Where I Come From: Stories from the Deep South by Rick Bragg, 4 stars

[Holly R W]

Rick Bragg's book of his best columns from the magazines, Southern Living and Garden and Gun, was a joy to read. I suppose it was time for me to read a book written by a white male living in Alabama who is a proud Southerner. After all, I have been reading about many other diverse identities.

Bragg writes humorously about a whole range of subjects, all very interesting. And when I say humorously, I mean that I burst out laughing at several places in the book. Here is how he describes giving gifts to his hard to please mother, whom he calls Momma:

"I got her a classic, two-tone blue 1956 Chevrolet. She used it as a greenhouse. I got her a house. It had too many light bulbs... I got her false teeth. She spit them out in the weeds, just outside Pell City, Alabama."

His descriptions of food seriously made me hungry. I had to stop reading and go get something to eat. His descriptions of Po Boy sandwiches made my mouth water.

For years, my husband has been asking me to travel to New Orleans, a city I have had no real interest in. Well now, after reading about Bragg's experiences there, all of a sudden I would like to visit New Orleans.

These are just some of my impressions. Bragg is a talented writer. His love of home, family and southern living pours through in his writing, whether it be about fishing, church, country music, pickup trucks or pocket knives. He writes with intelligence and warmth.