WHAT
TO READ
COMPILED BY NAN GRAVES GOODMAN
A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering

the New World by Tony Horwitz (Henry Holt and Company)
Tony Horwitz, best selling author of Confederates in the Attic,
embarks on another great adventure: rediscovering what happened
between the time that Columbus discovered America and when the
Pilgrims actually landed. Was the first Thanksgiving meal between
the pilgrims and the Indians actually similar to the event we
sweetly recreate for our children each November? The surprises
that he finds entrapped in our preconceived notions of America’s
early days will confound the reader, yet open his eyes to new
meaningful truths and associations. Horwitz looks for the factual
foundations of such explorers as Ponce de Leon and Walter Raleigh,
and even paddles the Mississippi River looking for clues to our
country’s past. A mini course in history with a new twist, this
book propels a needed reexamination of former historical myths and
truths.
The Outlander by Gil Adamson (Harper Collins)
Fleeing her murdered husband’s twin redheaded brothers and the law
in 1903, the 19-year-old female protagonist encounters
unbelievable challenges and inward turmoil as she traverses
mountains and forges. While constantly searching for her next
meal, as well as for true love, Mary Boulton pulls the reader
along with her on this most incredible journey filled with
adventure of all types, including wild animals, earthquakes and
fires. This premiere novel by a female Canadian writer and poet is
sure to ensnare the reader. The journey has never been so exciting
as in this must read literary adventure, written in beautiful
terse, expressive language. Among others, horse lovers and
adventure seekers will love this novel! Some critics have compared
this debut novel to Frazier’s Cold Mountain.
Oh Don’t You Cry for Me BY Philip Shirley (Jefferson Press)
In this clever and often humorous collection of short stories,
Philip Shirley, CEO of the Godwin Group, aptly entertains the
reader as he moves from one tale to another. A master storyteller,
the author has also published earlier works of fiction and poetry.
In this, his first short story collection, he utilizes settings
such as the Mississippi Delta, the Appalachian foothills and
cities of the New South all the while introducing the reader to
characters who are steeped in denial amidst their lives filled
with disaster and pain. Readers will confront Bible-beating
preachers, armadillos and jealous lovers. As a central Mississippi
resident, Shirley has also produced literary programming for
public radio, and some of his stories were published in volume IV
of Stories from the Blue Moon Cafe.
The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life through the Pages of a
Lost Journal by Lily Koppel (Harper Collins)

This fabulous non-fiction read, superbly recorded by a New York
Times journalist, engages the reader in a most fascinating story
of the discovery of an early 20th century diary found by the
author in a dumpster on Manhattan’s upper West side. Surprising
and shocking revelations about a forward thinking, precocious
teenager as she explored her exciting and privileged world from
1929-1934 provide quite a roller coaster read. After reading the
original diary entries and with the help of a private
investigator, Koppel embarked on a successful search to find the
diary’s author, Florence Howitt, now age 93, who never expected
her intimate thoughts would be discovered, much less published.
Rotating diary entries with interviews with the author, Koppel
gives the reader a glimpse into a risqué, romantic world of teas,
dances and walks through a 1930s world, not only in New York, but
also in Rome, Paris and London.
New South Grilling:Fresh and Exciting Recipes from the Third Coast
by Robert St. John

(Hyperion New York)
If andouille-stuffed prime rib, grilled crawfish pizza, cheese
grits with grilled shrimp, or even grilled bananas foster sounds
good, then this mouth-watering cookbook is for you. As a 27-year
restaurant veteran chef, cookbook author and the owner of
Hattiesburg and Meridian restaurants, Robert St. John and his
recipes delight food connoisseurs from everywhere. Organized into
categories such as: Party Food, Cold Stuff, Fowl, Seasonings,
Rubs, Marinades, and Sauces, among others, this delightful
cookbook with full color photos, gives the experienced chef a
reason to newly discover the art and joy of grilling. Two special
features of this cookbook are the no-stick grilling marinades, and
the spice blends and dry rubs, which are flavorful, as well as
easy.
Guide to Mississippi Vegetable Gardening

by Walter Reeves and Felder Rushing (Cool Springs Press)
Co-authored by Mississippi’s gardening guru, Felder Rushing, this
first-of-its-kind gardening book, is a must for all who want to
experience the joys, as well as challenges, of vegetable gardening
in Mississippi. Helpful maps and tables reflecting average frost
and freeze dates in Mississippi provide essential information for
the vegetable gardener. A comprehensive chapter, “The Roots of
Southern Gardening” reminds the novice or experienced gardener the
particular challenges for our state, while the chapter on
pesticides gives needed information, including alternatives of
organic gardening. The most comprehensive chapter furnishes needed
details on soil preparation, composting, seeding, watering,
mulching, and fertilizing. Additional chapters focus on growing
herbs, fruits, and nuts in Mississippi.
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace …
One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin Books)
When mountain climber Greg Mortenson attempted to climb K2 in
Afghanistan in 2005 and lost his course, almost losing his life, a
group of native people saved him. What ensued later, during a
three year period almost defies the odds: Mortenson individually
raised enough money, using even American school aged children’s
pennies, to build six schools for uneducated girls in Afghanistan.
The story of the failed mountain climb, the financial
solicitations made in hand- written letters to American
celebrities, and the actual building of the schools is recorded
here, as well as the personal deprivation of the author in order
to capture his dream. This endeavor of inspiration and fortitude,
surmounting all odds, will give readers a new reason to believe
that one man can make a difference.
The Blue Star

by Tony Earley (Little, Brown, and Company)
The main character, Jim Glass, previously introduced to readers in
the author’s first novel, Jim the Boy, wins the heart of more fans
during this story set in the 1940s on the eve of WWII. Using
colloquialisms of the time, including such definitive words as
“daggum” and “hee-haw,” the author skillfully casts the reader
into a by-gone era. As young romance blooms and high school days
come to a close, and boys proudly go off to war, the story unfolds
masterfully and beautifully. Not to be missed, this novel holds
its own in the unique, long ago, slow world before technology
robbed children of days of innocence and fun and when screen doors
were left open at night for the sweet breezes.
A Dangerous Age by Ellen Gilchrist

(Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill)
The year is 2004, and the war in Iraq is going strong. The three
female cousins of the well known Hand family (from other Gilchrist
novels) are each involved with men who have fought or are about to
fight in the war. Death and injury are evident. The journeys that
each of the intelligent, go-getter women inwardly travel and their
responses to the men and the war form the basis of this-- yet
another well written, fast paced novel by one of the very best
Southern writers. A short, but powerful read, A Dangerous Age,
keeps the reader on the edge of his or her seat, all the while
ironically and tragically reminding the reader that this war is
not a fictitious one.
Easy Container Gardens by Pamela Crawford

(Color garden publishing)
Native Jacksonian Pamela Crawford has given the novice or the
advanced gardener a foolproof method of growing the most colorful
and unusual combinations of foliage and flowers in the most clever
and unique containers. If there has ever been a question in the
gardener’s mind of which plants do well in containers, the answer
is in this beautiful, delightful hands-on book. Step by step
directions are given on planting containers sideways, from the
top, from the bottom, and over, creating a masterpiece each time.
The author rates each container flower as a first place blue
ribbon winner or following close behind, a second place red ribbon
winner. This extremely helpful, very practical guide, the second
in a series of container guides is (as the author mentions on the
cover), “For anyone who has ever killed a plant!”
Growing Up in Mississippi
edited by Judy H. Tucker and Charline R. McCord; foreword by
Richard Ford (UNIVERSITY PRESS OF MISSISSIPPI)
The nuances, truths and tales from people who call Mississippi
home provide the unifying force of this prized collection of
poignant essays. Captivating and delightful, the stories of
“growing up in Mississippi” cast the reader into memories similar
or dissimilar, but all the while focusing on our home in
Mississippi. From Richard Ford’s six-year-old memory in the
foreword to William Winter’s statesman’s memory, to Hollywood
success Sela Ward’s recollections, this unique compilation will
enhance the reader’s world. Not only famous writers, such as
Elizabeth Spencer or Ellen Douglas contribute, but also musicians
such as B.B. King and Jimmy Buffet are also included. A memorable
watercolor by Wyatt Waters graces the cover of this keepsake of a
book. The memories will tug on the heartstrings of the native
Mississippi reader.
Screen Doors and Sweet Tea:

Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook
by Martha Hall Foose (CLARKSON POTTER/PUBLISHERS)
As the executive chef of the Viking Cooking School in Greenwood,
native Mississippian Martha Hall Foose provides a treasure of a
book, not only in her prize winning recipes, but in her tales of
the Mississippi Delta. Famous also for the restaurant she opened
in Oxford, Bottletree Bakery, as well as her current endeavor, the
Mockingbird Bakery in Greenwood, this French educated chef tempts
the reader with delectable, mouth watering recipes for such dishes
as turtle soup, crawfish pies, sweet potato biscuits and her
famous Sweet Tea Pie. In the introduction this famous chef
explains, “All in all, this book is about my home, and I know no
better way to tell its stories than through food.”
Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

(Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill)
Set in the Mississippi Delta just after WWII, this powerful,
descriptive debut novel opens the lives of two farming dependent
families, one white and one black. How their lives intersect,
sometimes through love, sometimes through hate, provides the
backdrop of an emotionally charged read. Two brothers,
diametrically opposed in personality traits, form a triangular
relationship with one woman--the mother of the older brother’s
children--in the midst of the often turbulent action, reflected in
the storm ravaged Delta farm. On top of this, the father of the
two brothers is a nasty, selfish, racially prejudiced old man.
With supremely achieved Faulknerian tendencies, Hillary Jordan
tells this Delta story through the eyes of six characters, much
like the format used in The Sound and the Fury. Everything is done
well in this premiere novel, both psychologically and physically
through character portrayal.
Mississippi Shade: A Plant Selection Guide
by Jo Kellum (University Press of Mississippi)
Shade dependent gardeners will revel at this hands-on full color
guide to choosing and nurturing shade-loving plants. No longer
will gardeners need to read the labels to determine which plants
tolerate only a minimum amount of sun. Kellum gives superb advice
on shade-loving perennials, annuals, shrubs, trees, groundcovers
and vines. Sidebars placed by the specific plant photo provide
detailed information about each plant, including the full grown
height and width, the growth rate, the soil conditions, the
limited amount of sun tolerated and the companion plants that pair
well with the selected plant. For frustrated and challenged
gardeners who have been looking for one self contained garden book
on shade loving plants that grow well in Mississippi shade, the
wait is over!
Regina’s Table at Twin Oaks
by Regina Trosclair Charboneau (Regina’s Table Press)
The author of this beautiful coffee table cookbook not only gives
menus with mouth watering Southern recipes all served at the
antebellum home, but also provides an entertaining history of the
Natchez Pilgrimage Tour house built in 1834. Regina, made famous
by her previously owned restaurants in Alaska, San Francisco and
Sonoma, as well as her chef appearances on NBC’s Today Show and P.
Allen Smith’s gardens show, focuses not only on delectable
recipes, but also on the art of Southern entertaining. Regina now
lives in Twin Oaks and hosts Southern cooking classes at her home.
She organized and arranged this book according to what she serves
during spring, summer, fall and winter at Twin Oaks. There are
helpful sections on sauces, a guide to pantry stocking, and a
temperature and conversion chart. This treasure of a book with
exquisite photographs is perfect for anyone who loves Southern
food with an exotic flair.
Bad
Dogs Have More Fun:
Selected Writings on Family, Animals,
and Life from “The Philadelphia Inquirer”
by John Grogan (Vanguard Press)
Dog lovers who reveled and shed tears over the author’s previous
best seller, Marley and Me, will relish these true stories of
human beings in this crazy, wonderful world. Selected from the
author’s newspaper columns for The Philadelphia Inquirer, these
poignantly beautiful stories offer moments of clarity about
children, parents and their extended families. Divided into three
sections: family, animals and life, this book shares stories of
ordinary and extraordinary people who have survived and found
meaning and humor in their own experiences. Whether happy or sad,
these marvelous stories will affect every reader.
People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

(Doubleday)
Hannah, a rare book expert, serves as the narrator who traces the
journey of an ancient haggadah--an illuminated Hebrew manuscript
created in 15th century Spain and remarkably saved from an
untimely death in Sarajevo’s libraries. The history of this
beautiful haggadah is put together piece by piece as Hannah
discovers little clues still within the book’s ancient binding: a
broken insect wing, wine stains and a white hair. Hidden and
smuggled from Seville in 1480 to Tarragona in 1492, to Venice in
1609 and to Sarjevo in 1940, the haggadah mimics the social and
political mores of the times. Not until Hannah and her love
interest unite in 1996 is all made perfectly clear. The chapters
alternate between the past and the present and serve as the means
of tracing the book’s journey as well as the journeys of the lives
affected by the possession of this rare book. A Pulitizer Prize
winner for March (2005), Geraldine Brooks has once again given the
reader an intellectual and mysterious treasure.
Southern Sun: A Plant Selection Guide By Jo Kellum
(University Press of Mississippi)

The
avid gardener, whether novice or experienced, will find the
chapters on sun loving perennials and annuals a great help as
spring arrives in Mississippi, not only for immediate flower
gratification, but also for the long, hot, humid summer ahead.
Further chapters cover sun loving shrubs, and are divided into
deciduous and evergreen shrubs. A helpful chapter on trees divides
them into showy trees, privacy trees and shade trees. Sun loving
groundcovers and vines round out this extremely well organized and
thorough helpful gardening guide. The author of this plant guide
is a landscape architect and served previously as the landscape
writer for Southern Living.
Extraordinary Circumstances:
The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower
by Cynthia Cooper (John Wiley and Sons)

As the Chief Audit Executive for WorldCom, Cynthia Cooper slowly
realized that something was very wrong during the summer of 2002.
As she and her investigative team secretly worked behind the
scenes, she uncovered the biggest fraud in corporate history and
later testified in depositions, trials and congressional hearings.
For her extraordinary courage and expertise, she was selected as
one of Time’s 2002 Persons of the Year. While recording her
account of the entire WorldCom collapse from beginning to the end,
Cynthia Cooper writes in the book’s introduction, “I’ve been
passionate about completing this book because I believe there are
valuable lessons that can be passed on to the next generation.”
This accurate and honest account carefully and succinctly depicts
a sordid and turbulent past sadly experienced personally by many
Mississippians.
Mississippi: On the Road Histories by Ben Wynne
(Interlink Books)

From Mississippi’s modest roots-its native settlers and explorers,
and its beautiful land-to the vast array of notable cultural
accomplishments, historian Ben Wynne’s latest book takes the
reader on a journey from the beginning days to the current time of
his home state. The reader is taken on a historical path beginning
with the early European explorers and moving through early
territorial days to statehood, to Civil War years, followed by
Reconstruction, to the Civil Right period to the modern day
Mississippi. The final chapter of this easy-to-read historical
survey salutes the state’s artists, musicians, authors and other
notable personalities. Maps, legends, and photos add interest and
give further information for the reader who wants a cursory view
of our state’s past.
The Reserve by Russell Banks

(Harper Collins)
Readers might know Russell Banks from his popular novel The
Darling, or as the author of 14 other enticing novels. This new
novel, The Reserve, might just be the most captivating of all. Set
in the Adirondacks during the glorious years of the Hindenburg,
whose description does appear often in the beautiful prose, this
novel encompasses varied relationships between an artist and his
wife, an earthy man and a spit fire of a gorgeous “before her
time” woman. Flashbacks to the Spanish-American War woven
throughout give a unique twist to the plot. Some readers will
certainly find this read reminiscent of D.H. Lawrence’s Lady
Chatterley’s Lover. Eloquent descriptions of the countryside merge
with tumultuous love, suspenseful mystery, uncommon murder and
artistically described still life paintings.
Form and Fantasy:
The Block Prints of Walter Anderson

edited by Mary Anderson Pickard and Patricia Pinson
(University Press of Mississippi)
Every time a new publication of Walter Anderson’s talented works
is released, Mississippians are treated once again to a visual
feast. Besides being known for his murals, pottery, sculpture and
watercolors, the artist is also revered as a linocut master,
having carved more than 300 forms. Gulf Coast flora, fauna, myths,
fairy tales and legends inspired the blocks that range in size
form 6”x4” to 6’x4’, and this delightful book provides full-color
and black-and-white reproductions of over 250 of the artist’s
prints. Essays by the artist’s eldest daughter, Mary Anderson
Pickard, and by Patricia Pinson, former curator of the Walter
Anderson Museum of Art, provide provocative and intriguing
details. A vastly informative chronology of the artist’s life
gives the reader an overview of the life of one of Mississippi’s
most prized artists.