On the Southern Literary Trail discussion

As you are marking your ballots and deciding how you will vote in the upcoming election, don't forget that in the first week in November you will be asked to cast another vote which, while not quite as important as the national election, may have an impact on your reading during the December. To that end, we first need you to let us know your thoughts on what we'll be voting on.
As always, there are two categories, books originally published before 1980 or those published in or after 1980. You are entitled to make a nomination in each category. Nominations will stay open for one week or until we receive six nominations in each category. Books read by the group in the last 24 months are not eligible.

That's my stump speech. Now get out there and nominate something.
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Here are the nominations we have received to date.

Pre-1980 nominations
1. The Hard Blue Sky, by Shirley Ann Grau
2. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
3. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain
4. Of Love and Dust, by Ernest J. Gaines
5. The Reivers, by William Faulkner
6. A Death in the Family, by James Agee

Post-1980 nominations
1. Call Your Daughter Home, by Deb Spera
2. Hard Cash Valley, by Brian Panowich
3. Sugar, by Bernice L. McFadden
4. Blacktop Wasteland, by S.A. Cosby
5. My Dog Skip, by Willie Morris
6. Where I Come from: Stories from the Deep South, by Rick Bragg

Thank you, Tom!

T Rose....did you mention My Dog Skip?

I'll nominate Call Your Daughter Home by Deb Spera for post-1980.

I'll nominate Hard Cash Valley by Brian Panowich for the post-1980.

Yes! I did!

I wasn't sure if My Dog Skip had already been read. I am new to this group. Also, another Willie Morris book I am interested in is My Cat Spit McGee.

I don’t think we’ve read My Dog Skip and certainly not in last 24 months but of course you don’t have to nominate it. The post 1980 fill up fast while pre1980 allows you a little time.

We have not read My Dog Skip in this group.

I nominate "Sugar" (Sugar Lacey #1) by Bernice L. McFadden for a post 1980 story

T. Rose: Make a formal nomination to have it counted by Tom.

I would like to nominate Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby for December's Post 1980 read. Thank you.

For whatever reason, we seem to have trouble getting nominations for pre-1980. So I'll jump in and nominate "The Hard Blue Sky" by Shirley Ann Grau. Published in 1955.

I nominate My Dog Skip, okay? I am a newbie and help me out if I mess up, ya'll...

For pre-1980, I’d like to nominate Of Love And Dust, originally published in 1967.

Pre-1980 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston? The already read list will not load for me for some reason.

Excellent nominations, T. Rose. I’m familiar with both of the novels you picked but haven’t read either. Here’s a link to the group bookshelf for future reference. Hope the link works! Welcome aboard.
https://www.goodreads.com/group/books...

Wyndy, thanks!! I does work!

This may be a long shot, but I don’t think I saw it on the bookshelf. Many have probably read it, but me.

For pre 1980 I’d like to nominate The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Lori, I want to read some Faulkner, too!

Lori wrote: "This may be a long shot, but I don’t think I saw it on the bookshelf. Many have probably read it, but me.

For pre 1980 I’d like to nominate The Sound and the Fury by William F..."

It's an excellent choice, but one that we read last December. There are other Faulkner books that you may nominate. I don't think we have ever read Collected Stories of William Faulkner.

Tom wrote: "Lori wrote: "This may be a long shot, but I don’t think I saw it on the bookshelf. Many have probably read it, but me.

For pre 1980 I’d like to nominate The Sound and the Fury by Will..."

Tom, I looked at that one and its 900 pages!! Yikes!

Can I try a different one? Fingers crossed...

For pre 1980's I'd like to nominate The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

Not sure whether my pre-1980 ‘Of Love and Dust’ nomination failed to qualify or just got lost in the thread. It looks like the group last read it in September 2018 (?) which puts it beyond the 24-month rule. But my Covid brain may have missed something 😉

I tried to add it to Tom's list today, but I can't add to his comment. He may have just overlooked it.

As far Faulkner goes, I'm interested in The Reivers, eligible?

I am interested in anything Faulkner just because I have never gotten around to reading his works like a Mississippi gal probably should have.

The reivers is eligible, Bob. We read it once many years ago, but it's been a long while.

I would like to nominate A Death In The Family by James Agee for the December 2020 Pre-1980 read. Thank you.

"The Reivers" sounds great! It would be my first completed Faulkner read(hopefully)! I've felt I need help tackling his work after earlier efforts.

Diane wrote: "I tried to add it to Tom's list today, but I can't add to his comment. He may have just overlooked it."

He did. These old eyes don't catch everything. Lawyer last picked this in 2018 so it is eligible.

I have a fear of Faulkner, it is based on only one book, The Sound and the Fury. I admired it on one level while on another, I felt I wasted my valuable time. Later I read A Rose for Emily and Barn Burning, both I think are masterful. Faulkner is is to large a presence in American literature to not explore. It's not fair for me to judge his worth with just one novel and two short stories. However, the one that intrigues me the most is The Reivers. So I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Lori wrote: "re Collected Stories of William Faulkner, Tom, I looked at that one and its 900 pages!! Yikes!

It's stories. You don't have to read them all. I may pick it as a Mod choice sometime and say "Pick any 10 stories".

Bob wrote: "I have a fear of Faulkner, it is based on only one book, The Sound and the Fury. I admired it on one level while on another, I felt I wasted my valuable time. Later I read A Rose..."

I totally agree with you. I have loved every Faulkner story I have read but have been intimidated by the novels. Maybe The Reivers can change that.

We have two spaces left, one for each category.

Tom wrote: "Lori wrote: "re Collected Stories of William Faulkner, Tom, I looked at that one and its 900 pages!! Yikes!

It's stories. You don't have to read them all. I may pick it as a Mod cho..."
Tom, that sounds like a great idea.

Judi wrote: "I would like to nominate A Death In The Family by James Agee for the December 2020 Pre-1980 read. Thank you."

Excellent nomination, Judi. We read that way back in 2014, and I still remember what a powerful book it was.
A Death in the Family. And I think that's it for pre-1980 nominations. We still need one more for post-1980.

Diane, why doesn't my nomination of A Death in the Family by James Agee not show up in the PRE 1980 poll? It was written in 1957. Puzzling.

Tom has not set up the polls yet, Judi. It is not showing up on the list because Tom has to add it, and he simply hasn't gotten around to it yet. Patience.

December is usually a hectic month for everyone (maybe a little less so this pandemic year, but still . . .) Maybe a new collection of stories from Trail favorite author Rick Bragg? It just published October 20th, but hopefully libraries/Hoopla will offer it by December. Nominated for post-1980.

Where I Come From.

Yay! That completes the nominations. All great choices, if you ask me.

Wyndy wrote: "December is usually a hectic month for everyone (maybe a little less so this pandemic year, but still . . .) Maybe a new collection of stories from Trail favorite author Rick Bragg? It just publish..."

I am so looking forward to this one, even though it isn't coming out until Tuesday.

That's it. Nominations for December are closed.

Some great nominations. I’m going to be torn on my voting.

Me too, Laura. It helps that I've read some of these already.

I have had The Reivers on my list to read again--it has been too many years to remember it well, so I'm hoping for a bit of Faulkner too.

My Dog Skip sounds like a winner!

I will post the polls this weekend.

This is the week we should all be going to the polls. Not only are we going to vote to determine who we want to steer our ship of state for the next four years, but we also should be voting to determine what we will read when we are stuck at home by the Christmas tree. In other words, the nominations for books that we will read in December have been received and the polls will be open tomorrow. There are a lot of good books to choose from.

The poll for the Pre-1980 category can be found here.

The poll for the Post-1980 category can be found here.

The Moderator’s Choice selection for December will be Holidays on Ice, by David Sedaris, chosen by Tall Woman Laura. Anything by Sedaris is guaranteed to be entertaining.

November Reading


The discussion boards are up and running for the November selections They can be found here:

For Forrest Gump by Winston Groom, (Moderator’s Choice), chosen by Diane:
Initial Impressions: Forrest Gump, by Winston Groom- November 2020
Final Impressions: Forrest Gump, by Winston Groom- November 2020

For [book:The Memory of Old Jack, by Wendell Berry, (Pre-1980):
Initial Impressions: The Memory of Old Jack by Wendell Berry: November, 2020
Final Impressions: The Memory of Old Jack by Wendell Berry: November, 2020

For Miss Jane, by Brad Watson, (Post-1980):
Initial Impressions: Miss Jane, by Brad Watson: November, 2020
Final Impressions: Miss Jane, by Brad Watson: November, 2020



Vote, and stay safe.

Happy reading!

Big Daddy Tom