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Nominations
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Now accepting nominations for our February, 2019, Group Reads
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Post 1980:To Dance with the White Dog
A moving story of love, grief, and coming to terms with death, this is the story of elderly Sam Peek, who is mourning the death of his beloved wife when a mysterious white dog appears.
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To Dance with the White Dog
A moving story of love, grief, and coming to terms with death, this is the story of elderly Sam Peek, who is mourning the death of his beloved ..."
Thank you Tina. A fine nomination. To Dance with the White Dog by Terry Kay is nominated Post-1980.
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Excellent, Joey. The Dollmaker by Harriette Simpson Arnow is nominated Pre-1980.
Valentines Day might be the right time to finally read Ruby by Cynthia Bond. Nominating for post 1980.
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From the goodreads summary:
Scar Lover is a miraculous, true-to-the-bone story of love and redemption, at once a classic southern novel and purely, unmistakably, Harry Crews.Running from a past that has scarred and blamed him, and a tragic accident that has destroyed his family, Pete Butcher avoids all personal contact. Then Sarah Leemer, the oddly beautiful girl next door, walks into his life. Slowly, sweetly, and with a determination almost Faulknerian in its ferocity, Sarah pulls Pete back into life and into the ever increasing complications of love, family, death, and deliverance. For Sarah has made Pete her own, and as she takes her claim, we see the miraculous power of love without boundaries or fear.
Nominated Post 1980.
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Done, Brina. Thank you. Ruby by Cynthia Bond is nominated Post-1980.
From the goodreads summary:
The epic, unforgettable story of a man determined to protect the woman he loves from the town desperate to destroy her—this beautiful and devastating debut heralds the arrival of a major new voice in fiction.
Ephram Jennings has never forgotten the beautiful girl with the long braids running through the piney woods of Liberty, their small East Texas town. Young Ruby, "the kind of pretty it hurt to look at," has suffered beyond imagining, so as soon as she can, she flees suffocating Liberty for the bright pull of 1950s New York. Ruby quickly winds her way into the ripe center of the city--the darkened piano bars and hidden alleyways of the Village--all the while hoping for a glimpse of the red hair and green eyes of her mother. When a telegram from her cousin forces her to return home, thirty-year-old Ruby Bell finds herself reliving the devastating violence of her girlhood. With the terrifying realization that she might not be strong enough to fight her way back out again, Ruby struggles to survive her memories of the town's dark past. Meanwhile, Ephram must choose between loyalty to the sister who raised him and the chance for a life with the woman he has loved since he was a boy.
Full of life, exquisitely written, and suffused with the pastoral beauty of the rural South, Ruby is a transcendent novel of passion and courage. This wondrous page-turner rushes through the red dust and gossip of Main Street, to the pit fire where men swill bootleg outside Bloom's Juke, to Celia Jennings's kitchen where a cake is being made, yolk by yolk, that Ephram will use to try to begin again with Ruby. Utterly transfixing, with unforgettable characters, riveting suspense, and breathtaking, luminous prose, Ruby offers an unflinching portrait of man's dark acts and the promise of the redemptive power of love.
Thank you, Mike. I do appreciate the summary for other trail members.
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You're most welcome!
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Bearskin by James A. McLaughlin is nominated Post-1980.
From the goodreads summary:
Rice Moore is just beginning to think his troubles are behind him. He’s found a job protecting a remote forest preserve in Virginian Appalachia where his main responsibilities include tracking wildlife and refurbishing cabins. It’s hard work, and totally solitary—perfect to hide away from the Mexican drug cartels he betrayed back in Arizona. But when Rice finds the carcass of a bear killed on the grounds, the quiet solitude he’s so desperately sought is suddenly at risk.
More bears are killed on the preserve and Rice’s obsession with catching the poachers escalates, leading to hostile altercations with the locals and attention from both the law and Rice’s employers. Partnering with his predecessor, a scientist who hopes to continue her research on the preserve, Rice puts into motion a plan that could expose the poachers but risks revealing his own whereabouts to the dangerous people he was running from in the first place.
James McLaughlin expertly brings the beauty and danger of Appalachia to life. The result is an elemental, slow burn of a novel—one that will haunt you long after you turn the final page.
I nominate The Known World in the Post 1980 category.The Known World tells the story of Henry Townsend, a black farmer and former slave who falls under the tutelage of William Robbins, the most powerful man in Manchester County, Virginia. Making certain he never circumvents the law, Townsend runs his affairs with unusual discipline. But when death takes him unexpectedly, his widow, Caldonia, can't uphold the estate's order, and chaos ensues. Jones has woven a footnote of history into an epic that takes an unflinching look at slavery in all its moral complexities.
I would like to nominate Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole for the Pre 1980 category. It is my favorite all time read and I am ready to embrace it for the fourth time.I would like to nominate Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou for the Post 1980 category. Thank you.
Regarding my nomination of Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole for Pre 1980. Toole wrote the book in 1963. It was first published in 1980 many years after his suicide. Does it count as Pre 1980 or Post 1980????
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Sorry, I don't recall that. I respectfully withdraw the nomination of Confederacy of Dunces.
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The Known World tells the story of Henry Townsend, a black farmer and former slave who falls under the tutelage of William Robbins, ..."
Thanks, Sara. The Known World byEdward P. Jones is nominated Post-1980.
Does my nomination of Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou for Post 1980 not qualify either? Perhaps it was previously read as was Confederacy of Dunces? Thanks.
Judi wrote: "Regarding my nomination of Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole for Pre 1980. Toole wrote the book in 1963. It was first published in 1980 many years after his suicide. Does it count as Pre ..."I think it qualifies on both counts, but we did a group read on it in July or August of 2017. As Jones would say, WHOA! Lol...it took me awhile when first reading this to get over my repulsion for Ignatius but I LOVE this book. Being from New Orleans and recognizing some of the inside jokes, of course, makes it sweeter. Even if it doesn't get a nomination, I like your choice!
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For the Pre-1980 group, I nominate Black Wings Has My Angel by Elliott Chaze. This hard-boiled crime novel is a true underrated classic.
I am new to the group, so bear with me, but I do not see "Jordan County," by Shelby Foote in your backlog of discussed or read books. It is a collection of short stories before he wrote his Civil War epics.
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We have not read Jordan County by Shelby Foote, an oversight that I hope will soon be corrected. It has been nominated for the Pre-1980 group.
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Another excellent choice!
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Here is the link to the Post-1980 poll:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...
Here is the link to the Pre-1980 poll:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/1...
The polls will be open until the 31st.
Mod
The polls are now closed and the selections for February have been chosen. Many thanks to all of you who voted. All of the books chosen look really great and I’m certain you will enjoy them.
The winner in the Post-1980 category is The Known World, by Edward P. Jones. The winner in the Pre-1980 category is The Dollmaker, by Harriette Simpson Arnow. Last, but not least, is the Moderator’s Choice selection. Chosen by the indominableMiss Scarlett. Diane has chosen Music of the Swamp, by Lewis Nordan. Lewis Nordan is the author of the first book I read with this group and I am excited to read another book by him.
Also, the discussions boards are up and running for the January selections. They can be found here:
For Pleasantville, by Attica Locke, (Moderator’s Choice):
Initial Impressions: Pleasantville by Attica Locke, January, 2019
Final Impressions: Pleasantville by Attica Locke, January, 2019
For Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo", by Zora Neale Hurston, (Pre-1980):
Initial Impressions: Barracoon, by Zora Neale Hurston, January 2019
Final Impressions: Barracoon, by Zora Neale Hurston, January 2019
For When Saigon Surrendered: A Kentucky Mystery, by James Aura, (Post-1980):
Initial Impressions: When Saigon surrendered, by James Aura, January 2019
Final Impressions: When Saigon surrendered, by James Aura, January 2019
Happy Winter reading!
Big Daddy Tom
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On the Southern Literary Trail
Books mentioned in this topic
The Known World (other topics)Scar Lover (other topics)
Sounder (other topics)
The Dollmaker (other topics)
Music of the Swamp (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Edward P. Jones (other topics)Harry Crews (other topics)
Zora Neale Hurston (other topics)
Shelby Foote (other topics)
Lewis Nordan (other topics)
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It's time to think of February. Of St. Valentine, and the days during which our thoughts are likekly turned to love. So, perhaps you may consider nominating a work whose subject is love in any of its myriad forms. I'm now accepting your nominations for our February, 2019 group reads. Nominations will close December 20, 2018, or upon receiving six nominations in the Pre-1980 and Post-1980 categories; whichever occurs first.
Lawyer Stevens