Monday 5 January 2015

The Southern Lit challenge

The Southern Lit. challenge was one of my favourite reading challenges of 2013. It's once again being hosted by The Introverted Reader and I've decided to sign up for it again in 2015.


The rules:

Read a book(s)--non-fiction or fiction of any genre, for any age group--written by an author from the South and set mostly in the South.

Definitions of the South are flexible, so I've decided to define it the way I want. That's the fun of hosting your own challenge, right? :-)

The states:
South Carolina
Georgia
Alabama
North Carolina
Virginia
Tennessee
Mississippi
Louisiana
Kentucky
West Virginia
Texas
Arkansas
Florida

Please keep in mind that this is a Southern literature challenge. It's possible to find books set in each of these states that are not Southern in nature or feeling. Use your best judgment when choosing your books.

Levels:

Level 1--C'mon in the house! Read 1-2 books.

Level 2--Pull up a seat and stay a while! Read 3-4 books

Level 3--Have a glass of sweet iced tea, honey. Read 5-6 books

Level 4--Y'all come back now, y'hear! Read 7-8 books

The challenge will run from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015. You can join in anytime throughout the year.


Bearing in mind that I'm trying to have a less stressful reading year this year I am aiming at Level 2 which is to read 3 or 4 books. I'm not going to create a reading list but I really do want to read To Kill A Mockingbird this year. Plus I have several other books on the tbr mountain. Looking forward to this one immensely.

~~~oOo~~~

8 comments:

DesLily said...

LOL I knew you'd have to eat your words about joining challenges! LOL LOL.. I don't know if the book The Immortal Life of Henritta Lacks would count for this challenge... she was born In Virginia and later relocated to Baltimore. ( http://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Life-Henrietta-Lacks/dp/1400052181/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420476197&sr=8-1&keywords=henrietta+Lacks ) the book is a true story and I had found it very interesting... check out the link and see if its something you might want to read..

Kay said...

Cath, any of the Penn Cage series written by Greg Iles would qualify. I read all of them in the latter part of 2014 in order to read his new one NATCHEZ BURNING. My book group will be discussing that one in April. Anyway, this series has a very Southern flavor and discusses some of the worst things that have happened in the American South. Good luck!

BooksPlease said...

To Kill A Mockingbird is a great book -everyone in my book group loved it, so I hope you do too.

Good luck with the challenge - it's had to resist them at times.

Cath said...

Pat: You know me too well. LOL! I am going to keep my aims very low for the ones I do though.

I'll look into the Henrietta Lacks book and see if I fancy reading it. Thanks for the rec.

Kay: I've heard of Greg Iles but not read any of his books. I'll certainly look into those as they sound like my kind of thing.

Margaret: I think I'm the last person in the world who has not read it. I must put that right.

It's very hard to resist. The challenges do help me focus on what to read but I am determined to keep my aims for them low this year.

Penny O'Neill said...

Oh, do read To Kill a Mockingbird. I've read it several times and it is one of my favorite books ever.
Cold Sassy Tree is a good one.
A newer book, The Afterlife Journey of Meriwether Lewis by Andra Watkins is fun. It is set in the south along the Natchez Trail, is a bit of mystery with some time travel. Meriwether Lewis, the great American explorer, helps a present day girl find her father. Andra has a blog and it has been great fun watching her become a successful writer.

Cath said...

Penny: Thanks very much for the recs, I've made a note and will look into those.

TracyK said...

This challenge is so appealing ... and I am trying to cut back on commitments like that. I come from the South but now in California and in general avoid literature set there... makes me uncomfortable. But... I do have books set there I want to read and it would help with the USA Challenge if I aimed at different states. I will think about it.

Cath said...

Tracey: Yes, I remember you saying about your coming from there and not being able to read Southern Lit the last time I did this challenge. I feel for you, to be honest. It's a real shame.