Southern Belle Reading Challenge Wrap Up...Man Was It Fun

Southern Belle Reading Challenge
Hosted by Brenda Gail at Curling Up With A Good Book 

Well September is over, and I'm sad to say so is the Southern Belle Reading Challenge.  But I'm glad to report that Brenda says she will host it again next year...Yay!  So if you missed it this year start making your list now. 

This challenge was about all things "southern"...fiction set in the south, non-fiction, cook books, magazines, food, music, festivals, and famous southerners.  Before this challenge I hadn't read all that much southern fiction, but now I have to say that I have a real love for it.  I have found so many good books and authors by participating in this challenge.  Not only did I find lots of new books...I found a new blog that I absolutely love and visit every day.  Brenda did such a great job running this challenge.  Every day she posted a southern topic on her blog, and they were all different.  I learned a lot about the south, and had fun doing it.  I also loved reading all the great comments from others doing the challenge.  I'm always interested in what others are reading.

I read 5 books in the month of September for the Southern Belle Reading Challenge.

Source:  Goodreads

The first book I read for the challenge was The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.  You can read my review HERE.

Source:  Goodreads

 The second book I read for the challenge was My Summer of Southern Discomfort by Stephanie Gayle.  You can read my review HERE.

Source:  Goodreads

 The third book I read for the challenge was Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg.  You can read my review HERE.

Source:  Goodreads

Book number four and perhaps my favorite from the entire challenge was Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews.  I had no idea what to expect from this book, and to be honest I was expecting a shallow girly book.  Boy was i wrong!  This was a deep meaningful book, but fun at the same time.   You can read my review HERE.

Source:  Goodreads

The fifth and final book I read for the challenge was The Southern Belle of Honeysuckle Way by Linda Bruckheimer.  I haven't posted a review yet, but look for it soon!


My goal for the challenge was 4 books.  I met it plus one, so I'm very happy.  The Southern Belle Reading Challenge was lots of fun, and I will definitely be doing it again next September.  Thanks Brenda!!!

Shopping, Lunch, And A Trip To The Library

My sister and I went out to do some shopping and get lunch today, so of course I have some new books at my house...two of them I bought at Goodwill for $1.06.  You can't beat that!  I also checked out five from the library.



These two are the goodwill purchases...

Source:  Goodreads

Source:  Goodreads

These are the books I checked out from the library today...

Source:  Goodreads

Source:  Goodreads

Source:  Goodreads

Source:  Goodreads



Source:  Goodreads



Most of these are southern fiction, and I know I won't get them all in before the Southern Belle Reading Challenge ends, but I'm loving the southern fiction right now so I'll just keep reading.  I'm looking forward to some Halloween-ish reading for the month of October...nothing too scary though!

Southern Belle Challenge Book # 4: Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews

Source:  Goodreads

Mary Kay Andrews
Source:  http://www.marykayandrews.com/

Goodreads summary

Keeley Murdock's wedding to A.J. Jernigan should have been the social event of the season. But when she catches her fiance doing the deed with her maid of honor at the country club rehearsal dinner, all bets are off. And so is the wedding. Keeley pitches the hissy fit of the century, earning herself instant notoriety in the small town of Madison, Georgia.
Even worse is the financial pressure A.J.'s banking family brings to bear on Keeley's interior design business. But riding to the rescue — in a vintage yellow Cadillac — is the redheaded stranger who's bought a failing local bra plant. Will Mahoney hires Keeley to redo the derelict antebellum mansion he's bought. Her assignment: decorate it for the woman of his dreams — a woman he's never met.
Only a designing woman like Keeley Murdock can find a way to clear her name and give her cheating varmint of an ex-fiance the comeuppance he so richly deserves. And only Mary Kay Andrews can deliver such delicious social satire. With Hissy Fit, she's created a story as outrageous, dishy, and true as Savannah Blues and Little Bitty Lies.

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I read this book because I am participating in the Southern Belle Reading Challenge being hosted by Brenda over at Curling Up With a Good Book during the month of September.  I found this book on a list that Brenda provided on her blog.  You can view Brenda's list of "southern" books by clicking HERE.   Hissy Fit is the fourth book I've read for this challenge.  I checked  out the copy that I read from my local library.

I think what lead me to read this book most of all was the title.  "Hissy fit" is a term I've heard and have said all my life, and I've been known to throw a few myself.  I was also drawn to the bright yellow cover.  Hissy Fit was released in 2004 and has 419 pages.  420 if you count the yummy recipe for "Grit's n' Greens Casserole" on the very last page of the book.

I loved this book!  It is so much more than the summary leads you to believe.  Yes, it is very funny and very southern, but it is also serious and heart wrenching at times.  What the summary doesn't tell you about is the family tragedy that haunts every day of Keely's life or how much this tragedy effects her even twenty five years later.

Keely in an interior designer, so there were a lot of shopping trips for antiques and talk of wall color and flowers.  All of which made me want to get my butt in gear and start the remodel of my house that I've been putting off for months!

There were parts in this book that were so hilarious and unexpected that I actually covered my mouth and giggled, but there were also parts that made me shake my head in disgust.  Through it all, Keely is likable and real and very southern.  I respected Andrews' take on the "southern girl".   I found it fair, funny, and very believable.  There was no playing to stereotypes or trying to hard.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone!

Book # 3 For the Southern Belle Challenge: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe

Source:  www.goodreads.com
395 pages

Goodreads Summary
Here is a folksy and funny, endearing and affecting, southern-fried tale about two very special friendships. In a small town near Birmingham sits the Whistle Shop Cafe, a place alive with the hungry, the heartbroken, the righteous and the garrulous. The cafe is owned by sweet, patient Ruth, and by Idgie, irresistibly big-hearted and big-mouthed. Their story is remembered, years later, in the Rose Terrace Nursing Home. As elderly Cleo Threadgoode chats with her visitor—the over-stuffed, overwrought, menopausal Evelyn Couch—she casts a hypnotic narrative spell: honeysuckle vines and custard pies; births, deaths and marriages; sorrow and laughter; an occasional murder—and even the recipe for fried green tomatoes. And as the past reaches into the present, the Whistle Sop Cafe touches the one thing missing from her existence: life.

Fannie Flagg
Source:  Southern Living

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I have been meaning to read this book for years...probably since I watched and loved the movie years ago.  My sister read it a while ago, and she, knowing my taste in books, said I should definitely read it.  She actually did a guest blog on it back in June.  You should go back and read her post if you have the time.  It's really good.  Finish mine first thought :)

As for my thoughts on the book...She was right.  I really really liked this book, and oh how different it is than the movie.  My favorite character was sweet Mrs. Threadgoode.  Her simple honest way of telling her life story to poor discouraged Evelyn won my heart early in the book, and although I liked Idgie, I found myself at times getting aggravated with her.  What I did admire so much about Idgie was her acceptance of everyone...white, black, male, female, rich or hobo...she treated everyone the same, and she understood that everyone has problems and makes mistakes in life.  Another of my favorite characters is Smokey Lonesome simply because I'm a sucker for undying love.  It gets me every time.

I liked how the story was told in short little snippets.  It really gives you the feel of someone telling you their story as the memories flood in, not necessarily in chronological order.  There were parts of the book that were from "The Weems Weekly: Whistlestop, Alabama's Weekly Bulletin" written by Dot Weems.  I always found these very entertaining, and so indicative of small town life.  I think it was unique way to convey information from a different point of view.

This is book number three for the Southern Belle Reading Challenge which I am participating in for the month of September.  This challenge is hosted by Brenda Gail over at Curling Up With a Good Book.  My goal for this challenge is four books.  It's looking like I may be able to do even more than that.  It's been really fun!

Books To Return And Desperate For More

My sister and I took the kiddos to the library after school yesterday.  My daughter had books to return and was desperate for more, so we went to the library where she loaded up her red library book bag with new books while I looked for more "Southern Belle Challenge" books.


I still have Fried Green Tomatoes (I will finish it tonight!) and Hissy Fit, so I only checked out two.

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

While I was there I picked up a copy of Book Page where I found lots of great information on lots of books.

Source:  http://www.bookpage.com/

Book Page also has an online edition that you can visit by clicking HERE.  I think the most interesting book I found inside is The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta.  I'm very interested in this one.

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

Goodreads Summary
What if—whoosh, right now, with no explanation—a number of us simply vanished?  Would some of us collapse? Would others of us go on, one foot in front of the other, as we did before the world turned upside down?
That’s what the bewildered citizens of Mapleton, who lost many of their neighbors, friends and lovers in the event known as the Sudden Departure, have to figure out. Because nothing has been the same since it happened—not marriages, not friendships, not even the relationships between parents and children. 
Kevin Garvey, Mapleton’s new mayor, wants to speed up the healing process, to bring a sense of renewed hope and purpose to his traumatized community. Kevin’s own family has fallen apart in the wake of the disaster: his wife, Laurie, has left to join the Guilty Remnant, a homegrown cult whose members take a vow of silence; his son, Tom, is gone, too, dropping out of college to follow a sketchy prophet named Holy Wayne.  Only Kevin’s teenaged daughter, Jill, remains, and she’s definitely not the sweet “A” student she used to be.  Kevin wants to help her, but he’s distracted by his growing relationship with Nora Durst, a woman who lost her entire family on October 14th and is still reeling from the tragedy, even as she struggles to move beyond it and make a new start.
With heart, intelligence and a rare ability to illuminate the struggles inherent in ordinary lives, Tom Perrotta has written a startling, thought-provoking novel about love, connection and loss.

I Do Have To Say It Got Better!

Source:  www.goodreads.com

Source:  www.stephaniegayle.com

My Summer of Southern Discomfort  by Stephanie Gayle is about Natalie, a young lawyer who is forced to flee her New York City home due to a scandalous love affair at her old law firm.  She moves to Macon, Georgia and becomes a prosecutor.  It's about her struggle to forget the past, her struggle to learn to work with her crotchety coworker, her struggle with prosecuting a man accused of murder who may get the death penalty (she is opposed to the death penalty), her struggle to help a co worker's abused sister, and her neighbor LaLa who has a great garden...are you getting the point?

I have mixed feelings about this book.  At first I really disliked it.  I hate to say negative things about books, but this one just bugged me.  First of all the cover is misleading because I feel like Natalie wouldn't be caught dead in that outfit, nor would she be relaxing while reading in the grass.  I felt like the attempts at showing southern culture were a bit patronizing and judgemental...like she was better because she was from a northern state.

I do have to say that it got better, and I didn't hate this book.   I just feel like I read the middle of the story, and I was yearning for the beginning and the end and the thing that would tie it all together.



This is the second book completed for the...

A Cherry Tree And Two Houses

As you know I'm reading My Summer of Southern Discomfort which is set in Macon, Georgia as part of the "Southern Belle Reading Challenge" I'm participating in.  I haven't finished the book yet, but I came across some landmarks in the first few chapters that I was interesting in looking up.  Here's what I found out...


Yoshino Cherry Tree

Cherry Blossom Festival in Macon, GA
Source:  www.cherryblossom.com

"Each March, Macon becomes a pink cotton-spun paradise of delight as over 300,000 Yoshino cherry trees bloom in all their glory. And for 10 days, festival-lovers are treated to one of the most extravagant displays of springtime color in the nation as they visit the town referred to by Congressional Records as the Cherry Blossom Capital of the World."
(Source:  www.cherryblossom.com)

Source:  www.arborday.org

The tree that made the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival famous. Fragrant, white-pink flowers; oriental branching pattern; glossy bark; dark-green leaves. Likes full sun, well-drained soil. Grows to 40' to 50'.
(Source:  www.arborday.org)

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Hay House

Source:  www.georgiatrust.org



One of Georgia’s most distinguished structures, the Johnston-Felton-Hay House in Macon was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1974. It was built from 1855 to 1859 in the Italian Renaissance Revival style, a marked contrast to the more restrained Greek Revival architecture of the antebellum period.
(Source:  www.georgiatrust.org)

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Woodruff House

Source:  http://www.50plusdc.com/html/body_macon.html



Adjacent to the School of Law is a Greek Revival mansion built in 1836 for a railroad financier and banker. It was designed and built by Elam Alexander, a  local building contractor, architect, business man and philanthropist. The house was once owned by Colonel Joseph Bond, one of the South's wealthiest cotton planters. In 1887 a 16th birthday ball was held in the house for Winnie Davis, daughter of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Originally known as Overlook Mansion, it was acquired by Mercer University in 1978 and renamed Woodruff House. The University uses the house for banquets,  receptions and alumni events. It is open to the public only during the Cherry Blossom Festival in March, the run up to Christmas and for special events.

(Source:  http://www.50plusdc.com/)

What I'm Reading Now And Some Southern Food

I started My Summer of Southern Discomfort yesterday, but it's been a busy weekend so far so I haven't read all that much.

Source:  Goodreads

Since this is the month of all things southern, thanks to the "Southern Belle Challenge".  I thought I'd share some of the southern things we've cooked this weekend.  Yesterday my husband's family had a family reunion and it was my job to make the banana pudding and the macaroni and cheese.  You can't get more southern than banana pudding and macaroni and cheese!  At the reunion we had barbecue ribs, fried chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, mac and cheese, potato salad, baked beans, broccoli & cauliflower salad, plenty of watermelon, and lots more.  For dessert there was cake and banana pudding.  We played corn hole and the kids played on a tire swing, played volleyball, and rode horses.  It was a very fun day and all very southern!  I must also add that it was very HOT...also southern.

Today after church we had cabbage with polish sausage for lunch, and my husband made fried cornbread.  Again, I'd say fried cornbread is very southern, and I put strawberry preserves on mine.  We had big glasses of unsweetened iced tea and it was yummy!

I'm looking forward to an extra day at home with my family since there's no school or work tomorrow!

Now I'm off to get some reading done...

This Book's Journey: The Secret Life of Bees

I checked out several books from the library in preparation for a reading challenge I'm participating in this month called the "Southern Belle Challenge".  It is hosted by Brenda Gail over at Curling Up With a Good Book.  September is to be a month of all things Southern:  books, magazines, recipes, movies, and lots of sweet tea

Source:  Goodreads

 The Secret Life of Bees  by Sue Monk Kidd is one of the books I check out and the book I chose to kick off the challenge with.  The library's copy of the book was published in 2002 and donated to the library in 2005.  It doesn't say who donated.  It simply says donated.  It isn't in bad condition, but it is obvious it has been read many many times.  Let's just say it's fragile.  When I opened it the first time, I noticed that the first four or five pages have pulled away from the spine of the book.  I think eventually all of the pages will start falling out.  The front cover is starting to come off a tiny bit, and if not for the protective covering the library puts on all their books, this book would have worn out years ago.  I think all of these things are signs of a good book...you can tell it's been read by many many people.  It makes me wonder how many people have read this copy of the book.  What were their lives like on the days they read this book?  What made him or her choose it?

I chose it for 3 reasons:

1.  My sister, Beth, has read it and said I would like it.
2.  It was on a list that Brenda Gail posted...Southern Belle Challenge Book Choices
3.  I have seen the preview for the movie and thought it looked interesting.  I haven't actually seen the movie though, although I'm sure I will soon.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

Source:  http://www.beehives.info/index.php

From the very first words to the last I was hooked.  The Secret Life of Bees is set in 1964 South Carolina.  Lily is a motherless girl with a cruel father.  The only person in the world she has to depend on is her African American nanny, Rosaleen, whom she loves and who loves Lily in return.  When some unexpected events force Lily and Rosaleen to go on the run Lily follows one of the only clues she has regarding her mother, a picture of Mary, mother of Jesus, with the town Tiburon, South Carolina written across the back.  When they get there they are taken in by three black sisters who live in a bright pink house, keep bees, and sell honey.  It's here with these sisters that Lily finally discovers the truth about her past, and it's also the place where she finally finds the Mother she's always yearned for.

August said, "Listen to me now, Lily.  I'm going to tell you something I want you always to remember, all right?"
Her face had grown serious. Intent. Her eyes did not blink.
"All right," I said, and I felt something electric slide down my spine.
"Our Lady is not some magical being out there somewhere, like a fairy godmother.  She's not the statue in the parlor.  She's something inside of you.  Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
"Our Lady is inside of me," I repeated, not sure I did.
"You have to find a mother inside yourself.  We all do.  Even if we already have a mother, we still have to find this part of ourselves inside."

I really loved all the characters in this book.  I loved Rosaleen for her brave in your face honesty.  I could use a little of that myself.  I liked June (one of the sisters) for her stubbornness.  Some people think being stubborn is a bad thing, but I tend to think sometimes being stubborn is a very good thing.  I liked May (one of the sisters) for her innocence, and I loved August (another sister) for her calmness, her failure to judge others, and for her patience.  All of which are things I aspire to be in my own life.  Most of all I loved Lily for just being Lily.  She wasn't whiny or over dramatic.  She was an "it is what it is" kind of girl.  I enjoyed her humor.

Parts of the book made me cry and parts made me laugh.  Sue Monk Kidd did such a great job describing the setting for us.  I could almost feel the heat, smell the grass, and hear the humming of bees.

I know this book has been out for several years, but if like me you missed it somehow, give it a try.  I think you'll be glad you did.

I plan on renting the movie in the very near future!

Half Way Through...

I started reading The Secret Life of Bees last night, and I'm really liking it.  I'm about halfway through, so I hope to finish it today. I'll do a full post when I'm finished.  Check back later!!

Source:  Goodreads

Summary from Goodreads...
Sue Monk Kidd's ravishing debut novel has stolen the hearts of reviewers and readers alike with its strong, assured voice. Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees tells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the town's fiercest racists, Lily decides they should both escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. There they are taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters who introduce Lily to a mesmerizing world of bees, honey, and the Black Madonna who presides over their household. This is a remarkable story about divine female power and the transforming power of love--a story that women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.

Sue Monk Kidd
Source:  Goodreads.

We Went to the Library!

After I picked my daughter up today, we went to the library.  She's been wanting to check out some Goosebumps books, and I wanted to get some books myself.  She ended up getting ten "Goosebumps" books.

A couple days ago I told you about a reading challenge I'm participating in during the month of September.  It's called the "Southern Belle" challenge, and the idea is to read books set in the South.  It is hosted by Brenda Gail at Curling Up With a Good Book.


I got four books from the library today to get me started...


Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

Source:  www.goodreads.com

The Secret Life of Bees: A Novel by Sue Monk Kidd

Source:  www.goodreads.com

My Summer of Southern Discomfort by Stephanie Gayle

Source:  www.goodreads.com

Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews

Source:  www.goodreads.com

Southern Belle Challenge

I read about a cool reading challenge at The Crazy Life of a Bookaholic Mom.  It's a challenge for the month of September called the Southern Belle Challenge, and it's hosted by Brenda Gail over at Curling Up With A Good Book.  This will be my first reading challenge, so I'm really looking forward to it.  Since I'm a southern girl myself, I love books set in the South.

I'm going to set a goal for myself of one "Southern Belle" book each week of September.  Wish me luck, and be sure to sign up yourself.