I have to admit I am not a fan of Pat Conroy's books. I am just not prone to reading about dysfunctional families and abuse and bullying. So the only book of his that I have read is his non-fiction collection of essays, My Reading Life. In it he writes about things dear to my heart: books and bookshops, writers and writing, Paris and the South.
When I read there was a new collection of Mr. Conroy's non-fiction published after his death in March of this year, I thought I would give it a try. The book contains blog posts, letters, interviews, addresses, and other short pieces gathered together in A Lowcountry Heart: Reflections on a Writing Life. Lowcountry refers to the region along South Carolina's coast and is the location of Beaufort where he lived. It is a charming town. I have visited there and can attest to its many attractions.
The first entries in this collection include twenty-five posts from the blog that he kept from 2011-2015. Some are quite intriguing, especially the ones detailing books that he is reading or wants to read and authors that he has met. Others feel a bit self-conscious and contain stories about meeting old friends at book signings or tales of classmates from his days at The Citadel. You can actually read all his posts here.
There are a couple of tributes to Mr. Conroy including an introduction by his widow Cassandra King, his editor Nan Talese, and his oldest friend and fellow author Bernie Schein. The one I am looking forward to reading (and am saving for last) is written by Rick Bragg and was published in Southern Living. The text of the eulogy given at Mr. Conroy's funeral is also here.
I suppose if you are a fan you will be eager to have all these words of Mr. Conroy's to hold close to your heart. I am pretty neutral about the content and can't help feeling this book was published to fill the coffers of his estate. (Does that sound too mean?)
Even though most of the pieces from this collection can be found online or in other publications, if you already love Mr. Conroy you will probably want this for your bookshelf. If you are not already a fan, this book will most likely not change your mind.
But do give My Reading Life a try. It is quite readable and I highly recommend it.
How about you? Are you a fan of Pat Conroy's books? It's OK if you are. We can still be friends.
Rick Bragg is a journalist and a Southerner. This means he can tell a heck of a story in a few words and leave the reader laughing or crying...or both.
I have been a fan since reading his first book All Over But the Shoutin' which is the story of growing up dirt poor in Alabama and the sacrifices that his momma made for the family. It is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Although he has written other books about his family - one about his father and another about his maternal grandfather - his loving look at his mother remains my favorite.
I am quite taken with his style and also enjoyed reading a collection of his newspaper stories, Somebody Told Me. He loves the South and its people.
My Southern Journey: True Stories From the Heart of the South is his latest book. It is a collection of some new and some previously published essays and magazine pieces. He writes the Southern Journal column in Southern Living magazine so I imagine some of these musings come from there.
I heard Mr. Bragg speak here in Louisville years ago when he attended a library author event. I am in love with his voice, his squinty eyes, his care in choosing the precise word, his cracking good sense of humor.
I am looking forward to reading his latest reflections on life below the Mason-Dixon line. Right now, I could use a good dose of Southern heart.
My Bookstore, with an introduction by Richard Russo, is a wonderful 'dip into' book. In it, eighty-four writers describe their favorite bookstores. So the reader gets to visit many places he or she might never get to in real life. A great armchair travel book for those of us who love to read.
I first read the entries on the five or six stores that I had visited - one here in my hometown by Wendell Berry who writes, [Carmichael's] has the quietness, the smell, the tangibility that a bookstore ought to have.
I would have to agree.
Then I read about all the bookstores in North Carolina, and there are six featured, in preparation for what just might be The Second Grand Southern Literary Tour.
Next, I started reading by writer. So I discovered that Rick Bragg (All Over But the Shoutin') likes The Alabama Booksmith in Birmingham for the simple reason that there are no cats here. Ann Patchett (State of Wonder), on her first visit to McLean & Eakin Booksellers in Petoskey, Michigan, fell in love with the town - a dreamy, shady place on the lake - and then immediately its bookstore. Isabelle Allende (The House of the Spirits), calls Book Passage in Corte Madera, California, her personal book store and writes, The only place as comforting as a friendly bookstore is probably your grandmother's kitchen.
Of course, these authors are preaching to the choir and yet it is a cozy way to get a bookstore fix. Some are located in strip malls. Some are urban, while others are suburban. Some bookstores are brand new, others are quite ancient. There are those where one can sip espresso while reading and others that offer bottles of maple syrup for sale at the register. But however quirky, all the store owners have books and a love of reading in common.
One of the nice aspects of the book is that there an illustration of each store at the beginning of its chapter. And in the back of the book, there is a list by state of each store featured. Very helpful for anyone planning a trip.
