On the Southern Literary Trail discussion

What do you want to be reading on election day? We are now accepting nominations for our two reading selections, books published in 1980 or before, and books published after 1980. Nominations will stay open for one week or until we have six nominations for each category. As always, the books must be considered southern literature.

The nominations are now closed. The nominations are:
Post-1980
1. A Gracious Plenty, by Sheri Reynolds
2. The Barrowfields, by Phillip Lewis
3. Miss Jane, by Brad Watson
4. Squeeze Me, by Carl Hiaasen
5. Holding On To Nothing, by Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne
6. A Turn In The South, by V.S. Naipaul
Books published in 1980 or before
1. The Memory of Old Jack, by Wendell Berry
2. Weeds, by Edith Summers Kelley
3. Vein of Iron, by Ellen Glasgow
4. A Fable, by William Faulkner
5. A Curtain of Green and Other Stories, by Eudora Welty
6. Horseman, Pass By, by Larry McMurtry

I would like to recommend A Gracious Plenty by Sheri Reynolds for the Post-1980.

Post 1980- The Barrowfields

Pre 1980-The Memory of Old Jack

Post 1980 - Miss Jane

Pre 1980 - Weeds

I would like to nominate Squeeze Me by Carl Hiassen for post 1980.

1935 - Ellen Glasgow

Vein of Iron

A novel that takes place in the Valley of Virginia, tracing the experience of a family with four generations of strong women.

I would like to nominate 'A Fable' by William Faulkner

Alan wrote: "I would like to nominate 'A Fable' by William Faulkner"

I assume that you want to nominate this for the Pre-1980 group.

May I make a second nomination for a post 1980 November read? Perhaps one is allowed to make only one nomination for each category. Please advise Tom.

A Curtain of Green and Other Stories by Eudora Welty.

Pre-1980.

2019

Holding On To Nothing

Lucy Kilgore has her bags packed for her escape from her rural Tennessee upbringing, but a drunken mistake forever tethers her to the town and one of its least-admired residents, Jeptha Taylor, who becomes the father of her child. Together, these two young people work to form a family, though neither has any idea how to accomplish that, and the odds are against them in a place with little to offer other than tobacco fields, a bluegrass bar, and a Walmart full of beer and firearms for the hunting season. Their path is harrowing, but Lucy and Jeptha are characters to love, and readers will root for their success in a novel so riveting that no one will want to turn out the light until they know whether this family will survive.

In luminous prose, debut novelist Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne brings us a present-day Appalachian story in the tradition of Lee Smith, Silas House, and Wiley Cash, cast without sentiment or cliché, but with a genuine and profound understanding of the place and its people.

Judi wrote: "May I make a second nomination for a post 1980 November read? Perhaps one is allowed to make only one nomination for each category. Please advise Tom."

Hi Judi. The policy is one nomination per category. If you have another good suggestion, please hold onto it and give it to us next month.

Judi, only one nomination per category. Save the other one for next month.

Post-1980
AMONG THE BELIEVERS, A TURN IN THE SOUTH by V.S. Naipaul.

Non-fiction but very insightful of the various dimensions and cultures within the Southern Region. Many comparisons and contrasts with Naipaul's native Trinidad.

Erin wrote: "Post-1980
AMONG THE BELIEVERS, A TURN IN THE SOUTH by V.S. Naipaul.

Non-fiction but very insightful of the various dimensions and cultures within the Southern Region. Many comparisons and contrast..."

I didn't find the title you provided but I'm guessing that A Turn In The South is the book you are referring to. My initial thought was to disqualify it using the argument that the author being a native of Trinidad made it unlikely that he could provide an insightful view of southern life. Then I read the book's description and it occurred to me that one of the most insightful portrayals of the United States was penned by another foreigner, Alexis de Tocqueville. With that thought in mind, I'm inclined to accept this nomination.

This wraps up the Post-1980 nominations. I will keep the nominations open for another day or so to see if there is another Pre-1980 nomination.

Thank you, Tom.
I wouldn't have proposed this book if I didn't think it had a lot to offer our group and be fruitful for discussion. It may need a note when listed for the group vote- maybe an asterisk* (non-fiction by well-known writer traveling thematically to discover the culture(s) and history of the South.)

For a pre-1980, you might concider, Horseman, Pass By by Larry McMurtry, published in 1961. This is McMurtry's first book and became the movie Hud.

And that wraps up the nominations. Thanks all for your excellent suggestions.

The polls for the November nominations are now up and running. Looks like a lot of great ones this time, may be hard to choose.

This will be my first ever group read!

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/6...

I posted to the link in case folks were using the app. Hard to find if not on laptop/desktop

Thanks, Laura. I do most everything on GR off the app, so the link helped and works 👍

You are welcome. I’m a major app user but it sure doesn’t have all the conveniences of the desktop version.