On the Southern Literary Trail discussion

Greetings all!
The Southern Literary Trail is now accepting nominations for books that the group will be reading in October, 2021.

We will consider books with a southern literary theme that have not been read by the group in the last 24 months. As always, there are two categories, books originally published before 1980 or those published in or after 1980. You may make one nomination in each category. Authors may not nominate their own works. Please post your nominations below and specify which category you are nominating it for.

Nominations will stay open for one week or until we receive six nominations in each category. Voting will take place in the first ten days of next month.

The eligible nominations received will be listed below:

Pre-1980 Nominations
1. A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams
2. Other Voices, Other Rooms, by Truman Capote
3. Kindred, by Octavia E. Butler
4. The Second Coming, by Walker Percy
5. Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice
6. Chickamauga and Other Civil War Stories, by Shelby Foote

Post-1980 Nominations
1. The Witching Hour' by Anne Rice
2. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, by John Berendt
3. The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi, by Richard Grant
4. In the Fall, by Jeffrey Lent
5. The Birds of Opulence, by Crystal Wilkinson
6. The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had, by Kristin Levine

For the October nomination Pre 1980 I would like to nominate A Death in the Family by James Agee - 1957
For the October nomination Post 1980 I would like to nominate The Witching Hour by Anne Rice - 1990

Thank you Tom.

Judi wrote: "For the October nomination Pre 1980 I would like to nominate A Death in the Family by James Agee - 1957
For the October nomination Post 1980 I would like to nominate The Witching Hour by Anne Rice ..."

As you wish. 😄 The Witching Hour is an excellent nomination for October.

post 1980: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

Steve, it seems we read this selection in dec 2019, so it’s not been more than the 24 months since we read as a group. Is there another post 1980 book you are itching to read?

In keeping with the October theme:

For pre 1980 - Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote

For post 1980 - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

Lori wrote: "In keeping with the October theme:

For pre 1980 - Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote

For post 1980 - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil "

We've read Other Voices, Other Rooms but it has been a while. I don't know that the group has ever read Midnight. I may have to reread that one as it has been a very long time since I have read it.

Agee and Berentd

Tom, I think we read A Death in the Family in December. It's incredible and deserves to be read again but I'm not sure it's eligible right now.

Also, the Truman Capote title needs fixing! 😊

Lori wrote: "Tom, I think we read A Death in the Family in December. It's incredible and deserves to be read again but I'm not sure it's eligible right now. "


Oops. Right you are. Fixed.

Post 1980: The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi

Pre 1980: Kindred

Okay. Hope this one works.
For the October nomination Pre 1980 I would like to nominate A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams - 1947

Thank you.

Judi wrote: "Okay. Hope this one works.
For the October nomination Pre 1980 I would like to nominate A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams - 1947

Thank you."

Thanks Judi. I thought that we had read that one recently but I don't see it in the discussions. Unless someone else can show me that we have read it, I will allow A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams

Diane wrote: "Post 1980: The Deepest South of All: True Stories from Natchez, Mississippi"

I've been looking at this one for a while.

I think we read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof just recently, but not Streetcar, so that is good to go.

I'll take a stab:
Pre 1980: The Second Coming by Walker Percy. (This book was published in 1980...so, can it go either way because it isn't "pre" and it isn't "post".

Post 1980: In the Fall by Jeffrey Lent

Sara wrote: "I'll take a stab:
Pre 1980: The Second Coming by Walker Percy. (This book was published in 1980...so, can it go either way because it isn't "pre" and it isn't "post"..

The rules above state that post-1980 includes books published in or after 1980 so The Second Coming should officially fall into that category. As pre-1980 nominatio0ns are historically harder to come by, perhaps we should change that.
Bottom line: I'm not in an argumentative mood so I'll give it to you.

Post 1980

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

Pre 1980

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Laura wrote: "Post 1980

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2..."

The Birds of Opulence, by Crystal Wilkinson is nominated

Laura wrote: "Pre 1980

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1..."

The Road, by John Ehle appears to be hard to get copies of. Is it available on Hoopla or elsewhere?

For what it's worth. Octavia Butler, author of Kindred, was born and raised in Altadena/Pasadena Ca. Near me. We attended the same high school, John Muir High, Pasadena. The bulk of her work is now stored and displayed at The Huntington Library in Pasadena. Kindred is indeed a great book. One of my favorites. It certainly would be a relevant Southern Reads choice.

The john ehle book has gone up since I bought in a few months ago for $7. So it looks to be $30. It’s not on hoopla. I’ll withdraw.

That’s too bad about The Road. I just checked Thriftbooks and they have a first edition for $65 and a first edition signed copy for $150! Seems like anytime we see a good price on his books we better snag them!

LOL. Should have read those rules one more time. Don't break the rules for me Tom, it sets a nasty precedent. I'll suggest it another time in the right category. Thanks!

I checked Abe books and pricey there as well. It’s a shame.

It is available on archive.org. I realize that isn't as nice as having a copy you can hold in your hand, but I have read there before and it works for books you simply cannot get otherwise.

This one got some votes last month for pre-1980 and it’s October. Audio is also available.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...

Judi wrote: "Kindred is indeed a great book. One of my favorites. It certainly would be a relevant Southern Reads choice.."

I absolutely agree.

Laura wrote: "This one got some votes last month for pre-1980 and it’s October. Audio is also available.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4..."

Interview with the Vampire, by Anne Rice is nominated as a pre-1980 selection. That means we could potentially have two Anne Rice books to read in October.

post 1980: The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had

Tom wrote: "Laura wrote: "This one got some votes last month for pre-1980 and it’s October. Audio is also available.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4..."

Interview with the Vampire, by [a..."

How appropriately Halloweenish!

Harry wrote: "post 1980: The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had"

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had, by Kristin Levine is nominated.
This completes the nominations for the Post-1980 group. There is room for one more pre-1980 selection.

I'm going to close out the nominations by adding Chickamauga and Other Civil War Stories, by Shelby Foote as a Pre-1980 nomination,

Nominations are now closed.

The polls for the October selections are open. Thanks to all of you who nominated and to all of you who participate. There are some excellent nominations on the ballot.

For the Pre-1980 nominations, Vote here!

For the Post-1980 poll, Vote here!

The polls will remain open for ten days and the winners will be announced mid-month.

The discussion boards for the September selections are up and ready for your comments. We are especially fortunate to have Charles Dodd White, author of this month’s Moderator’s Choice Selection, A Shelter of Others, joining us. He will be participating in an Author Q&A: Charles Dodd White. Please make him feel welcome and ask lots of questions. The links for discussion of his book are:

Initial Impressions: A Shelter of Others, by Charles Dodd White - September 2021
Final Impressions: A Shelter of Others, by Charles Dodd White - September 2021


The September discussion folders for the other selections can be found here:

For Light in August, by William Faulkner, (Pre-1980):
Initial Impressions: Light in August, by William Faulkner - September 2021
Final Impressions: Light in August, by William Faulkner - September 2021


For When These Mountains Burn, by David Joy, (Post-1980):

Initial Impressions: When These Mountains Burn, by David Joy - September 2021
Final Impressions: When These Mountains Burn, by David Joy - September 2021