Hart’s book keeps landing on lists
Published 12:00 am Sunday, July 24, 2016
John Hart’s “Redemption Road” continues to get notice for all different reasons and from several sources.
The book is at the top of the list of mysteries and thrillers on Goodreads’ “21 Hottest Books of Summer.” The inclusion is based on the most buzz on Goodreads, which allows readers to rank, by stars, recent books they’ve read. Readers can also mark books as “Want to Read” and can post short reviews.
Also on the mystery list is “Before the Fall,” by Noah Hawley. But Hart is mixed in with Louise Erdrich (“LaRose”), Nathaniel Philbrick (“Valiant Ambition), Annie Proulx (“Barkskins”), and the hot new writer, Yaa Gyasi (“Homegoing”).
The Bitter Southerner created a list of 10 works of fiction and 10 of nonfiction. They looked at the most notable Southern books or books about the South so far this year and which books set for publication hold the greatest promise. “Redemption Road” made this list, too.
Other books on the fiction list include Ron Rash’s upcoming “The Risen,” “Ann Patchett’s new novel, “Commonwealth” and Julia Franks’ “Over the Plain Houses.”
On ‘Bookwatch’ this week
Margaret Bauer talks about “A Study of Scarletts: Scarlett O’Hara and Her Literary Daughters” on “North Carolina Bookwatch” today at noon and Thursday at 5 p.m.
Eighty years ago, on June 30, 1936, Margaret Mitchell’s novel “Gone with the Wind” first went on sale. That book and the movie it inspired introduced the nation to Scarlett O’Hara, who became and remains an important part of American culture.
What explains readers’ lasting fascination with Scarlett? Is it the powerful love story? The struggle for survival during and after the Civil War?
In her book, “A Study of Scarletts: Scarlett O’Hara and Her Literary Daughters,” East Carolina University Professor Bauer examines Scarlett in comparison with leading characters in other Southern novels, and she comes to conclusions about Scarlett – ones that may surprise you.
David Payne talks about “Barefoot to Avalon: A Brother’s Story” on “North Carolina Bookwatch” Sunday, July 31, at noon, and Thursday, Aug. 3 at 5 p.m.
The book is a memoir of Payne’s family and with it a poignant chronicle of mental illness, infidelity, failed marriages, suicide, abuse, addiction and alcoholism.