On the Southern Literary Trail discussion

Greetings all! We now have a full slate of nominations for the Southern Literary Trail book selections for the month of August, 2020. I sill set up the polls and post them by tomorrow at the latest. Two books will be chosen, one published in 1980 or before and one published after 1980.

The nominations are:
Pre-1980
1. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Ann Jacobs
2. Men of the Mountains, by Jesse Stuart
3. The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, by John Fox Jr.
4. The Violent Bear It Away, by Flannery O'Connor
5. A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole
6. Black Boy, by Richard Wright

Post-1980
1. Desperation Road, by Michael Farris Smith
2. Hard Cash Valley, by Brian Panowich
3. Quite a Year for Plums, by Bailey White
4. Above the Waterfall, by Ron Rash
5. The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had, by Kristin Levine
6. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy

Post 1980 Desperation Road by Michael Farris Smith
Pre 1980 Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Ann Jacobs

I like your heading, Tom. Now we can see exactly where we are and what we need.

Post-1980 Recommendation:

Hard Cash Valley by Brian Panowich

For pre 1980


https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7...

POST 1980
Quite a Year for Plums by Bailey White

John wrote: "Post-1980 Recommendation:

Hard Cash Valley by Brian Panowich"

Oh dear. Now I need to read the second book.

I would like to nominate True Grit by Charles Portis for the Pre 1980 August read.
I would like to nominate Above The Waterfall by Ron Rash for the Post 1980 August read.

Thanks.

Pre 1980:
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine

John Fox Jr. published this great romantic novel of the Cumberland Mountains of Kentucky and Virginia in 1908, and the book quickly became one of America's favorites. It has all the elements of a good romance -- a superior but natural heroine, a hero who is an agent of progress and enlightenment, a group of supposedly benighted mountaineers to be drawn into the flow of mainstream American culture, a generous dose of social and class struggle, and a setting among the misty coves and cliffs of the blue Cumberlands.

Reprinted with a foreword by John Ed Pearce, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine has all the excitement and poignance that caught and held readers' interest when the book first appeared.

Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Pre-1980 nomination, please.
The Violent Bear It Away

Judi wrote: "I would like to nominate True Grit by Charles Portis for the Pre 1980 August read.
I would like to nominate Above The Waterfall by Ron Rash for the Post 1980 August read.
Thanks."

Hi Judi,
I highly encourage you to read True Grit but it was read by the group in April so it won't be eligible again for a long time. Fell free to nominate something else.

Above the Waterfall was last read by the group in 2015 so it is eligible and nominated.

Wyndy wrote: "Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Pre-1980 nomination, please.
The Violent Bear It Away"

Keep trying. It wouldn't hurt to point out that it's available on Kindle for only $3.00.

Tom wrote: "Judi wrote: "I would like to nominate True Grit by Charles Portis for the Pre 1980 August read.
I would like to nominate Above The Waterfall by Ron Rash for the Post 1980 August read.
Thanks."

Hi ..." Thanks Tom.

I would like to nominate Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. I don't know if it qualifies as Pre-1980 or Post - 1980. John Kennedy Toole, the writer, died in 1969. It was first "published" in 1980/1981. Please advise.

For post 1980 how about The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had

We have one more slot open in each category. Any suggestions?

The Road, Cormac McCarthy post 1980

How about Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
by Allan Gurganus for pre 1980?

Kathryn, great book, but it was published in 1984.

This one is long at 400 pages but for pre-1980, I’ll nominate Black Boy. It has been on my to-read list for years. Originally published in 1945.

That does it. Nominations are now closed.

Diane, sorry. I noticed that before and forgot. I had almost nominated it earlier this week. Thanks for your sharp eye! : D

The Polls are up and running for the August selections. Thanks to all of you who nominated and to all of you who participate.

For the Pre-1980 Poll Vote here!

For the Post-1980 poll, Vote here!

Many thanks to Miss Scarlett Diane for choosing Hannah Coulter, by Wendell Berry as the Moderator's Choice selection for August.

The polls will be open until June 27th. In the interests of heath and safety, all voting will be done online. ;>)

Hannah Coulter! Yesss!

Welcome to July Trail riders!

The polls are now closed and the selections for August have been chosen.

The winner in the Post-1980 is The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. The winner in the Pre-1980 category is as yet undecided. The tiebreaker poll will end tonight and, as of this writing, The Violent Bear It Away holds a comfortable lead over A Confederacy of Dunces. Check here tomorrow for the results.

Finally, for the Moderator’s Choice selection, Miss Scarlett (aka Diane) has chosen Hannah Coulter, by Wendell Berry as the August Moderator's choice.

Also, the discussions boards are up and running for the July selections. They can be found here:

For A Cry of Angels, by Jeff Fields. (Moderator’s Choice):
Initial Impressions: A Cry of Angels, by Jeff Fields - July 2020
Final Impressions: A Cry of Angels, by Jeff Fields - July 2020

As we have previously read The Tall Woman, by Wilma Dykeman, (Pre-1980), we will continue using discussion boards from previous readings:
Initial Impressions: The Tall Woman, by Wilma Dykeman - July 2020
Final Impressions: The Tall Woman, by Wilma Dykeman - July 2020

For Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Ann Burns, (Post-1980):
Initial Impressions: Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Ann Burns - July 2020

Final Impressions: Final Impressions: Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Ann Burns - July 2020

Stay safe. For the Americans in the group Enjoy your Independence Day celebrations, preferably independently. If you find the separation depressing, keep in mind these words by the recently departed Vera Lynn. We’ll meet again.

Happy reading!