This year I finished a record (for me) of forty-three books. The list includes nonfiction (always my favorite), fiction, poetry, memoir, and—for the first time—a sampling of banned books (eight of them). I wanted to see what all of the fuss is about. After reading them, I didn’t understand why most of them had been banned. Only one truly shocked me, and it was one that received a Nobel Prize. Although I did not like that particular tome, I’ll vigorously defend our right to read it. Wishing each and every one of you a new year full of good reading.
#bookworm #books2023 #booklover #booklist
Ahrens, Kami. The Foxfire Book of Appalachian Women: Stories of Landscape and Community in the Mountain South. The University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill. 2023. Nonfiction.
Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Little, Brown and Company. New York, Boston. 2007. Banned book.
Ashworth, William. Ogallala Blue: Water and Life on the High Plains. Countryman Press. Woodstock, Vermont. 2006. Nonfiction. This is one of the best books I’ve ever read.
Beasley, Gertrude. My First Thirty Years. Sourcebooks. Naperville, Illinois. 2021, 1925. Banned book.
Benedict, Betty. Winding Round the Square. Xlibris Corporation. Bloomington, Indiana. 2010. Memoir.
Bennett, Lorraine Martin. Cat on a Black Moon. Austin Macauley Publishers, LLC. New York. 2023. Fiction.
Blume, Judy. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret. Bradbury Press. Scarsdale, New York. 1970. Banned book.
Brinkley, Douglas. Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening. HarperCollins Publishers. 2022. Nonfiction.
Busch, Lonnie A. All Hope of Becoming Human: A Novel. UBiQ Press. North Carolina, USA. 2023. Fiction.
Busch, Lonnie A. Turnback Creek. Texas Review Press. Huntsville, TX. 2007. Novella.
Caldwell, Taylor. Melissa. 10th ed., Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971. Fiction.
Chiong, Raven. Ode to the Still, Small Voice: A Memoir of Listening. Covenant Books. Murrells Inlet, SC. 2023. Poetry.
Davis, Tom (editor). After the Storm: A Poetry and Prose Anthology. Old Mountain Press, Sylva, NC. 2023. Anthology.
Davis, Tom (editor). Down by the Sea: A Poetry and Prose Anthology. Old Mountain Press, Sylva, NC. 2023. Anthology.
Davis, Tom (editor). To All a Good Night: A Poetry and Prose Anthology. Old Mountain Press, Sylva, NC. 2023. Anthology.
Dillard, Annie. The Writing Life. Harper & Rowe, Publishers, New York. 1989. Nonfiction.
Doering, Justin Wilder. Fifty Sandwiches. Fiftysandwiches.com. 2018. Banned book.
Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. Metropolitan Books-Henry Holt & Company, New York. 2001. Banned book.
Fariello, M. Anna. Craft & Community: John C. Campbell Folk School 1925-1945. Curatorial Insight. Cullowhee, NC. 2018. Nonfiction.
Hawley, Ellis W. The Great War and the Search for a Modern Order. St. Martin’s Press. New York. 1992. History.
Higgins, Jack. Cold Harbour. Simon and Schuster. New York. 1990. Fiction.
Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. Center Point Publishing. Thorndike, Maine. 2007. Fiction. Banned book.
Jones, Randell (editor). That Southern Thing—living, loving, laughing, loathing, leaving the South. Personal Story Publishing Project. Daniel Boone Footsteps, Winston-Salem, NC. 2020. Anthology.
Ledford, Brenda Kay. Crepe Roses. Kelsay Books. American Fork, UT. 2014. Poetry.
Ledford, Brenda Kay. Leatherwood Falls: Blue Ridge Mountain Poems. Kelsay Books. American Fork, UT. 2023. Poetry.
Marsh, A. R. The Witching Work. Strange Particle Press. 2023. Fantasy.
Mitchell, Kirk. Dance of the Thunder Dogs. Berkley Publishing Group. 2004. Fiction.
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. New York. 2007. Banned book.
Moyes, Patricia. A Six-Letter Word for Death. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. New York. 1983. Fiction.
Muse, Jeff Darren. Dear Park Ranger: Essays on Manhood, Restlessness, and the Geography of Hope. Wayfarer Books. Northampton, MA. 2023. Memoir.
Noble, Nicholas D., "Analysis of the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003: The good the bad and the ugly." 2003. Graduate thesis.
Palmer, Tom G. Peace, Love, & Liberty: War is Not Inevitable. Jameson Books, Inc. 2014. Essay collection.
Patterson, Kerry, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler. Crucial Conversations. Maidenhead, England: McGraw-Hill Contemporary. 2002. Nonfiction.
Plunkett, David. Chessboard. Self-published. Young Harris, GA. 2019. Fiction.
Ricketson, Mary. Precious the Mule. Redhawk Publications, Hickory, NC. 2022. Poetry. (I read this in 2022 but forgot to include it in last year’s list. It’s a good book.)
Ricketson, Mary. Stutters: A Book of Hope. Redhawk Publications, Hickory, NC. 2023. Poetry.
Roeder, James A. Niobrara National Scenic River, 1985-2000: Old Arguments, New Compromises. Thesis presented to Dept. of History & Faculty of Graduate College, University of Nebraska. Omaha. 2002.
Saenz, Benjamin A. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. Simon and Schuster, New York. 2012. Banned book.
Taylor, Colin F. Buckskin & Buffalo: The Artistry of the Plains Indians. Rizzoli International Publications, Inc. New York. 1998. Nonfiction.
Turner, Lisa. House Keys: The Essential Homeowner’s Guide to Saving Money, Time, and Your Sanity Building, Buying, Selling, and Maintaining a Home. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. North Charleston, SC. 2017. Nonfiction.
The Warren Report / The Official Report of the President’s Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy. NY Associated Press, 1964. Nonfiction.
Voelker, Lisa. The Spoon: The Story of Two Families’ Survival of the Hungarian Revolution. Self-Published. 2021. Creative nonfiction.
Whisnant, David E. All that is native & fine: The Politics of Culture in an American Region. The University of North Carolina Press. Chapel Hill. 1983. Nonfiction.
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