Now accepting nominations for May, 2021, Group Reads

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

Greetings all!

The Southern Literary Trail Reading Collective is now accepting nominations for books that the group will be reading in May, 2021.

We will consider books with a southern literary theme that have not been read by the group in the last 24 months. As always, there are two categories, books originally published before 1980 or those published in or after 1980. You may make one nomination in each category. Authors may not nominate their own works. Please post your nominations below and specify which category you are nominating it for.

Nominations will stay open for one week or until we receive six nominations in each category. Voting will take place in the first ten days of next month.

The eligible nominations received will be listed below:

Pre-1980 Nominations
1. The Year the Lights Came on, by Terry Kay
2. Addie Pray (aka Paper Moon), by Joe David Brown
3. Catherine Carmier, by Ernest J. Gaines
4. The Optimist's Daughter, by Eudora Welty
5. Oh, Promised Land, by James H. Street
6. Stories from Home, by Jerry Clower

Post-1980 Nominations
1. The Dry Grass of August, by Anna Jean Mayhew
2. We Cast a Shadow, by Maurice Carlos Ruffin
3. Refuge: A Novel, by Dot Jackson
4. Cataloochee, by Wayne Caldwell
5. Salvage the Bones, by Jesmyn Ward
6. The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had, by Kristin Levine

The nominations are now closed for both categories.

[John]

For the post-1980 read, I would like to recommend The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew.

[Laura, "The Tall Woman"]

Pre 1980 Terry Kay The Year the Lights Came on

[Nicole]

Post 1980: We Cast A Shadow Maurice Carlos Ruffin

[ALLEN]

Pre-1980: I'd like to recommend ADDIE PRAY by Joe David Brown (1971), which was later renamed PAPER MOON after the 1973 movie.

[Diane, "Miss Scarlett"]

Pre-1980: Catherine Carmier, by Ernest J. Gaines
Published 1944

Post-1980: Refuge: A Novel, by Dot Jackson

[Judi]

For Post 1980 Salvage The Bones by Jesmyn Ward 2011
For Pre 1980 The Optimist's Daughter by Eudora Welty 1972

Thank you.

[Sara]

Post 1980 - Cataloochee by Wayne Caldwell

I already had this on my "short-list" but having just read Woodsmoke, I realized I need to get to this pretty much now.

[Esther]

For Post 1980: It appears to be a futile effort but I'll again nominate The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

Esther wrote: "For Post 1980: It appears to be a futile effort but I'll again nominate The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had"

I wouldn't be so negative. It looks like an interesting story and it came in a close second the last time it was nominated.

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

We have six nominations for the Post-1980 category so the nominations are closed.

There is still room for two more pre-1980 nominations.

[Lori]

There are some really good choices already. I will nominate for pre-1980 Spencer's Mountain by Earl Hamner Jr.. It was the book that inspired The Walton's tv show.

[Judith]

I nominate Oh Promise Land by James Street.

[Tina]

Pre-1980

Stories from Home - Jerry Clower

Yarns from the Mississippi-born comedian declared the funniest American storyteller since Will Rogers

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

And with that, the nominations are now closed.

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

The polls are up and will open tomorrow for the May selections. Thanks to all of you who nominated and to all of you who participate. There are some incredible nominations on the ballot.
For the Pre-1980 nominations, Vote here!

For the Post-1980 poll, Vote here!

The polls will remain open until the 10th.

In addition, the discussion boards are up and ready for your thoughts on the April selections. They can be found here:

For Knight's Gambit, by William Faulkner, (Moderator’s Choice):
Initial Impressions: Knight's Gambit, by William Faulkner - April 2021
Final Impressions: Knight's Gambit, by William Faulkner - April 2021

For The Great Santini, by Pat Conroy, (Pre-1980):
Initial Impressions: The Great Santini, by Pat Conroy - April 2021
Final Impressions: The Great Santini, by Pat Conroy - April 2021

For The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy, (Post-1980):
Initial Impressions: The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy- April 2021
Final Impressions: The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy- April 2021

Happy reading!

Big Daddy Tom