On the Southern Literary Trail discussion

Once again it's time to call for nominations for our group reads. This time for October, 2017. As always, I'm eager to see what y'all come up with.

One thing a bit different. I am considering Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara as nominated. Our Trail Member Book Concierge nominated this novel last month. I inadvertently omitted that novel from the Poll for Post-1980. So it's nominated! So, I'm looking for FOUR Post-1980 nominations and FIVE Pre-1980 nominations.

Some of y'all may be thinking of nominating works of a spooky nature since we're coming up on Halloween. Tom, AKA Big Daddy will be naming his Moderator's Choice. Having chatted with Tom, we can count on an appropriate "seasonal" read. So, for those of you considering the gothic, macabre, the dark, or the spooky might want to check with Tom to be sure you're NOT nominating his Moderator's Choice.

Fire away! Let me know what you want to read on "The Trail" for October, 2017.

As always, Happy Reading!

Mike Sullivan
AKA "Lawyer Gavin Stevens"

For pre I would like to nominate Dawn s Early Light number one in the Williamsburg series by Elswyth Thane

I'd like to nominate In the Land of Dreamy Dreams by Ellen Gilchrist for post 1980 (1981 so its really close).

Jane wrote: "For pre I would like to nominate Dawn s Early Light number one in the Williamsburg series by Elswyth Thane"

Thank you, Jane! Dawn's Early Light by Elswyth Thane is nominated, Pre-1980.

Brina wrote: "I'd like to nominate In the Land of Dreamy Dreams by Ellen Gilchrist for post 1980 (1981 so its really close)."

Thank you, Brina! I've always enjoyed Gilchrist. In the Land of Dreamy Dreams by Ellen Gilchrist is nominated Post-1980.

I would like to nominate "In This Our Life" by Ellen Glasgow for Pre-1980 October 2017 read.

For pre-1980, I'd like to give another whirl to getting Ellen Glasgow on the radar.
I'll even risk another sally in favor of The Miller of Old Church.

A story of one woman's journey from controlled subject to controlling matriarch set in a South that Glasgow understood to be flawed and at times destructive. Hers was a voice misheard therefore unstifled, and so remains for us to learn from.

We've tried this one before for pre-1980 Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey by Kathryn Tucker Windham. It was published in 1969.

Judi wrote: "I would like to nominate "In This Our Life" by Ellen Glasgow for Pre-1980 October 2017 read."

Thank you, Judi. And thank you, Richard. The Trail has yet to read Ellen Glasgow. Perhaps with y'all double barrel nominations, it just might happen. Ellen Glasgow's The Miller of Old Church and In This Our Life are both nominated, Pre-1980.

This nomination just in from Trail Member Beth via goodreads e-mail.

A Kind of Freedom by Margaret Wilkerson Sexton is nominated Post-1980.

Laura wrote: "We've tried this one before for pre-1980 Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey by Kathryn Tucker Windham. It was published in 1969."

Done, Laura. Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey Kathryn Tucker Windhamby is nominated Pre-1980. Thank you!

I'd like to nominate Sing, Unburied, Sing for post 1980. Soon to be fresh off the press and getting good reviews.

I would like to nominate The Sound of Building Coffins for post-1980.

Laura wrote: "We've tried this one before for pre-1980 Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey by Kathryn Tucker Windham. It was published in 1969."

Yay!

Doug wrote: "I'd like to nominate Sing, Unburied, Sing for post 1980. Soon to be fresh off the press and getting good reviews."

Thank you, Doug. I've struggled over accepting this nomination at it is fresh off the press with a release date of September, 5. That's a narrow window for our members to obtain the book for an October read. However, it's hard to turn down a nomination of a work from such a talented writer as Jesmyn Ward. It's nominated, Post-1980.

Jeffrey wrote: "I would like to nominate The Sound of Building Coffins for post-1980."

Jeffrey, thank you for your very interesting nomination. I have to say I was intrigued to read about this one. The Sound of Building Coffins by Louis Maistros is nominated, Post-1980.

Lawyer wrote: "Judi wrote: "I would like to nominate "In This Our Life" by Ellen Glasgow for Pre-1980 October 2017 read."

Thank you, Judi. And thank you, Richard. The Trail has yet to read [author:Ellen Glasgow|..."

I have noticed since nominating "In This Our Life" by Ellen Glasgow for Pre-1980 October 17 read that her books are hard to come by. Perhaps accessibility may be a factor,

Judi, I would guess in the US that her books are accessible enough because it won the Pulitzer. I'm not sure about elsewhere but I can't see it being that difficult to obtain. Hope this may be helpful.

Brina wrote: "Judi, I would guess in the US that her books are accessible enough because it won the Pulitzer. I'm not sure about elsewhere but I can't see it being that difficult to obtain. Hope this may be help..."

It still isn't very accessible in a print version, but there's a Kindle version out that was created in 2013 for $6.15.

I want to think The Miller of Old Church is free on Amazon. I want to think whoever nominated last time mentioned this but I didn't check before posting this.

The Miller of Old Church is free on Kindle. Also, her complete works are available for $2.99 on Kindle.

Rats, I've got turning bold on down, turning off less so.

Laura wrote: "I want to think The Miller of Old Church is free on Amazon. I want to think whoever nominated last time mentioned this but I didn't check before posting this."

Gutenberg has HTML, epub, and mobi files for the low, low price of nothing. It is an amazing service, Project Gutenberg, and one worth supporting by use and, if you have the means, donation.

Janice(JG) wrote: "Brina wrote: "Judi, I would guess in the US that her books are accessible enough because it won the Pulitzer. I'm not sure about elsewhere but I can't see it being that difficult to obtain. Hope th..."

I am a technophobe. Listen to audio books and read actual books. I shall check with the library and my local bookstore. Perhaps I should embrace the 21st century. Thanks for your suggestions! I would like to read her work regardless if either are voted as the group choice.

"In This Our Life" is also available on Hoopla.

Diane wrote: ""In This Our Life" is also available on Hoopla."

I shall look into Kindle and Hoopla. Perhaps I shall take a giant leap into the 21st century. I do love this group.

Judi, I used to think the same way. But the whole time I was ranting about the electronic ereaders, I couldn't help feeling like the people at the turn of the century standing on the curb yelling at automobiles "Get a horse"! I finally decided it was just another way to feed the addiction for books. It's wonderful to be a part of the future, but real books will always be my favorite way to read.

Post 1980:

Grief Cottage

The haunting tale of a desolate cottage, and the hair-thin junction between this life and the next, from bestselling National Book Award finalist Gail Godwin.

After his mother's death, eleven-year-old Marcus is sent to live on a small South Carolina island with his great aunt, a reclusive painter with a haunted past. Aunt Charlotte, otherwise a woman of few words, points out a ruined cottage, telling Marcus she had visited it regularly after she'd moved there thirty years ago because it matched the ruin of her own life. Eventually she was inspired to take up painting so she could capture its utter desolation.

The islanders call it -Grief Cottage, - because a boy and his parents disappeared from it during a hurricane fifty years before. Their bodies were never found and the cottage has stood empty ever since. During his lonely hours while Aunt Charlotte is in her studio painting and keeping her demons at bay, Marcus visits the cottage daily, building up his courage by coming ever closer, even after the ghost of the boy who died seems to reveal himself. Full of curiosity and open to the unfamiliar and uncanny given the recent upending of his life, he courts the ghost boy, never certain whether the ghost is friendly or follows some sinister agenda.

Grief Cottage is the best sort of ghost story, but it is far more than that--an investigation of grief, remorse, and the memories that haunt us. The power and beauty of this artful novel wash over the reader like the waves on a South Carolina beach. (less)

Kim wrote: "Rats, I've got turning bold on down, turning off less so."

To turn bold OFF, you just add a forward slash .... / ... immediately before the 'b' inside the brackets.

Got it, BC. I figured that out. Learning curve.

Greetings all:
The October polls are closed and the results were clear. The Trail Riders are in the mood for for something that goes bump in the night. At a glance, it appears that, whether you like your haints cozy or hard core, we have something just right for you.

For the timid souls amongst us, the Pre-1980 selection is a collection a stories by an author familiar to many of us. book:Thirteen Alabama Ghosts and Jeffrey|132568] by the marvelous storyteller Kathryn Tucker Windham. It is an excellent collection of folktales about ghosts, including one that haunted the author's own home. I don't know too much about Jeffrey other than he is an Auburn fan, or so Ms. Windham claimed.

The Post-1980 selection is Grief Cottage, the latest book by North Carolina author Gail Godwin.
Described as a haunting tale of a desolate cottage, and the hair-thin junction between this life and the next, it is the story of eleven-year-old Marcus who, after the death of his mother, is sent to live on a small South Carolina island with his great aunt, a reclusive painter with a haunted past.
The islanders call it -Grief Cottage, - because a boy and his parents disappeared from it during a hurricane fifty years before. Their bodies were never found and the cottage has stood empty ever since.
I could go on but I don't want to rob you of the pleasure of discovery.

For those who like their ghost stories with the intensity turned up, I have selected for the Moderator's Choice a book by Michael McDowell, the South's greatest contribution to the golden age of horror. Best known as the screenwriter of Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas, McDowell has written several noteworthy novels set in the South including Cold Moon Over Babylon, a chilling Southern Gothic tale of revenge from beyond the grave that ranks among his most terrifying books. Don't miss it.