Now accepting nominations for December, 2019, Group Reads

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

It's time to start nominating books that we will be reading in December. As always, nominations will remain open until we have received six nominations in the Pre and Post 1980 categories or until October 25th, whichever occurs first.


UPDATE:
We now have seven nominations for the Post-1980 group so that group is closed. The nominations are:
1. Clay's Quilt, by Silas House
2. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson
3. Praying for Sheetrock: A Work of Nonfiction, by Melissa Fay Greene
4. The Elementals, by Michael McDowell
5. Four Spirits, by Sena Jeter Naslund
6. The Cumberland Killers: A Kentucky Mystery, by James Aura
7. The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion, by Fannie Flagg

The Pre-1980 nominations received to date are listed below. We have room for a couple more.
1. The Violent Bear It Away, by Flannery O'Connor
2. Black Wings Has My Angel by Elliott Chaze
3. Outer Dark, by Cormac McCarthy
4. The Memory of Old Jack, by Wendell Berry
5. The Sound and the Fury, by William Faulkner
6. Lamb in His Bosom, by Caroline Miller

[Cathrine ☯️]

For post 1980 I nominate
Clay's Quilt by Silas House

[John]

For post 1980, I would like to recommend The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson.

[Tina]

Post 1980: Praying for Sheetrock: A Work of Nonfiction

Finalist for the 1991 National Book Award and a New York Times Notable book, Praying for Sheetrock is the story of McIntosh County, a small, isolated, and lovely place on the flowery coast of Georgia--and a county where, in the 1970s, the white sheriff still wielded all the power, controlling everything and everybody. Somehow the sweeping changes of the civil rights movement managed to bypass McIntosh entirely. It took one uneducated, unemployed black man, Thurnell Alston, to challenge the sheriff and his courthouse gang--and to change the way of life in this community forever. "An inspiring and absorbing account of the struggle for human dignity and racial equality" (Coretta Scott King) (less)

[Vic]

For pre-1980, I'd like to nominate Flannery O'Connor's The Violent Bear It Away

[Diane, "Miss Scarlett"]

Kathryn, The Quiet American does not qualify as southern literature. Greene was an English author, and the setting of the book is Vietnam.

[Kathryn in FL]

Diane wrote: "Kathryn, The Quiet American does not qualify as southern literature. Greene was an English author, and the setting of the book is Vietnam."

Oops, sorry Diane, I have deleted. Color me seriously embarrassed!

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

Kathryn in FL wrote: "Oops, sorry Diane, I have deleted. Color me seriously embarrassed!.."

No problem. It is a fantastic book that I highly recommend, just not for this group.

[Lawyer, "Moderator Emeritus"]

Tom, many thanks for opening the nominations for December. I have been under the weather going on a week now. Eager to see the nominations.

[Judi]

For Post 1980 December Read I nominate The Elementals by Michael McDowell.
For Pre 1980 December Read I nominate Black Wings Has My Angel by Elliott Chaze.

[Brennan]

For post 1980, I nominate Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund. It is a historical novel of the civil rights era in my home town of Birmingham.

[Margaret]

For pre-1980 I'll nominate Outer Dark by Cormac McCarthy
and for post-1980 The Cumberland Killers: A Kentucky Mystery by James Aura.

[Tracey]

For pre-1980: The Memory of Old Jack by Wendell Berry

For post-1980: The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

I believe the dance card for the Post-1980 list is full. We still need some Pre-1980 nominations, though.

[Kathryn in FL]

I nominate The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner

Thank you.

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

Thank you Kathryn and Quinn. And with that, the nominations are now closed. I hope to get the polls up by this evening with voting through the end of the month.

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

The Polls are up and running for the December selections. Thanks to all of you who nominated and to all of you who participate.
For the Pre-1980 poll, Vote here!

For the Post-1980 poll, Vote here!

Many thanks to Diane for selecting Christmas in the South: Holiday Stories from the South's Best Writers as the moderator's choice selection for December. This anthology contains many works that are familiar to this group but it may be hard to track down copies so we advise you to start looking early.