Book of the Month - April 2007

New member geneg has suggested giving the Book of the Month another try. Post suggestions here and we'll decide together on the April 2007 selection.

How about Ecology of a Cracker Childhood?

A reviewer said:

* All of Janisse's work, but most especially Cracker Childhood, is so very much a snapshot of South Georgia. She grabs you, her reader, by the hand and transports you to her South -- a South where Gone with the Wind is just another goofy movie starring a British actress, a South where Faulkner defied and defined a culture, a South where loggers are systematically erasing the long-leaf pines that once embraced elemental hard-scrabble lives. If you are game for an adventurous romp through dismal swamps, junk yards, and back woods then this is the read for you. Once you take it up you will be loathe to put it down.
Thank you, Janisse, for a wonderful trip!

Or, maybe Going to Ground: Simple Life on a Georgia Pond

A reviewer said:

A book about leaving the city, leaving your business behind and moving to Georgia. I wonder why it was that I became so enamored of this book and it's author. Becuase, I'm about to do the same thing. This is the kind of book that I could probably read again and again. It suanders. It meanders. It is relaxed. It's scope is wide, it's execution is simple and effortless. I found myself yearning to be the author's guest at her little cabin by the pond. I wanted to pet her dogs, drink a beer with her neighbors. I wanted to walk in her woods. Fantastic job at gentle memoir.

Hell, I'm so glad there's talk about reading a book I'll read anything. Both those selections sound like great picks to start with.

I have read Going to Ground: Simple Life on a Georgia Pond, but not Ecology of a Cracker Childhood. Either would be fine with me.

Let me know what you'uns (that's Ohio Valley speak for y'all) decide. I'm open to anything, however, anyone who grew up raking long-leaf pine needles may have a different view of that particular tree than some, and nostalgia does not begin to inform it.

CarolinaCatherine was mentioning how much she enjoys Janisse Ray's Ecology of a Cracker Childhood. She said, "I thought it was both exquisite and gritty, an overall remarkable book and one I highly recommend, as well as her other two: Wild Card Quilt: The Ecology of Home (2003) and Pinhook: Finding Wholeness in a Fragmented Land (2005)."

Someone else mentioned how much they enjoyed Hal Crowther's Cathedrals of Kudzu. i've read it and agree it's wonderful.

Crowther has a slightly more recent book, Gather At The River: Notes from the Post-millennial South. One reviewer wrote:

* Hal Crowther's GATHER AT THE RIVER is one of the most important, complex, and beautifully written books to come my way in a while. Every line is fresh and exact, with never a cliche. My favorite essay, "Objection Withstained," could well be about my family, the Statens, guardians of their opinions, their habits, vanities and ghosts.

One more suggestion:

Brother to a dragonfly by Will Campbell

Some of the back blurbs say:

* BTAD is an extraordinary document, an altogether candid record of personal suffering and fulfillment, of social struggle and commitment. It is a scrupulously honest statement of what it has been to be a Southerner, of what it is to be a human being. (Walker Percy)

* As original and deep as its author. Unlike anything we've ever read. With pure earthy simplicity, Will Campbell has painted a masterpiece. (Jessi Colter & Waylon Jennings)

* A fascinating and important book -- a biogrphy, it is as compelling as a fine novel, is packed with convincing characterizations, strong humor and deep emotional appeals, and more than any single book I know, tells what Southern life is like on the rough side, where the lath and plaster have not been smoothed off, including matters of daily bread, race, and the belief in Jesus Christ. (Robert Penn Warren)

So, how will this work? Will geneg or Dystopos just pick one of the book suggestions and then we'll be off and reading in April?

In other groups we have done this a couple of ways. Either someone picks a book for the group or the group votes. Either way has worked fine.

I was waiting to hear some seconds. So far Ray's Ecology seems to have the most good words going. I'm disinclined to select a book of essays for this, but I'm not entirely sure why.

I'm very glad you guys (y'all?)are trying to revive this! Count me in. I really enjoyed Confederacy of Dunces, the last book picked.
Ecology sounds interesting, but I'm open to any of them.

Hey everyone!!

First time posting. I'm so excited this board is finally getting going.

Just my two cents, but some of the books you guys mentioned in the "Southern Gothic Literature" seem like great ones as well.

We can always go for them another month, though! :P

i'd be all for Ray's Ecology (or any of the others), too!

Should someone "lead" this discussion once a book is decided upon or will we just dive in and post our thoughts?

i think it would be very helpful if someone would take on the leader/facilitator role. It would be great if that person could give us some reminders about when the conversation will be starting (so we all can get the book read on time) and then help our discussion along by asking questions designed to get us buzzing. :-)

If Dystopos will allow me, let me suggest that the person who first recommends the book we select lead the discussion and be the facilitator for that book.

Second, the same person cannot select two books in a row. It would be good for all of us, I think, to learn to lead a book discussion.

Everyone who wishes to participate must write a review, even if it is only two words.

Books should be selected democratically, by vote on a given day. Managing this will be the last job of the moderator of the previous book. Once the votes are counted, the moderator job falls to the person whose suggestion was adopted.

The selection should take place at least two weeks before the month for the book. At some point it would be nice if we could get a month ahead in our selection process so there will be no rush to buy/read the book. I'm sure we all have other reading we are doing.

I know rules and such can get under peoples skin, they do mine, but it is nice to know how things are going to work and what is expected.

These are just some suggestions, this is Dystopos' group and he should have the say on how to run things.

My group? Nah, I just started it.

Survivingniki brings up a good point. I promised in October that whoever posted the best review of John Kennedy Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces would have the honor of selecting the next book. None of the three current reviewers are members of this group (although I have just invited them). How about this...

We'll read Ecology of a Cracker Childhood in April. The best reviewer of Dunces picks our book for May at least two weeks before May 1, and the best reviewer of Ecology picks our book for June. If those people want to solicit suggestions or hold votes, that's fine. Whomever wants to start discussion should do so and if moderation is needed, someone will hopefully step up.

OK. I just noticed the "Show all 49 reviews" link. I still don't see a meaningful review coming from anyone with a Deep South membership. I'll invite some new folks, but ya'll should get busy.

What about Miss American Pie by Margaret Sartor great read set in the 1970's south...diary kept by Sartor is a great book.

Alright, the time has come. I'm starting a new thread for Ecology of a Cracker Childhood and still waiting for someone from the group to review A Confederacy of Dunces so they can win the honor of selecting May's book of the month.