Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Southern Reading Challenge 2009



Just by fluke I noticed that the 2009 edition of The Southern Reading Challenge is about to begin. (Someone commented in the 2008 blog post which I still have in my blog reader…) Well, thanks to whoever did because I have decided to join in.

From Maggie Reads website: “You may choose to read any style of Southern book such as Appalachian tales, Civil War sagas, Gothic myths, Grit lit, and heart-wrenching biographies. Just as long as you read three (fiction or nonfiction) between May 15th and August 15th.”

Although my track record is pretty bad (1 of 3 read last year) I think that I’ll do better this year due to choosing books I already want to read.

1) The Help by Kathryn Stockett (author is born and raised in Jackson Mississippi, also story is set in Mississippi)

2) The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (author born in Sylvester, Georgia, story is set in South Carolina)

3) The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks (author lives in North Carolina, one main character lives in North Carolina)


I work in accounts payable and I like to have things black and white, so I decided to look up exactly which states are considered The South. Here’s what Wikipedia says:



The dark red states (Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia) are almost always included in modern day definitions of the South, while those in medium red (Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, Virginia, and Florida) are usually included.
So now ya know! :)