On the Southern Literary Trail discussion

Season's Greetings!

The Southern Literary Trail is now accepting nominations for books that the group will be reading in February 2022.

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 in or before 1980 or those published 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:

Books originally published in or before 1980
1. Our Southern Highlanders, by Horace Kephart
2. South Moon Under, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
3. Pop. 1280, by Jim Thompson
4. The Second Coming, by Walker Percy
5. Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica, by Zora Neale Hurston
6. Summer of My German Soldier, by Bette Greene
Books originally published after 1980
1. Lightning Men, by Thomas Mullen
2. Gods of Howl Mountain, by Taylor Brown
3. A Time for Mercy, by John Grisham
4. Whistling Past the Graveyard, by Susan Crandall
5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
6. How Fire Runs, by Charles Dodd White

I would like to recommend for the after 1980 read Darktown by Thomas Mullen. Although the author was born in Rhode Island, he currently lives in Atlanta, the setting of this book and is very true to the 1940s South.

We read Darktown about 3 years ago, I reviewed it as I thought it was great, but rather than re-read it, I would prefer to read the second in the series, Lightning Men.

Kim wrote: "We read Darktown about 3 years ago, I reviewed it as I thought it was great, but rather than re-read it, I would prefer to read the second in the series, Lightning Men."

Funny, I looked on the bookshelf but couldn't find it list. However, since I have already read it, too, I'm okay with nominating Lightning Men.

John, I apologize, I remembered discussing it with Tom, and thought that meant we read it with the Trail, but I double-checked, and it was with a different group. It is a great book, I will just take my copy of Lightning & read it while y’all read Darktown, lol. I read back then that Jamie Foxx acquired the rights to turn it into a series, but I don’t believe it has come to fruition as of yet. Possibly the climate was less positive for it after the election in 2016, and certainly the pandemic has thrown a wrench into production development. But I would certainly like to watch it.

I believe it would be a good series or movie.

I would like to nominate A Time for Mercy by John Grisham for the post-1980 category.

I will nominate Gods of Howl Mountain for post 1980.

Gods of Howl Mountain.. good one. Been meaning to read that.

Maybe y'all should discuss amongst yourselves which Thomas Mullen book should be nominated. I have read both and recommend them highly but I do wonder about the wisdom of nominating the second book in a series when the group has not read the first. I will go with whatever John decides since he is the nominating party.

Ill get things started for pre-1980 by nominating South Moon Under by Marjory Kenan Rawlings.

And I will nominate a book mentioned in Saints at the River. The nomination is for Our Southern Highlanders , by Horace Kephart. A free Kindle copy of this book is available from Amazon. Here is it's Goodreads description

No other book on the Southern Appalachians is more widely known or cited.
"A wonderful book. I like it especially for its color and anecdotes. It is a classic, not only for its accuracy and breadth of insights into the people of the region, but because these people themselves are so interesting and strong."

Tom, I totally just marked this one for my TBR yesterday! I had thought to nominate it as well. Hmmm… thanks for doing it.

I like that recommendation too, Tom. It looks like a lot of us want to read it. I read the blurb and then had to add Pilgrim at Tinker Creek as well.

It looks good to me too, but I never heard of it. And it's free!

Nice find, it's on my Kindle :D

Pre1980

Someone mentioned this one in last few months

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

I'll try for The Second Coming again in the pre-1980 category.

Laura wrote: "Pre1980

Someone mentioned this one in last few months

Pop. 1280, by Jim Thompson

This is an excellent book. Very dark, though.

Sara wrote: "I'll try for The Second Coming again in the pre-1980 category."

Which one are you nominating? The Second Coming by Walker Percy or Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard?

I'm sorry, Tom. I hadn't meant to nominate Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, I just added it to my TBR because it was referenced in the blurb on Our Southern Highlanders. I should not have mentioned it in a nomination thread. Just not thinking. Apologies!

I’m not sure pilgrim would meet our southern author and/or plot

No, I don't think so either. I just erred in mentioning it here. I am sorry. Didn't mean to confuse things!

Sara
I commented before I realized you had clarified. But I do recommend that book.

What about Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall for Post 1980? Set in Mississippi although the author is from Indiana.

Lori wrote: "What about Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall for Post 1980? Set in Mississippi although the author is from Indiana."

That's a good choice. Would you like to nominate it?

yes please! Thanks Tom.

For February 2022 Pre 1980 read I nominate Tell My Horse Voodoo: and Life in Haiti & Jamaica by Zora Neale Hurston written in 1938

For February 2022 Post 1980 read I nominate The Color Purple by Alice Walker written in 1982

Thank you.

Judi wrote: "For February 2022 Pre 1980 read I nominate Tell My Horse Voodoo: and Life in Haiti & Jamaica by Zora Neale Hurston written in 1938

For February 2022 Post 1980 read I nominate The Color Purple by A..."

Two excellent choices. Thanks and Merry Christmas to all of you.

Post 1980
Summer of My German Soldier
Minutes before the train pulled into the station in Jenkinsville, Arkansas, Patty Bergen knew something exciting was going to happen. But she never could have imagined that her summer would be so memorable. German prisoners of war have arrived to make their new home in the prison camp in Jenkinsville. To the rest of her town, these prisoners are only Nazis. But to Patty, a young Jewish girl with a turbulent home life, one boy in particular becomes an unlikely friend. Anton relates to Patty in ways that her mother and father never can. But when their forbidden relationship is discovered, will Patty risk her family and town for the understanding and love of one boy?

Tina wrote: "Post 1980
Summer of My German Soldier
Minutes before the train pulled into the station in Jenkinsville, Arkansas, Patty Bergen knew something exciting was going to happen. But she neve..."

I'll put it down as a Pre-1980 nomination as it was first released in 1973.

I'll throw in How Fire Runs for post-1980 just to wrap this up.

And with that, the nominations are now closed.

The polls for the February 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!

Laura has chosen The Last Taxi Driver, by Lee Durkee for her February Moderator’s Choice selection. This sounds just zany enough for me to enjoy.

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

February's selections

The discussion boards for the February selections are up and ready for your comments.
For the Moderator’s Choice Selection, Laura has selected The Last Taxi Driver, by Lee Durkee. The discussion folders for this and the other selections can be found here:

Initial Impressions: The Last Taxi Driver, by Lee Durkee - February 2022
Final Impressions: The Last Taxi Driver, by Lee Durkee - February 2022

For The Second Coming, by Walker Percy, (Pre-1980):
Initial Impressions: The Second Coming, by Walker Percy - February 2022
Final Impressions: The Second Coming, by Walker Percy - February 2022

For Whistling Past the Graveyard, by Susan Crandall, (Post-1980):
Initial Impressions: Whistling Past the Graveyard, by Susan Crandall - February 2022
Final Impressions: Whistling Past the Graveyard, by Susan Crandall - February 2022