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A Slew of Southern Writers - A Tour Through Some of the Best Southern Fiction

Joseph Rusling Meeker, Landscape (Bayou)Mary Miller's Always Happy Hour is set in the south, but many will see it as something other than true southern fiction. The protagonists are too internalized, too walled off from the southerness – the land, the people, the ethos of pride, racial discord, and defeat – that is the beating heart of most great southern fiction; that is to say the forces that drive everything from regional pride to politics to art. More typical southern writers touch on some if not all of those forces, and create such

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Victoria-era Winners: What to Read After Watching Victoria on PBS

Victoria by Daisy GoodwinSome of the best historical fiction is set in Britain's Victorian Era, and for good reason--the social mores of the time coupled with the increasingly prominent role the country played on the global stage provide much fodder for great literature. Upheavals at home were spurred on by the Industrial Revolution which stoked the Empire's grand ambitions. The landscape is an arresting canvas for compelling stories, not least the story of Queen Victoria herself who ascended the throne aged 18 after an extremely sheltered, arguably abusive childhood, and reigned for 63 years.

Inspired by the new PBS Masterpiece series, Victoria, and the book of the same name (both created by Daisy Goodwin), here are seven fine books set in this period. We are also discussing Victoria in our Book Club, please do join us!

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A New Year's Challenge

Well, here we are. The beginning of a new year with the conclusion of a turbulent presidential campaign behind us. Dare I say that most of our heads are still spinning? Some with glee, others with, what?, political angst? Over the past weeks there has been much written about our divided nation, including BookBrowse's encouraging message of helping us come together by reaching for the bookshelf.

I am not a well-traveled person, having spent all of my life within the confines of North America. But I have traveled extensively via books. Whenever possible I reach for a book about someone who lives or has lived in a country or era that I am unfamiliar with. Books have given me a worldview I think even world travelers can easily miss out on. Especially those who travel abroad but never venture far from their 4-star hotel. It's one thing to "see" a country, quite another to "live" there vicariously through a book.

This brings me to my purpose. I'd like to throw out a New Year's challenge to you, my reading friends. I am challenging you to read a book by an author from an opposite political ideology to the one you currently embrace. If you're a liberal please read a book by and about those who hold a conservative position. If you are a conservative please read a book by and about those who are liberal. Lists of recommended books abound on Google, Goodreads and Amazon to name a few websites.

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