Thunderbird

Idgie Says:
I call this a "gentle" sci-fi story.  Everyone in general acts very moderately toward what I would expect to be an earth-shattering, chaos causing event in the world.  

To find space portals on our earth that take us to other worlds and not have the government immediately take over or for us to enthusiastically and hurriedly explore every single door we could open as we move through the universe... unheard of.  

At times the pace made me insane as I couldn't believe they weren't hurtling through those doors to see what's out there.  

But at the same time, Jack's writing remained true to what I enjoy about it - which is heavily character driven, each person a living being you can relate to.  This is fairly rare in Sci-fi where often the science tends to overshadow the people. 

I found the final chapter far too calm of an outcome for such a large discovery on earth.   The ending made it very clear it was the end - no where to go for a sequel. 
I wish the story had a bit more push and desire to explore in it, but enjoyed it nonetheless.  

 Click HERE to read an excerpt.
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About Thunderbird
Ace
Penguin Random House
December 1, 2015


The Nebula Award–winning author of the Alex Benedict novels and the Priscilla Hutchins novels returns to the world of Ancient Shores in a startling and majestic epic.

A working stargate dating back more than ten thousand years has been discovered in North Dakota, on a Sioux reservation near Devils Lake. Travel through the gate currently leads to three equally mysterious destinations: (1) an apparently empty garden world, quickly dubbed Eden; (2) a strange maze of underground passageways; or (3) a space station with a view of a galaxy that appears to be the Milky Way.

The race to explore and claim the stargate quickly escalates, and those involved divide into opposing camps who view the teleportation technology either as an unprecedented opportunity for scientific research or a disastrous threat to national—if not planetary—security. In the middle of the maelstrom stands Sioux chairman James Walker. One thing is for certain: Questions about what the stargate means for humanity’s role in the galaxy cannot be ignored.

Especially since travel through the stargate isn’t necessarily only one way…

Ashley Bell

 Idgie Says:

I wanted to like it, I really did.  Dean hooked me years ago with Strangers and I religiously read his books for a few years after that. But this story is a hot mess, chaotically written with a story line that rambles on without focus.

Some years back I started saying that I felt Dean Koontz wrote one book from his heart every year and a secondary book just to meet the publisher's demands.  To me, this is the book to meet the demands.   It appears to me as if he is writing as he is typing, with no actual thought as to where the story is heading. While acceptance of not necessarily factual things is needed while reading a book of this nature, this one just has me scratching my head wondering what in the hell is going on, and why.  

The saving grace of this novel is the lead character, Bibi.  She is a lovely girl, full of spunk and life. She sparkles with wit, charm and intelligence.  Too bad she's stuck in this book.

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Hardcover: 576 pages
Publisher: Bantam (December 8, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0345545966
ISBN-13: 978-0345545961

Book Description:

The girl who said no to death.

Bibi Blair is a fierce, funny, dauntless young woman—whose doctor says she has one year to live.

She replies, “We’ll see.”

Her sudden recovery astonishes medical science.

An enigmatic woman convinces Bibi that she escaped death so that she can save someone else. Someone named Ashley Bell.

But save her from what, from whom? And who is Ashley Bell? Where is she?

Bibi’s obsession with finding Ashley sends her on the run from threats both mystical and worldly, including a rich and charismatic cult leader with terrifying ambitions.

Here is an eloquent, riveting, brilliantly paced story with an exhilarating heroine and a twisting, ingenious plot filled with staggering surprises. Ashley Bell is a new milestone in literary suspense from the long-acclaimed master.

Dog Medicine - A Shout Out

Julie Barton's memoir about how adopting a dog helped her battle depression -  Think Piece Publishing will release Dog Medicine: How My Dog Saved Me from Myself on November 10th.  

**First print run sold out! Second print now available!**

You can also find out more about Julie Barton and the book on her website, www.byjuliebarton.com and the Facebook page for the book: https://www.facebook.com/dogmedicinebook.

Dog Medicine

At twenty-two, Julie Barton collapsed on her kitchen floor in Manhattan. She was one year out of college and severely depressed. Summoned by Julie's incoherent phone call, her mother raced from Ohio to New York and took her home. 

Psychiatrists, therapists and family tried to intervene, but nothing reached her until the day she decided to do one hopeful thing: adopt a Golden Retriever puppy she named Bunker. 

Dog Medicine captures in beautiful, elegiac language the anguish of depression, the slow path to recovery, and the astonishing way animals can heal even the most broken hearts and minds.

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Julie Barton is a writer, mother of two and animal lover who lives in Northern California. Her memoir, Dog Medicine, How My Dog Saved Me From Myself was published in November of 2015 by Think Piece Publishing.

Julie has a B.A. in English Literature from Kenyon College, an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and a M.A. in Women’s Studies from Southern Connecticut State University.

Julie’s writing has been published in Brain Child Magazine, The South Carolina Review, Louisiana Literature, Two Hawks Quarterly, Westview, The Huffington Post, and more.

Mostly she just tries to be kind to people and animals, avoid judgement, appreciate nature, and write every chance she gets.

The Furies - Excerpt included

Idgie Says: 

Lonely, difficult, semi-abandoned children who wonder about their sad, reclusive teacher.  Hidden hurts and sorrows revealed. Affections formed.  A bitter Scottish winter.What else is there to do but practice revenge?

The following words have NOTHING to do with recent events. It has to do with paragraphs that grip and grab...... "Stowaways landing on West London from the flight path overhead, Get in the tube and make sure no one looks too bomby", Walking into the malice of a stranger." This book has fantastic wordplay.

This is the story of children grasping at straws for affection and want, a teacher who cannot overcome her loss and wreaks of bitterness and pain.  Eventually the children, full of struggle for their own lives, decide that perhaps another life can be made better if theirs cannot.  

Gripping and at times painful to read.   

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St. Martin's Griffin
November 17, 2015
Paperback

Click HERE for Excerpt

Book Description:

"Steady pacing paired with well-timed foreshadowing and fully realized characters make this one compelling from the beginning. Fans of Donna Tartt's The Secret History (1992), Erin Kelly's The Poison Tree (2011), and Tana French's The Likeness (2008) will likely enjoy the new perspective Haynes' conversational style offers to similar material." —Booklist
After losing her fiancé in a shocking tragedy, Alex Morris moves from London to Edinburgh to make a break with the past. Formerly an actress, Alex accepts a job teaching drama therapy at a school commonly referred to as "The Unit," a last-chance learning community for teens expelled from other schools in the city. Her students have troubled pasts and difficult personalities, and Alex is an inexperienced teacher, terrified of what she's taken on and drowning in grief.

Her most challenging class is an intimidating group of teenagers who have been given up on by everyone before her. But Alex soon discovers that discussing the Greek tragedies opens them up in unexpected ways, and she gradually develops a rapport with them. But are these tales of cruel fate and bloody revenge teaching more than Alex ever intended? And who becomes responsible when these students take the tragedies to heart, and begin interweaving their darker lessons into real life with terrible and irrevocable fury?

Natalie Haynes' The Furies is a psychologically complex, dark and twisting novel about loss, obsession and the deep tragedies that can connect us to each other even as they blind us to our fate.

Twenty-One Heroes

Idgie Says:

I will start off by saying that I argue the age group for this book.  Sentences such as this - "He had to uncross his legs thinking about how she excited him with intimate delights so soon after he showed interest in her."  - lead me to feel that the age should be more toward the older end of the spectrum. This book has a lot of sexual tension wrapped around the story of the Revolutionary War.

This is the type of book that I do think grabs a young reader - it subversively educates while wrapping the education in a fictional story the keeps a younger reader interested.  I enjoy books that sneak knowledge into their lives.  :)

There is the conundrum of whether the story itself is too adult for younger readers, but combined with the fact that the younger reader is the one generally learning about this time in history and should have a interesting book to help educate them - what to do?

I suggest parents read through it first and make their own decisions.

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Sam A. Forman’s TWENTY-ONE HEROES (Pelican; October 19, 2015; Ages 12-17; Grades 7-12; ISBN: 9781455620876; $17.95) tells the story of three young people suffering the pains of heartache and the longing of true love while conflict, disease, and unrest surround them.

Inspired by the 21 graves of unknown Continental soldiers who died at the site of Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River, TWENTY-ONE HEROES pays tribute to these anonymous heroes by capturing the essence of their experiences during the Revolutionary War.

Outspoken Katherine is the rebellious, impassioned, beautiful daughter of a shopkeeper who supports the patriot cause with conviction, intelligence, and poise. She inspires the respect of many and the affections of two college students—Ezra, a quiet and studious young man who plans to become a doctor; and the charming, jovial, carefree Joshua. A mutual attraction ignites between Katherine and Ezra, but when war separates them, Katherine and Joshua grow closer. Torn between the two men, she struggles to appease her desires and realize her true feelings.
Blending historical facts with personal intimacies and modern sensibilities, Forman creates an engaging tale of young Americans becoming adults during a time of revolution and war. Readers take a front seat to history as the Battles of Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, Quebec, and Trenton unfold on these pages. Legendary figures, such as George Washington, Benedict Arnold, Samuel Adams, and Joseph Warren, frame the story in a historical context, while giving insight into the thoughts and minds of the coming-of-age Americans they inspired.

______________________

An historian, educator, and frequent lecturer, Sam A. Forman is the president of Oak and Ivy Health Systems, Inc. and a visiting scientist at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. He is the author of the definitive biography, Dr. Joseph Warren: The Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill, and the Birth of American Liberty. TWENTY-ONE HEROES is Forman’s first work of fiction and his first writing intended for a young adult readership.


Please visit http://www.drjosephwarren.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/SamFormanAuthor for more information on the author and his work.

Linwood Barclay Broken Promise Contest!

Bookreporter.com is hosting for Linwood Barclay's BROKEN PROMISE. 

In short, 23 people will win a personalized signed copy of BROKEN PROMISE to give as a gift this holiday season. The contest is only open to US residents through December 7th at Noon ET. Complete details and the entry form can be found at: 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1x7SJoPI8fL8ivkn3Dxa0qbB6p2Prq5w8UuWVElBQWC0/viewform.

 Linwood Barclay Contest

What Friend or Relative Would You Like to Thrill with a Personalized Signed Copy of Linwood Barclay’s BROKEN PROMISE This Holiday Season?

Here’s an opportunity to win a personalized signed copy of BROKEN PROMISE for someone on your holiday list. And, ahem, this is not a “To Me/From Me” gift! The purpose is for you to give this book to a thriller reader. Barclay is hailed as “a suspense master” by Stephen King, and the writing in BROKEN PROMISE, the first book in the Promise Falls trilogy, lives up to that description. This fast-paced series is also on a fast publication schedule. The second book, FAR FROM TRUE, will be in stores on March 22, 2016. The third book, THE TWENTY THREE, will be out on November 16, 2016.

We have 23 prizes to give away. Why 23?

23 is the number that keeps resurfacing in the series of strange events in Promise Falls that runs through the books and will be revealed in THE TWENTY THREE. So, tell us below who you would like to nominate to win by Monday, December 7th at noon ET. Note: You can share a personalized greeting to include or leave it to Linwood to inscribe the book. We will wrap up the book with a gift tag for you and send it to the recipient who you select! What could be more fun?

More about BROKEN PROMISE (NAL, July 2015):

After his wife’s death and the collapse of his newspaper, David Harwood has no choice but to uproot his nine-year-old son and move back into his childhood home in Promise Falls, New York. David believes his life is in free fall, and he can’t find a way to stop his descent. Then he comes across a family secret of epic proportions that will affect not only his family, but also the entire town.

Saving Sophie - a Shout Out

Updated Post - follow this link to read the first 10 pages. 

Ronald Balson’s debut novel, Once We Were Brothers, was a self-published sensation with over 160,000 copies sold.  Published in a new edition last year by St. Martin’s Press, the haunting and compelling story of two young boys in World War II Poland received rave reviews and garnered Balson a legion of new fans. He became much in demand as a speaker and appeared at over 30 book events around the country.  

Now, Balson returns with his eagerly-awaited new novel, SAVING SOPHIE( September 15^th, St. Martin’s Griffin Trade Paperback), which finds private investigator Liam Taggert and attorney Catherine Lockhart, who first appeared in Once We Were Brothers, teaming up again to investigate the kidnapping of a young girl now caught in the middle of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jack Sommers was just an ordinary accountant from Chicago until his wife died, his young daughter was kidnapped, and he became the main suspect in an $88 million dollar embezzlement case.  Now, Jack is on the run in Hawaii, hoping to avoid the feds long enough to rescue his daughter, Sophie, who was abducted by her maternal grandfather, Arif al-Zahani, and taken to Hebron.  Liam and Catherine are called in to investigate Jack’s disappearance and the whereabouts of his client’s money.  They soon learn that the case is more dangerous and far reaching than they could have imagined.  They are joined by intelligence agent Kayla Cummings, who suspects that Sophie’s grandfather is connected to a terrorist plot and plans to use Jack’s ransom money to finance the operation.  A secret mission is launched to not only save Sophie, but also to thwart the deadly attack.  But will being caught in the crossfires of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict keep the team from accomplishing the task at hand or can they overcome the odds and save countless lives, including their own?

SAVING SOPHIE is a fast-paced, heart-pounding story about a race against time that reaches from the courtrooms of Chicago to Hawaii and the Middle East.  It is also a powerful story about the lengths a father will go to in order to save his daughter. Please reach out if you would like a copy for review.

Blood of the Cosmos, The Saga of Shadows, Book Two

Idgie Says:
I waited anxiously for this book to come out after I finished the first - nearly 700 page -  novel in this series.  As I state in my review of that book, (link at bottom of this post) this is an extensively character driven book.  Every single name in this book has detailed and in-depth characterizations built into them, so that even the robots - bad and good - are interesting. Everyone has a back story, quirks and distinct qualities.  

This novel tops out nearer to 600 pages and  begins by presenting a run-down of the first book as the beginning chapter.  It was incredibly helpful as it's been a year since I read the first one. 

A great saga of a sci-fi story,  chapters going back  and forth between the characters - all with their own sub-story.  All the chapters culminate into the story of the universe itself and what threat is trying to snuff every living creature out of existence. 

By the middle of the book the action and suspense are really building and you already start to wonder where you will be left hanging in anticipation and suspense as you remember there's one more book to go. 

Good news on the third book - if you follow Kevin J. Anderson on FB, he is working hard on it now and throws out little lines and what I hope is the final cover to the reader every few days. 

I highly recommend to the lover of big books and Sci-Fi Space Operas.

Blood of the Cosmos

(Part of SAGA OF SHADOWS)

By Kevin J. Anderson

TOR Books,
June, 2015

The second book in Kevin J. Anderson's Saga of Shadows trilogy, a riveting science fiction epic. 'Anderson hits it out of the galaxy again' - Booklist, starred review, on Dark Between the Stars

An epic space opera of the titanic conflict of several galactic civilizations against a life-destroying force of shadows, a dark cosmic force that has swept through the undercurrents of the human interstellar empire…

The intertwined plot, overflowing with colorful ideas, a large cast of characters, and complex storylines, spans dozens of solar systems, alien races, and strange creatures.
As the second book of the trilogy opens, the humans and Ildirans having narrowly escaped annihilation at the hands of the Shana Rei and their robot allies in Book One, are desperate to find a way to combat the black cloud of antimatter of the Shana Rei. The mysterious, alien Gardeners, who had helped them previously turn out to be a disaster in disguise and because of them, the world tree forests are again in danger. This opens up a second front in this galactic war. Believing they have found a way to stop their dreaded enemies, a new weapon is tested, but it's a horrible failure, throwing the human race and its allies to the brink of extinction.

Read the Dew's review of Book 1 HERE.

Dead Ringer Swag Bag Giveaway

Curious about Laura Rivers and her story? Read an excerpt from DEAD RINGER and find out more about author Jessie Rosen on fullfathomfive.com.

DEAD RINGER CALI-STYLE SWAG BAG GIVEAWAY!

Jessie Rosen’s debut novel DEAD RINGER is here, and so is Laura Rivers, new girl at Englewood High School. In DEAD RINGER, Laura wants to start the school year with a splash and bring some fun to her new life on the East Coast, but is stopped short by the rumors flying around—rumors about how she’s the uncanny doppelgänger of the school’s most famous suicide victim: Sarah Castro-Tanner.

Regardless, Laura is determined to shake off the weird stares and make a stunning first impression. How? Bright colors, cool accessories, fresh beauty favorites, and a killer attitude.

But Laura may be covering up some secrets with all that California sunshine…

In honor of Laura Rivers and DEAD RINGER, Full Fathom Five Digital is giving away a fabulous pack of prizes designed to give you the Cali-girl look you’ve been dreaming of. Three winners will walk away with Laura Rivers-inspired prizes that, altogether, value at over $400!

How do you win, you ask? Just enter using any (or all) of the methods listed in the Rafflecopter below. The more ways you enter, the higher your chances of winning the CALI-STLYE SWAG BAG Grand Prize!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TWO (2) RUNNER-UP WINNERS will receive:

- One (1) cuff bracelet inscribed with #SWAG from Hearts&Hashtags – in honor of Laura’s mantra during her first day of school at Englewood High (“It’s all about swag.”)

- One (1) set of three girly stockings from Wade & Belle – exactly what Laura wears to the homecoming dance with her vintage Audrey Hepburn-inspired dress

- One (1) Cali Trucker Hat from Billabong – it would totally remind Laura of her sunny Cali days

- One (1) Maybelline lipstick in the shade “Faint for Fuschia” – the same shade Laura wears on her first day at Englewood High

- One (1) “Go Teen” Skin Authority Kit – which Laura would use to maintain her perfect, sunkissed, Cali complexion

- One (1) “FAB Faves” To-Go Kit from First Aid Beauty – perfect for all the on-the-go touchups Laura might sneak in at school

ONE (1) GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive:

- One (1) trendy, vintage-inspired Nasty Gal bag – just like Laura would carry at school or bring on a date with Charlie

- One (1) olive-sapphire bracelet in white-gold, provided by Starling Jewelry – blue to match the bluer of Laura’s different-colored eyes

- all of the beauty- and fashion-related goodies listed above!

The giveaway ends on December 2^nd, so don’t hesitate – enter the DEAD RINGER CALI-STYLE SWAG BAG GIVEAWAY today!

A big thanks to the sponsors for providing the prizes: Maybelline New York, Nasty Gal, Billabong, First Aid Beauty, Starling Jewelry, Skin Authority, Wade & Belle, and Hearts & Hashtags!

Idgie Says:
This is a cute Rom Com type story.  Ridiculously wealthy man sweeps scorned woman off her feet.  But the woman has her own independence and bank account and doesn't get swept off for desire and need but for a change of pace in her life.  Refreshing that he's not "saving her".  

Fairly light-hearted and many amusing moments and quick dialogue.  A fun book to disappear into for a while. 

My only gripe - person in charge of cover didn't bother to really investigate the book - the dog is totally wrong.  (Yes, these things bother me.)  :)


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Put a Ring On It

by Beth Kendrick

PENGUIN GROUP Berkley, NAL / Signet

 

Description

Also available in Trade Paperback
The author of New Uses for Old Boyfriends returns to the Delaware seashore town of Black Dog Bay, where one woman learns to put passion before practicality…

Brighton Smith doesn’t do outrageous. As an insurance actuary, it’s her job to assess risk and avoid bad investments. But when her fiancé calls to confess he’s married someone else on a whim (“I looked at her and I just knew!”), she snaps…

That night, at a local bar, Jake Sorensen—hot, rich, and way out of her league—buys Brighton a cocktail. At midnight, she kisses him. And by dawn, they’re exchanging vows at a drive-through chapel.

Brighton knows Jake is a bad bet, but she doesn’t care. After a lifetime of playing it safe, she’s finally having fun. Until the whirlwind romance gives way to painful reality...and Brighton finds out the truth about why a guy like Jake married a girl like her. With her heart on the line and the odds stacked against them, Brighton must decide whether to cut her losses or take a leap of faith that this love affair is one in a million.

INCLUDES A READERS GUIDE

 

Found Anew - A Shout Out

Idgie Says:  This is a slim but oversized (perfect for the coffee table!) collection of writing and poetry from South Carolina authors that also has the added treat of historical photographs included within it's pages.  A lovely collection to your library.  _________________ Found Anew Poetry and Prose Inspired by the South Caroliniana Library Digital Collections Edited by R. Mac Jones and Ray McManus Foreword by Nikky Finney USC Press November, 2015 Renowned writers add context and depth to inspiring historical images

Found Anew is an anthology of new poetry and prose from writers with strong ties to the Palmetto State that creatively engages with historical photographs found in the digital collections of the University of South Carolina's South Caroliniana Library. In their eclectic approach to ekphrasis—textual response to the visual—editors R. Mac Jones and Ray McManus have recruited an impressive group of poets and fiction writers, including National Book Award–winning poets Terrance Hayes and Nikky Finney (who provides the foreword); their fellow South Carolina Academy of Authors honorees Gilbert Allen, John Lane, Bret Lott, George Singleton, and Marjory Wentworth; Lillian Smith Award–winner Pam Durban, and others.

These thirty-one pairings of archival images with original creative responses illustrate the breadth and richness of the diverse talents of South Carolina writers. While the digital collections are a much-valued resource for researchers and educators, Found Anew encourages a wider use as a source of inspiration for writers and artists inventing narratives set in and about South Carolina. In coupling the poems and short stories with the images that inspired them, the anthology shows writers gauging unlikely depths in curious photographs that other eyes might pass over without a second glance, conjuring perfect words for the emotion evoked by a particular image, and rendering and reimagining the visual in seemingly disparate but ultimately linked narratives. An instructive model for active, collaborative engagement between creative writers and culturally significant visual prompts, this collection also serves to demonstrate the accessibility and scope of archival photography available in South Caroliniana's digital collections. Through these creative responses, the images are not recovered or explained—but, rather, found anew.

R. Mac Jones is an assistant professor of English in the Extended University at the University of South Carolina. A former editor of Yemassee, Jones, writing as Raster Jones, is the author of poetry appearing in the James Dickey Review, Town Creek Poetry, and other publications.
Ray McManus is an associate professor of English at the University of South Carolina Sumter. McManus is the author of four books of poetry: Punch, Red Dirt Jesus, Left Behind, and Driving through the Country before You Are Born (winner of the South Carolina Poetry Book Award). His poetry and prose have appeared in Los Angeles Review, Arkansas Review, Texas Poetry Review, Hard Lines: An Anthology of Rough South Poetry, State of the Heart: South Carolina Writers on the Places They Love, Volume 2, and other journals and anthologies.  

Contributors:
Gilbert Allen
Sam Amadon
Laurel Blossom
Darien Cavanaugh
Phebe Davidson
Pam Durban
Julia Eliot
Worthy Evans
Richard Garcia
Will Garland
Linda Lee Harper
Terrance Hayes
Thomas L. Johnson
R. Mac Jones
Julia Koets
John Lane
Brett Lott
Ed Madden
Jonathan Maricle
Terri McCord
Janna McMahan
Ray McManus
Susan Laughter Meyers
Mark Powell
Michele Reese
Mark Sibley-Jones
George Singleton
Charlene Spearen
Daniel Nathan Terry
Jillian Weise
Marjory Wentworth
William Wright
 

Georgialina

Idgie Says:

A sweet, slim book of memories of Tom's life growing up in a South that doesn't necessarily exist anymore.  A nice historical screenshot of life as it once was. 

USC Press

November, 2015

Book Description:

A nostalgic look at Georgia and South Carolina before development, outsiders, and modern conveniences brought wholesale change

Veteran journalist and Southern storyteller Tom Poland has been writing about the disappearing rural South for nearly four decades. With a companionable appreciation for nostalgia, preservation, humor, and wonder, Georgialina: A Southland as We Knew It brings to life once more the fading and often-forgotten unfiltered character of the South as Poland takes readers down back roads to old homeplaces, covered bridges, and country stores. He recalls hunting for snipes and for lost Confederate gold; the joys of beach music, the shag, and cruising Ocean Drive; and the fading traditions of sweeping yards with homemade brooms, funeral processions, calling catfish, and other customs of southern heritage and history. Peppered with candid memoir, Georgialina also introduces readers to a host of quirky and memorable characters who have populated the southland of Poland's meanderings.

As commercialization, homogenization, and relocation have slowly altered distinctive regions of the country, making all places increasingly similar, Southern traditions have proven to be more resilient than most. But Poland notes that many elements that once identified day-to-day life in the South are now completely foreign to contemporary generations. Set primarily in Poland's native Georgia and adopted home of South Carolina, his tales of bygone times resonate across a recognizably southern landscape and faithfully recall the regional history and lore that have defined the South for generations as a place uniquely its own for natives, newcomers, and visitors.

Tom Poland writes columns about the South and its people, traditions, lifestyles, and culture for newspapers and journals in Georgia and South Carolina. His ten previous books include Reflections of South Carolina and Reflections of South Carolina, Volume 2 (both with photographer Robert C. Clark) and Classic Carolina Road Trips from Columbia: Historic Destinations and Natural Wonders. Poland lives in Columbia.