Tag: Southern fiction

  • History is what we make it

    Reviewed by Linda C. Brinson I approached this book with hope but also some trepidation, having loved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society so much that I read it in print AND listened to it as an audio book. Annie Barrows co-wrote that wonderful book with her aunt, Mary Ann Shaffer. As its…

  • Those binding ties

    In my mind, one of the great values of audio books is that I’ll try something that I wouldn’t normally sit down and read in the print version. Although I’ve abandoned audio books that were really bad or just not interesting to me, I’m more likely to give something I think I might not much…

  • And who do you think you are?

    Some books are so good that, having read them in print, I can’t wait to hear the story all over again in an audio version, with professionally rendered accents and inflections. Fannie Flagg’s latest novel is that kind of book. I’ve read it and listened to it, and I’m still smiling. Reviewed by Linda C.…

  • Have mercy on us!

    Anne Barnhill is an inspiration to me. She’s courageously battling some health problems, but manages to find time to read, review and write. Rather than complain or feel sorry for herself, she finds joy in life. She also takes whatever comes and mines it for material for new poems, books and insights. Anne is the…

  • Still time for a summer read

    I’ll admit it. In a way, I’m late in reviewing this book. It would make a good beach read, and here we are at the end of July. I don’t mean that “beach read” description as an insult. While Summer in the South is an entertaining, reasonably quick read, it has more substance than many…

  • Red clay, bad blood

    Valerie Nieman is a seasoned journalist, a novelist and a poet. She uses all those experiences and talents to good effect in this, her third novel. Originally from western New York State, Valerie Nieman teaches writing at N.C. A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C.  She arrived in North Carolina via West Virginia, where she graduated…