duke's Special Collections Library as an archivist. I just published my first book. My favorite Southern writers are Mary Hood (especially _How Far She Went_) and Donna Tartt. Have y'all read them?

I just joined Good reads, so I have not finished my bookshelf yet. I look forward to meeting and talking about books with all of you!

Enjoy your day!

Melissa

welcome melissa! thanks for joining us & good luck with your book!

i haven't heard of either of the authors you mentioned, which is great in that's part of the reason i created this group ~ to further my exposure to southern lit!

I'm a Southerner from the Carolinas (I grew up in both but Charleston is the closest to my heart). I love so many southern writers - Pat Conroy is one of my favorites since his decriptions of the marsh and beach can bring me home. ( forgot to tell you I live in California at this time.) California would never be my choice of a place to live but my husband works here so I stay. Reading is my way of traveling back home. I could write 20 pages of the things I mis daily and all the reasons the South is the place to live but I'll spare you. Lets read something and talk about it.

shannon, i like that idea ~ read something & talk about it! or, we could come up w/a book we've all read aready & start talking about that 1st!

Do you want to start a list of choices? I'll think about a few and we can see what we all want to read first. Shannon

Hi Everyone,

I am from SC and I am 37 years old, married with 2 kids. I enjoy all types of books for the most part, although I have been reading a good bit of Southern Literature. I think I like the southern themed books because the majority of them take me back to simpler times when things were less complicated.
I enjoy Fannie Flagg and I am currently reading a Michael Lee West book. If I find an author that I like from reading one book, I tend to try other books by the same author.

Welcome Dolly! Glad to meet you!

Southern Lit resonates for me because of their connection to land, place, food, family and friends!

I'm very sorry I haven't been active with this group for some time! I've had some personal issues (health & otherwise) as of late and I've been way less active with a lot of online stuff and only keeping up a few things. (On GoodReads and elsewhere!)

I also wanted to Welcome Jeanne, Gypsy and Meggie2012 to our humble little group!

Thanks for the welcome Jo:)

I feel that way about the Southern Literature too, I like the connections.

I saw that it had been a while since anyone had posted, but I'm glad I joined this little group.

I hope your problems are behind you and you can come by often!

I'm Sydney. Just joined the group moments ago. I am a working mom to a very active 3 year old boy. I try to squeeze in reading whenever I can. I guess I kind of drift toward Southern Lit without really thinking about it. I've got a bunch of books on my to read shelf by Southern authors.

I loved "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," I like Bille Letts and Mary Kay Andrews as authors. Also loved "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."

oh, I also like the first Lee Smith book I read, "The Last Girls" and am hoping to read more by her!

Hi ya Sydney! Welcome and thanks for joining my little group!!!

Welcome Susan and Gina!

A belated Welcome Gypsy!

*A note to everyone, please feel free to start your own threads & post away!

I'm Shelby. I live in northeast GA. True southerner through and through. I'm like Jo I don't really have fav. authors just fav. Books. I loved Bastard out of Carolina, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Last girls..and the list goes on...

Welcome Shelby! Thanks for joining!

Hi Everyone,

I didn't hear or see that Kate Jacobs has a new book out until I saw it in Good Housekeeping this month. Knit Two is a sequel to The Friday Night Knitting Club.

I first heard about Friday Night Knitting Club at the bookstore but until I read the reviews here on Goodreads I wasn't interested. I thought it was a wonderful book and I hope the sequel is as good. Has anyone in the group read it yet? Any comments?

I haven't read the sequel but I loved her 1st!

Welcome Lee! Glad you joined us!

I am on the wait list at our library for the Knit Two. I am looking forward to that one.

Oh, someone at my work knits and gave me a copy of a get started book. I may try it yet :)

I taught myself to knit the Summer of '06 after reading "A Good Yarn"! And this summer I finally taught myself to purl! (Though I'm pretty sure I forgot, it didn't look right when I did it last week). You Tube has great knitting & crocheting videos, just fyi.

Funny, I could crochet when I was 8 when my Nana taught me but when I tried the Summer of '06, I just couldn't do it & still can't!

Welcome to Heather, Liz and Lee! Thanks for joining us!

Hi Jo,

Did you end up making a scarf first like I've read in a lot of the books? :)

Welcome Helen and Marianne!

Dolly, I did make a scarf first and am still making them! A friend has given me a hat pattern which I'm going to try shortly.

I'll probably have to wait until another break to get into trying to knit. I do want to try it soon though...

Hi!
I am a Mom from California, in my early 30's. While I used to teach elementary school, right now I am enjoying being home with my new baby.
I've always been drawn to stories about the south, and love reading. Something about these stories has always fascinated me. I love the descriptions of the people, the places and the landscapes (all very different from where I grew up in San Diego).
This book group is exactly what I've been looking for! It's so great to see a list of books about the south. There are so many I see that I can't wait to read.
I hope you don't mind if I add a few of my favorite books to the list that I don't see on there...

Hi,

I am a Dad from California, in my early 30's. I have the pleasure of being married to the lovely lady that posted the message above me. And I too have recently discovered that I really enjoy reading stories about the south. I never realized it until recently but many of the books that I loved were stories of—and in—the south. There is a certain folklore or feeling that pervades these stories and indeed the south itself. I look forward to adding some new books to my list and sharing thoughts about the ones I have read.

Hello Hayley and Thorin. Welcome to Southern Lit lovers :)

Welcome Hayley & Thorin! I'm delighted to have you be a part of our group!

Do these stories touch us so because there's something in them we long for or is it just a connection to people, place, food & spirit and the sometimes lack of connection to these things which make these stories so endearing.

I think I like this type of book because they make you feel good and they have a family/friend feel to them.

A warm welcome to Laura, Alicia and Helen!

Hi everyone! I'm a 40-something divorced southern girl who loves southern lit (among many other genres). I spend my free time reading and posting reviews to my book blog and cooking!

Welcome Lisa! So glad you joined us! You're jusy in time - we're voting on our 1st group read pic! Look for the "Heads Up Southern Lit Lovers!" thread which appears above this one in the "General" topics section, and scroll down to the book descriptions. Then look all the way over to your right & click on "Polls" and this brings you to where you can cast your vote! (Voting ends Fri).

Hi, some of you look familar!
I am married and live in nebraska. I have read some really good southern fiction in the past. I like the wit of the funny writers and the gritty truths revealed in the serious writers.
Humor: Fanny Flagg, Ann B Ross and Adriana Trigiani
Serious: Dorothy Allison Bastard out of Carolina, Kaye Gibbons Ellen Foster; Carson McCullers The heart is a lonely hunter; MM Gone with the wind;Harper Lee To Kill a mockingbird;Faulkner as I lay dying; Gaines a lesson before dying; and my newest find Kathryn Stockett The help

Welcome Kristi! You're just in time to vote for our 1st group read! The book descriptions are in the "Head's up Southern Lit Lovers!" thread and the poll is on the main page for the group all the way @ the bottom (keep scrolling down til you see it). Voting ends tomorrow at 11:59pm!

Thanks!
I don't think I will vote this time since i have read them all but Bound South and I checked my library doesn't have it so I will have to add it to my list for the future.

I loved the others but have to say I recently read The Help and it is fabulous!!! I still get teary eyed!

Hello! I'm from the mountains of NC. I love reading anything, but Southern Lit is definitely included in there. Books set in the southern Appalachians specifically are probably dearest to my heart. Lee Smith is great for that. Some authors try to write the way we talk, but Lee Smith really gets it. My favorite of hers is Fair and Tender Ladies. When I read that one, I feel like I could reading about ancestors.

Welcome JG! Thank you for mentioning Fair and Tender Ladies, I'm adding it to my 'to read' list! Hopefully you'll be able to join us for our first group read, "Bound South," beginning April 15th! Look for the "Head's Up Southern Lit Lovers!" thread for all the info.

hello all,
i don't know why i haven't found this group before! :)
what a great idea.
i'll read the first group pick, and isn't that border's 40% coupon a great thing!
i'm born and raised in south louisiana, lived in north carolina and georgia, and now in colorado for 9 years.

i love lee smith, rebecca wells, kaye gibbons, ernest gaines, eudora welty, tennessee williams.

Welcome Beth! Glad you'll be joining in on the read! Welcome to Alexandra too! And in case I've forgotten anyone along the way, Welcome!

I have not read Ron Rash, but Serena A Novel is on my tbr list. My aunt forwards a newsletter from her favorite bookstore to me, and for a while it was full of raves about this book.

Welcome Nina and Sarah! Glad you joined us and hopefully you can join in on our 1st group read! (See the "Head's Up Southern Lit Lovers!" thread for all the details).

Welcome Cyndi & Lindsay! Thanks so much for joining us!

Hi guys! I'm Sonya from the mtns. of western NC. I love Ron Rash, Lee Smith, Silas House & the list goes on and on....We have a literary festival in the small town where I live that promotes "unknown" authors that have really open up a new selection for me. Look forward to sharing and receiving ideas/suggestions!