I  love to read books in which the characters are from the South, or the story itself takes place in a Southern location. The style of writing I enjoy reading the most is first person narratives. I am looking for something that flows well, and can hold my attention. I enjoyed reading The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.

 I am contemplating the idea of reading, Bastard Out of Carolina, but I would like to hear about other book titles that may interest me. I would also like to know if the members here feel like Bastard Out of Carolina is worth the read. I know everyone has their own likes/dislikes when it comes to books, but I am interested in getting a feel about what the members here think of it.

So, what do you think of Bastard Out of Carolina and can you suggest any stories centered around  Southern characters/living?

Thanks in advance,

PBaddiction

a North Carolina author, John Hart.  He lives in and writes his novels in Salisbury, NC.  The three he has written are thrillers within families; that is, everybody is related, but somebody is a murderer.  He won an Edgar Award for his second novel, Down River.

Margaret Maron- series about NC- She writes murder and the heroine is a judge. I wait impatiently for the next one to arrive.

another series is Aurora Teagarden. I just can't remember the authors name right at the moment.

The Help is pretty popular right now. I read it a month or two ago and absolutely loved it.

highly recommend The Help by Kathyrn Strockett. good read for a book club for discussion.

Bloodroot by Amy Greene is a good one. 

"Bloodroot is that rare sort of family saga that feels intimate instead of epic. Set in Tennessee’s Smoky Mountains, it’s told largely in tandem voices that keep watchful eyes on Myra Lamb. She is a child of the mountain, tied to the land in ways that mystify and enchant those around her. There’s magic to Myra--perhaps because she has the remarkable blue eyes foretold by a nearly-forgotten family curse--but little fantasy to her life. Bloodroot is as much about the Lambs as it is about a place, one that becomes ever more vivid as generations form, break free, and knit back together. Its characters speak plainly but true, they are resilient and flawed and beautiful, and there's a near-instant empathy in reading their stories, which--even in their most visceral moments--are alluring and wonderful. "