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.