On the Southern Literary Trail discussion

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General Bookishness > Retired: What are you reading?

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message 3051: by LA (new)

LA | 1333 comments Angela, some narrations are pretty el stinko. The Pecan Man, Hell at the Breech, A Man Called Ove, The Diver's Clothe Lie Empty, and Bird Box were done very well. Rivers was narrated by Michael Farris Smith, and no stink on him, but I heard he had little vocal variety. Serena had a lousy narration too.


message 3052: by LA (new)

LA | 1333 comments Kirk, I got a chicken bone & some gris-gris all lined up for you. We need a New Orleans convention! Maybe Bouchercon? Too soon - September 15?
http://www.bouchercon2016.com


message 3053: by Kirk (new)

Kirk Smith | 101 comments Sweet offer (I think)! That is impressive. "World" Mystery Convention. I hope to hear about it, but that's kind of fast for me to rally. If not for that burdensome thing JOB. Someday I'll be done and kick it to the curb. Great idea though! You are the best at finding fun events ( or creating them)!


message 3054: by LA (new)

LA | 1333 comments Yes, Bouchercon this time is called Blood on the Bayou (it rotates cities every year), and until probably last week I had never heard of it. It is crime-novels and mysteries, but some of our cross over writers will be there, M.O. Walsh in particular. Hubby Joe & I will probably run up to Jackson, Mississippi this Saturday (awesome line up at the MS Book Fest!) and see him there.


message 3055: by Tom, "Big Daddy" (new)

Tom Mathews | 3383 comments Mod
LeAnne wrote: "Question is: do we make her eat a live chicken?
Answer (from Steel Magnolias): not on her first visit!"


##GRIN##


message 3056: by Kirk (new)

Kirk Smith | 101 comments LeAnne wrote: "Yes, Bouchercon this time is called Blood on the Bayou (it rotates cities every year), and until probably last week I had never heard of it. It is crime-novels and mysteries, but some of our cross ..." It does sound good. Nice discoveries are likely! Say, I saw where you mentioned Joe is a big reader. Is he on GR? I can find him in your friends list?? The last couple times I rolled through Jackson it seemed like a city with a nice slow pace. If I could have been on a slow pace myself I would have searched out a Juke Joint with some real blues.


message 3057: by Tom, "Big Daddy" (new)

Tom Mathews | 3383 comments Mod
Kirk wrote: "LeAnne wrote: "Yes, Bouchercon this time is called Blood on the Bayou "

I sooo want to go to that!


message 3058: by Carol (new)

Carol (carolfromnc) LeAnne wrote: "Kirk, I got a chicken bone & some gris-gris all lined up for you. We need a New Orleans convention! Maybe Bouchercon? Too soon - September 15?
http://www.bouchercon2016.com"


Oh, man. How cool is that? Heart be still.


message 3059: by LA (new)

LA | 1333 comments Tom wrote: "Kirk wrote: "LeAnne wrote: "Yes, Bouchercon this time is called Blood on the Bayou "

I sooo want to go to that!"


Looks great, right? Wish I'd known about this sooner so that perhaps a crew might have road tripped down here. That said, mid-September can be iffy for storms here (as the hundreds of thousands of flooded Baton Rouge regional peeps can tell you right now!). If any of y'all ever plan to travel here from mid-August to late September, always buy the 5 dollar travel insurance!

The Louisiana book fest should be in late October, but it is in Baton Rouge - nowhere near as fun as Nola. I'll check in to see if it moves here, in lieu of all the flooding & rebuilding. Will update the group. Seriously, Halloween here? INCREDIBLE. We have a parade for that!


message 3060: by Brina (new)

Brina Anyone interested in an Absalom, Absalom buddy read if it doesn't win?


message 3061: by Dawn (new)

Dawn (goodreadscomdawn_irena) | 250 comments Leanne - I am up for that trip to New Orleans !!! My old roommate from college is there and her hubby is an author too! I wish we could get a group of us together September or October !

Keep us posted !
Dawn


message 3062: by Angela M (last edited Aug 19, 2016 07:45AM) (new)

Angela M I finished The Risen. 4 stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show.... My first Ron Rash book ! I know , I know , what took me so long ?


message 3063: by Faith (new)

Faith | 253 comments I finished Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith. It was my least favorite book of the series. My review is here:

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


message 3064: by LA (new)

LA | 1333 comments Angelaaaaaaaa! I cannot read your Rash review because I want to open the book completely and totally surprised. But yay!


message 3065: by Brina (new)

Brina Ditto. Feel free to pass the arc along my way ;) as I have a feeling library might not have in time for the group read.


message 3066: by Angela M (new)

Angela M LeAnne, there are no spoilers but I'll wait for your response to my reaction to my first Rash book . I'll also be looking for what you think !


message 3067: by Angela M (new)

Angela M Brina , I have an egalley not a hard copy so it's not possible to share .


message 3068: by Brina (new)

Brina Would library possibly have ebook before hard copy? Just a thought. I'll read it when library gets it with the group or later. It will be hard not to peak.


message 3069: by Angela M (new)

Angela M I don't know how your library orders books but I'm sure you can check with them and get your name on the list .


message 3070: by Brina (new)

Brina I'm actually first on list. Thanks to all of my wonderful goodreads friends, I find out about books ahead of time and sign up at the library before anyone. My issue with the library is they take awhile to process the books and I'm impatient :)


message 3072: by Dawn (new)

Dawn (goodreadscomdawn_irena) | 250 comments Angela - I am so jealous right now !!! I just want to cry ! I heart Ron Rash ! I want to peek at your review so bad ! You only gave him 4 stars . That man has a pen of gold and a heart to match ! If his son wasn't married , I would be a stalker just to be in the same family if I just thought I had a chance !

Ha!!!
I am not that crazy but I do love that man's work !

Dawn


message 3073: by Tom, "Big Daddy" (new)

Tom Mathews | 3383 comments Mod
I just started my second run through Rick Bragg's My Southern Journey: True Stories from the Heart of the South. I had forgotten how absolutely magnificent it is. Hell, the introduction alone is worth the price of admission. If you want to know what it is about southern literature that is so special, read that. Every paragraph has a gem of a quote that is immediately topped by another in the next paragraph.
I challenge everyone in this group to go to Amazon and read for free the introduction at the beginning of the book. I am certain that, if you do, you will beg, borrow, and steal, maybe even let the babies go hungry, to get this book. It's that good. It is an absolute treasure.
“We are good at stories. We hoard them, like an old woman in a room full of boxes, but now and then we pull out our best, and spread them out. We talk of the bad years when the cotton didn't open, and the day my cousin Wanda was washed in the Blood. We buff our beloved ancestors until they are smooth of sin, and give our scoundrels a hard shake, although sometimes we can't remember exactly which is who.” - Rick Bragg

My Southern Journey True Stories from the Heart of the South by Rick Bragg


message 3074: by Angela M (new)

Angela M Dawn , 4 stars means I really liked it a lot !


message 3075: by Diane, "Miss Scarlett" (new)

Diane Barnes | 5544 comments Mod
Totally agree, Tom. I have to fight back the tears with every essay I read, even the funny ones.


message 3076: by Jane (new)

Jane | 779 comments Bragg s introduction is so good and I was shocked so much by its beauty I remained speechless for an hour


message 3077: by Tom, "Big Daddy" (new)

Tom Mathews | 3383 comments Mod
Jane wrote: "Bragg s introduction is so good and I was shocked so much by its beauty I remained speechless for an hour"

I'm listening to the audio version recorded by Rick that I checked out from the library. I've pretty much decided to get it from Audible so that I can listen to it over and over while driving. I've never done that before.


message 3078: by Jane (new)

Jane | 779 comments I listen to my audio version sometimes just for half an hour or less I love it


message 3079: by Jane (new)

Jane | 779 comments I am reading Sugar by Bernice L McFadden and it is really excellent !

I am a little late picking this one up and I am sure many of you have already read it , if not , get a copy now


message 3080: by Carol (new)

Carol (carolfromnc) Jane wrote: "I am reading Sugar by Bernice L McFadden and it is really excellent !

I am a little late picking this one up and I am sure many of you have already read it , if not , get a copy now"


I've wanted to read Sugar for forever. Thanks for the reminder.


message 3081: by Jane (new)

Jane | 779 comments I am one third through Suzanne Feldman s novel , "Absalom s Daughters" , not sure what to think yet.

It started off well enough and the female characters are interesting there are a couple of hiccups concerning plot


message 3082: by Kim (new)

Kim (kim1974) | 108 comments I am currently reading THE THREAD THAT RUNS SO TRUE by JESSE STUART


message 3083: by Kim (new)

Kim Kaso | 602 comments Does that mean the box arrived?


message 3084: by Diane S ☔ (last edited Aug 20, 2016 03:28PM) (new)

Diane S ☔ Finished The Current That Carries: Stories The Current That Carries Stories by Lisa Graley
This book of, short stories won the Flannery O'Connor award
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 3085: by Kim (new)

Kim (kim1974) | 108 comments Kim wrote: "Does that mean the box arrived?"

yes got the box this morning in the mail thanks for the books


message 3086: by LA (new)

LA | 1333 comments Yowzer - just finished our group read, The Death of Sweet Mister! It is an uncomfortable read and distinctly painful in a couple of places, but whoah - Daniel Woodrell will suck your emotions right in and keep you locked there til this short book ends. For those of you who weren't in the right frame of mind to do a Woodrell book this month, here is my review - I do not do any spoilers or book reports. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Am re-reading a fantastic contemporary novel called Divers clothes lie empty for one of my book clubs and also about to start something I don't want for the other local book club - The Girls. Anybody here have comments on either of those two?


message 3087: by Sue (new)

Sue | 760 comments Tom wrote: "I just started my second run through Rick Bragg's My Southern Journey: True Stories from the Heart of the South. I had forgotten how absolutely magnificent it is. Hell, the introduc..."

Tom, you got me! I just put the book on hold at the library.


message 3088: by Angela M (new)

Angela M I finished Addlands: A Novel. 3.5 stars . My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


message 3089: by LA (new)

LA | 1333 comments Y'all Im looking for a few suggestions for One of my book clubs. This is the one that I started last December and have tried to make it a coed club for our neighborhood. We did City of Thieves, Man Called Ovd, Rivers, The Clearing, and A Constellation of Vital Phenomena - plus others that were more female oriented (Rosie Project, Pettigrew, Divers Clothes - current read).

Aside from my husband, now the guys are finally starting to show up! I need GUY BOOKS that wont distance the milder females (The Clearing was only enjoyed by half the women). The River of Doubt & The Revenant are fab, but I can see some women being bored. Maybe My Sunshine Away??

Help?? Gracias!!


message 3090: by Brina (new)

Brina Detective books!! In the Heat of the Night is short and generates discussion. Guys have no excuses to not read it. Also, The Covenant of Death is more of a guy story. One of John Hart's thrillers???
Baseball/football books-- Grisham's sports books are better written these days than his courtroom books. Playing for Pizza, Calico Joe, Painted House. I'll think if there's a NO themed baseball book, can't think of one off the to of my head.


message 3091: by Tom, "Big Daddy" (new)

Tom Mathews | 3383 comments Mod
LeAnne wrote: "Y'all Im looking for a few suggestions for One of my book clubs. This is the one that I started last December and have tried to make it a coed club for our neighborhood. We did City of Thieves, Man..."

I suggest either of two books by Mary Doria Russell, Doc is a novelized biography of John 'Doc' Holliday. The other is, so far, my favorite book of the decade. The Sparrow is, on the face of it, the story of man's first contact with an alien race, but it is much, much more. This is one of those books you have to take on faith when someone recommends it.


message 3092: by Kirk (new)

Kirk Smith | 101 comments LeAnne wrote: "Y'all Im looking for a few suggestions for One of my book clubs. This is the one that I started last December and have tried to make it a coed club for our neighborhood. We did City of Thieves, Man..." Stillwater by Nicole Helget and Little Wolves by Thomas Maltman are possible gender-centric choices. They have enough going on to hold guys attention, but the stories lean towards interpretive symbolism, the kind that would fire good discussions. Just throwing it out there.


message 3093: by Faith (new)

Faith | 253 comments LeAnne wrote: "Y'all Im looking for a few suggestions for One of my book clubs. This is the one that I started last December and have tried to make it a coed club for our neighborhood. We did City of Thieves, Man..."

Dodgers by Bill Beverly
Brighton by Michael Harvey
Before the Fall by Noah Hawley


message 3094: by Laura, "The Tall Woman" (new)

Laura | 2848 comments Mod
I will second both books by Kirk.


message 3095: by Diane S ☔ (last edited Aug 23, 2016 04:02AM) (new)

Diane S ☔ The Sisters Brothers was one the men and some women seemed to like.


message 3097: by LA (new)

LA | 1333 comments Diane S ☔ wrote: "The Sisters Brothers was one the men and some women seemed to like."

LOVED The Sisters Brothers.


message 3098: by LA (new)

LA | 1333 comments Thank you all for the suggestions! It isn't easy to find something discussion-worthy, not too long, not too quirky, not too graphic, not too Fabio-kiss-me, gender-centric, and that does not involve a suicide somewhere (we had two kids at the high school die by their own hands in May).


message 3099: by Brina (new)

Brina I'm curious what you end up picking. Ooh I forgot Erik Larson-- his history books that are officially categorized as historical fiction. Guys love those.


message 3100: by Diane, "Miss Scarlett" (new)

Diane Barnes | 5544 comments Mod
LeAnne, Tom's MOD choice for September is a great one for a discussion of what it means to be southern. I can't imagine anyone not liking it. And even though it's not a novel, but essays, there's lots to get enthused about. And THE FOOD, OMG, THE FOOD! Rick Bragg actually lived in New Orleans at one time.


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