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judyward's review
3.0
This is a wonderful collection of essays on all things Southern by Ray Blount, Jr. Because of the format, it's an easy book to pick up, read a few pages, and then put down. Unfortunately, I had to stop reading this book at my desk at work because I kept bursting into laughter and, apparently, random laughter is viewed with suspicion in the workplace. One of my favorite essays was his "Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English" which includes such words as "squoz"--the past tense of squeeze, "fotched-on"--store bought or imported, and "the all-overs"--the shivers. Blount as an opinion on everything and, luckily, he's willing to share. For example, he says living with a Jack Russell Terrier is "like living with a movie star who seems to be able to handle quite a lot of cocaine" and calls Tom DeLay of Texas "the thinking person's Satan". Many of the essays deal with being a Southerner transplanted to the North and he deals with the subject with deftness, insight, and humor.
samirakatherine's review
2.0
I think that I mostly was interested in this book because the author grew up in Decatur, GA (where I now live) and now lives in Northampton, MA (my favorite of the places that I have lived). That said, I found that the essays did not really hold my interest. Technically, I did not finish this book, though I feel like I did what you do with a book of essays--I skimmed through and read what appealed.
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