On the Southern Literary Trail discussion

The Southern Literary Trail is now accepting nominations for books that the group will be reading in November 2024.

We will consider books with a southern literary theme that have not been read by the group in the last 24 months. The two categories are books originally published in or before 1990 or those published after 1990. In the latter case, we will no longer consider nominations for new books unless they have been available for at least four months prior to the date we begin reading the book. 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 1990
1. Lie Down in Darkness by William Styron
2. A Long and Happy Life by Reynolds Price
3. Mary Chesnut's Civil War edited by ed C. Vann Woodward
4. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
5. The Knockout Artist by Harry Crews
6. Woe to Live On by Daniel Woodrell
Books originally published after 1990
1. Picking Over the Bones by Judith Ireland
2. Black Folk Could Fly: Selected Writings by Randall Kenan
3. More of This World or Maybe Another by Barb Johnson
4. Farewell: A Memoir of a Texas Childhood by Horton Foote
5. How Lucky by Will Leitch
6. The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

Before 1990:

A Long and Happy Life by Reynolds Price.

After 1990:

Black Folk Could Fly: Selected Writings by Randall Kenan

I'm going to question Picking Over the Bones. Not sure who nominated it, but I can't find it anywhere and there are only 4 ratings of this even though it was written in 2023. Is it a self-published book, and where can it be found?

It was nominated by Jeffrey Wade Gibbs.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...
I can find it fairly easily, but I've not checked any libraries.

I nominate Mary Chesnut's Civil War edited by C. Vann Woodward. This one needs explaining. This is the most academically correct version of Mary Chesnut's diary also known as A Diary from Dixie. This comes in at a whopping 886 pp is complete and wonderfully annotated, but I do not know if the completeness warrants the extra reading. It won the Pulitzer for history in 1982. The Penguin edition, Mary Chesnut's Diary is only 384 pp. so you can see it is severely abridged. I am posting this mostly for consideration for the future since some of you may have read her diary and can offer more information. But the diary seems like an interesting read for the group. This is pre-1990.

I would like to nominate "More of this World or Maybe Another," (2009) by Barb Johnson.

I wrote in my review that "reading this short story collection, with its linked stories, was like reading a great novel featuring characters that are flawed, but characters that one cannot resist caring about."

I was hoping you might do that Howard. I bought it on Kindle for 75 cents.

I read the abridged version of Chesnut's diary, Sam, and got a lot from it.

Dave, where did you find it, it wasn't on Kindle or in my library, but I didn't look on used book sites.

Abebooks and Amazon (UK) both had it.

New to OTSLT, thanks to Dave Marsland. Howdy from Texas!

I nominate Farewell: A Memoir of a Texas Childhood first published 1999

and Their Eyes Were Watching God first published 1937.

Is it okay to nominate 2 books?

Hi Debi, 2 nominations is good. Thank you.

Diane wrote: "I was hoping you might do that Howard. I bought it on Kindle for 75 cents."

Even if it isn't chosen, Diane, I hope you will read and review it.

I would like to nominate for the post-1990 book:

How Lucky by Will Leitch

After 1990
The Bullet Swallower by Elizabeth Gonzalez James

Pre 1990

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

That's all the post 1990 nominations, we just need one more for the pre 1990.

I second Their Eyes Were Watching God

Woe to Live On, published 1987.
For pre 1990.

Thanks Diane, with that, the nominations are now closed.