Retired: What are you reading? Showing 5,451-5,490 of 5,490

[Dave, "Red Sammy"]

I think that speaks for itself Diane

[Laura, "The Tall Woman"]

James is excellent. Can’t put down read, finished in 2 days. I went into it blindly.

[Faith]

My review of The Survivors of the Clotilda: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the American Slave Trade by Hannah Durkin

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Connie]

Dave wrote: "‘I’d love a scathing review’: novelist Percival Everett on American Fiction and rewriting Huckleberry Finn
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...-..."

Dave, thanks for sharing the Guardian review. The book has been getting stellar ratings!

[Dave, "Red Sammy"]

Connie wrote: "Dave wrote: "‘I’d love a scathing review’: novelist Percival Everett on American Fiction and rewriting Huckleberry Finn
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202......"

Isn't it just! Pretty much 5 stars from everyone. I'm going to hold back a little, maybe get to it in the summer. But it's certainly one to look forward to.

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished another excellent noir crime novel by one of my favorite authors


The Getaway by Jim Thompson
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Book Concierge]

The Starlite Drive-In – Marjorie Reynolds – 3.5***
The discovery of human bones when developers begin demolishing the old Starlite Drive-In site takes Callie Anne Benton back to her childhood. She was twelve the summer of 1956, when she experienced first love and began to understand the complexities of adult relationships. A great coming-of-age story that captivated me from beginning to end.
LINK to my full review

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished the short story collection


The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I also finished the historical non-fiction book


Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors by Stephen E. Ambrose
Rating: 4 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

which is not really "Southern Literature" but it does work as a coda to the Civil War.

[Faith]

My review of The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Cathrine ☯️]

Thoughts on my reread of Beach Music by the one and only Pat Conroy.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Book Concierge]

A Hope Divided – Alyssa Cole – 3***
Book number two in the Loyal League series of Civil-War-era romances. Healer and free woman Marlie Lynch meets Union soldier and prisoner-of-war Ewan McCall when she goes to tend to the men at the nearby prison. Before long they are fleeing together from the Home Guard. It’s a pretty typical romance.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

The Color Purple – Alice Walker - 5***** and a ❤
Walker’s choice to write the book as a series of letters (or diary entries) really gives the reader the chance to hear Celie. There are moments of despair, of sorrow, and a very few of joy. Celie is an extraordinary woman and watching her grow from a scared girl to a confident, in-charge woman is fascinating and uplifting.
LINK to my full review

[Dave, "Red Sammy"]

https://www.theguardian.com/books/art...

[John]

I have started, and am proceeding at a measured pace with my other reading, William Styron’s The Confessions of Nat Turner. I have read a good number of Styron’s various essays over the years and he is as fine a prose stylist as there is, in my opinion. But I have not read any of his fiction.

As a child, I remember this novel on the shelf at home. My parents were Book of the Month Club members and this novel was a major selection at the time. I remember the bright orange book jacket and although I am reading the Nook version, I still selected the original Random House hardcover because that is what I remember of this book.

[Cynda]

John I read The Confessions of Nat Turner years ago, 25 or 30 years ago. But I have never read his essays. Sounds like something to do.

[Cynda]

Rising Tide: the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America by John M. Barry. I have had it on my tbr for years. When Tom talked about it this year, I knew I had to finally read. Starting tonight.

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

Cynda wrote: "Rising Tide: the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America by John M. Barry. I have had it on my tbr for years. When Tom talked about it this year, I kn..."

Enjoy!

[John]

Cynda wrote: "John I read The Confessions of Nat Turner years ago, 25 or 30 years ago. But I have never read his essays. Sounds like something to do."

Cynda, the book of his essays I read and enjoyed was: Havanas in Camelot: Personal Essays

[Cynda]

I will see if I can find that ir another collection among the different services I use. Thanks John :)

[Cathrine ☯️]

Another history winner.
Our Southern Highlanders: Introduction By George Ellison by Horace Kephart.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

I just finished An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s, a great memoir by my favorite presidential historian. I highly recommend it.

Here's my review.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

[John]

I noticed next month’s author also has a very interesting book about southern cooking.

Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks

A few years back I read a similar book: Bound to the Fire: How Virginia's Enslaved Cooks Helped Invent American Cuisine. It was excellent and I thought the author did a great job with what must have been difficult research in finding recipes and stories.

[Franky]

I finished up reading Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I finished Mark Twain's account of his various adventures in the American Wild West


Roughing It by Mark Twain
Rating: 3 stars
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Book Concierge]

The Queen of Sugar Hill – ReShonda Tate – 3.5***
Subtitle: A Novel of Hattie McDaniel. Tate’s novel begins with the Oscar ceremony when McDaniel won for best supporting actress for her portrayal of Mammy in GONE WITH THE WIND. But Hattie McDaniel was so much more than that iconic role, and Tate gives us all of her. Having read this book, I have a new appreciation for the trailblazing that McDaniel and other Black actors of her generation did.
LINK to my full review

[Dave, "Red Sammy"]

Hawk's Nest by Hubert Skidmore is a book that deserves to be read more.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Patrick]

Erskine Caldwell was one of the first authors associated with the “Southern Gothic” tag. I read God’s Little Acre a number of years back and found it brutally funny; now I’m starting on his other most famous novel, Tobacco Road. Caldwell is not exactly politically correct - no writer who specializes in the grotesque is - and really upsets some readers.

[Book Concierge]

More like a warning ...


Elvis And the Dearly Departed – Peggy Webb – 1*
I like a cute and sassy cozy mystery as well as any reader. I love eccentric characters and outlandish plots. But I DO expect at least a semblance of a coherent plot. And at least SOME law enforcement involvement. In this case, I think the author was trying way too hard to make this “cute” and “sassy” and failed to deliver any plot worth remembering.
LINK to my full review

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

Anybody looking for a book to nominate may want to tale a look at the 2025 Southern Book Prize Finalists list recently released by the The Southern Bookseller Review.

https://thesouthernbooksellerreview.o...

[Faith]

My review of They All Fall the Same by Wes Browne

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Book Concierge]

Raymie Nightingale – Kate DiCamillo – 4****
On the first day of baton-twirling lessons, Raymie Clarke meets Louisiana Elefante and Beverly Tapinski, her fellow competitors in the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition. This is a lovely coming-of-age tale suitable for the middle-school crowd, where three girls with different circumstances form a bond of friendship. As far as I’m concerned, these three girls are ALL winners.
LINK to my full review

[Book Concierge]

Perhaps we could get a new thread for our reviews? This one is getting very long and GoodReads has had issues in the past for threads that have more than 100 pages.

[Tom, "Big Daddy"]

What kinds of issues have you seen? I'm unaware of any.

[Diane, "Miss Scarlett"]

I just set up a new topic for What are you reading 2025. Im not aware of any issues either, but it was getting long and unwieldy to navigate. Thanks Book Concierge.

[Faith]

My review of Somewhere Toward Freedom: Sherman's March and the Story of America's Largest Emancipation by Bennett Parten

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Georgia]

Rereadings are worth it. I just finished Sophie's Choice by William Styron. My review is herehttps://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[John]

I saw this book and wondered if anyone was familiar with it or the author. It is set in North Carolina.

Happy Land

[Dave, "Red Sammy"]

John wrote: "I saw this book and wondered if anyone was familiar with it or the author. It is set in North Carolina.

Happy Land"

It looks like an intriguing read, John. I've always wanted to read Take My Hand

[John]

Dave wrote: "John wrote: "I saw this book and wondered if anyone was familiar with it or the author. It is set in North Carolina.

Happy Land"

It looks like an intriguing read, John. I've alwa..."

I was reading a little more about this novel, Dave. I may read it, but my initial reaction is this might have been better as a non-fictional look at this commune in North Carolina.