August 2014: South/Southwest United States

[Jackie]

Hi ladies and gentlemen! I hope everyone is having a very relaxing summer. The poll for August's theme has ended and the winner is South/Southwest US! This past month we were in France, now let's come back to the United States and look into some Southern culture, or Southerwestern experiences. This can be fiction or nonfiction and should be related to these parts of the country.

Here are some lists for brainstorming:

Popular Southern US Books
Southern Literature
Set in the South
Series set in the South/Southwest
Set in the Southwest


Remember that once you've finished your book(s) for the month, you're always welcome to start a discussion topic in the month's folder (which works best if there are others in the group who have read or are currently reading the book in question) or post your thoughts (or just drop a link to your review!) in the thread below.

And don't forget to vote on the poll for September's theme. The poll for October's theme opens on August 1st, so be aware of that.

Happy reading!!!

[[deleted user]]

I plan on reading:

The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Finished: 06 August
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins (Set in Arizona)

Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams (Set in Florida)


(Please let me know if the above three books don't fit the theme)

However, if I'm not able to get ahold of these books I plan on reading:


Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

[Lamilla]

for me
Also, I wanted to read and for some time, maybe I'll manage to get a copy till the end of the month

[Melissa]

I think I will be reading these books

[Silver]

I will be reading The Moviegoer

[Janet]

Silver wrote: "I will be reading The Moviegoer"

I was going to read this for this month's theme but I am over committed in other reading groups this month. Please let me know what you think of it.

[Sara]

I plan to read The Sound and the Fury and Light in August.

[Tess]

I am reading To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time.

[Jasmiina]

It's weird but I don't think I have many books that fit to this month's theme. And I'm still stuck with last month's book (The Count of Monte Cristo). So I decided to read The Perfect Murder from Brenda Novak. The story is located in Sacramento and the book is quite easy to read, maybe I'll manage to finish it AND Monte Cristo during August.

[Lamilla]

Lamilla wrote: " for me"
Funnily enough, but I started with the previous book to refresh my memory

[Jasmiina]

I should have read To Kill a Mockingbird... The book I read was absolutely terrible, I probably won't be reading anything else from Brenda Novak ever again.

[Anne]

I am going to read Redemption Falls by Joseph O'Connor

[Lamilla]

I'm planning to include for this month!

[[deleted user]]

I have read two Southern books this month, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter and Zeitoun .

[Melissa]

I finally read a book that fit this theme, takes place in Arizona.

[Melissa]

I just finished today which is set in New Orleans.

Fun book.

[Lamilla]

Halfway through , still not sure what to make of it. On the other note, I got my own copy of .

[Silver]

Janet wrote: "Silver wrote: "I will be reading The Moviegoer"

I was going to read this for this month's theme but I am over committed in other reading groups this month. Please let me know what you..."

I was left with some very mixed feelings about this book. It did have a sort of Southern Gothic vibe to it (in my admittedly limited experience with that genre) and I tend to find that Southern Gothic is a genre that usually just doesn't really connect very well with me.

But with that being said I would say on the whole I did enjoy the book even though there where certain aspects of it which I had some issues with. For the most part I found an entertaining and interesting read. It was certainly differently. And I do really like New Orleans so I tend to enjoy books set in New Orleans. I liked some of the humor of the book. It was a sort of subtle satirical humor of which I tend to appreciate. Also I do think the book was well written. The character of Kate I found to be fascinating.

One of the issues I did have with the book is that I found it was rather slow reading. It wasn't the kind of book to easily capture my attention and keep me fully engaged. There where times when I struggled to stay focused upon what I was reading. And to be quite honest there where parts of the book of which I did find to be somewhat dull reading.

Also considering the title of the book and how it starts off, the majority of the book was not as much about movies (or attending movies) as much as I thought it would be. One of the things that drew me to the book was that I myself am a bit of a movie buff and so I did think the book would offer more commentary on movies, and the act of movie going.

It seemed most of the book just centered around the main character driving around with his various different secretaries trying to get a hook up.

[Janet]

Silver - I will most likely still attempt this book because the New Orleans setting and the subtle satirical humor appeal to me. However, I probably won't rush to it. Thanks for the feedback.

[Silver]

Janet wrote: "Silver - I will most likely still attempt this book because the New Orleans setting and the subtle satirical humor appeal to me. However, I probably won't rush to it. Thanks for the feedback."

It isn't a bad book, and there where some very interesting things about it. It just wasn't a real attention grabber (at least for me) and at times it does seem to crawl along at a snails pace.