Quick notes on why I chose my books.
Homeplace by Beth Massie – I picked this up a while back because it’s listed as new Southern Gothic and I eat that stuff up. The short synopsis makes it sound creepy, so I doubt I’ll be reading any of this in the middle of the night.
Beach Music by Pat Conroy – A speech I was witness to by Pat Conroy was a true awakening for me as a writer. He’s got a touch of magic to him. This has just been on the list for a long time.
Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd – Because it’s time that I finished this behemoth. I trudged through some less interesting bits and finally got back into some action. And the arrival of Christianity on the British Isles. So you know it’s getting interesting.
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech – For the moments when everything else is too heavy. A story in poems.
What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones – Another book of prose poems. YA selection that I’ve read before about a young girl and her life at age 12. There’s some deep stuff in this one.
Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay – The second book in the Dexter series. The first one was decent, but I’m bound and determined to get through this series. I enjoy the TV show and I like to keep up with the differences.
Black Heart, Ivory Bones – An anthology of fairy tales, fictionalized for grown-ups. No idea what I’m getting into here.
Behind You by Jacqueline Woodson – I read the book that came before this when I was in 10th grade, I think. This one has been sitting on my shelf since not long after that.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel – I may be the last human alive who hasn’t ready this. Trying to get into it for a second time.
My Antonia by Willa Cather – Cather is one of my favorite authors. She captures something that I hope my own work will, someday. My Antonia is one of my favorite books to usher in winter.
Salt by Isabel Zuber – The premise sounds very interesting. I’m probably most excited about reading this one. I’ll let you know how it goes.
The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel – A guy I knew in college insisted that I read her work. Never have. Changing that.
Terrains of the Heart and Other Essays on Home by Willie Morris – When I was 7-years-old, I would rent a movie from The Movie House (as our rental place was called back in the day) called “Pirates of the Yazoo.” It was a WonderWorks feature that would sometimes show up on OETA (our PBS affiliate). I loved this movie. Years later I watched My Dog, Skip and noticed a lot of similarities. Because they are the same. It’s the same story, with a few tweaks here and there. Anyway, I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Mr. Morris. I think if he were alive I would invite him over for a glass of tea and we would talk about just how much we love our grandmas, and front porches, and the way things used to be. Only he’d remember the way things used to be a lot better than me because by the time I was born Madonna was already on the scene and the world was never the same.
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater – Re-reading this so everything will be fresh on my mind when I reward myself with Linger for FINISHING THIS READ-A-THON!
The Vigilante’s Bride by Yvonne Harris – A book I picked up for review because it sounded interesting. Love me a good western.
Birthing from Within – Because I’m a little bit of a hippie and I like to be well-informed before I jump in to something 
A few last minute additions will be made this evening.
The post Read-A-Thon Picks appeared first on Elizabeth Michelle.