The bloodroot plant with its white flowers that herald spring evokes the deep forests of Appalachia, which are sacred groves for poet Bill King, who grew up in and lived his life in Appalachia. His collection Bloodroot: Poems (Mercer University Press 2023) is a record of this life, one of challenges but sustained joy buoyed by a […]
Read of the Month: “Leta Pearl’s Love Biscuits” by Arlon Jay Staggs
December 31, 2025 by Leave a Comment
First, you’re entranced by the title: Leta Pearl’s Love Biscuits (Koehler Books 2025). Then, buckle up. You’re about to enter three-hundred mischievous pages of 1982 small-town Alabama in this wildly entertaining romp by Arlon Jay Staggs. The protagonist, Trudy Abernathy, is a young woman with a past that continues to haunt her, largely because of […]
December Read of the Month: “The Miniaturist’s Assistant” by Katherine Scott Crawford
December 2, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Editor’s note: SLR has two Reads of the Month for December. We think you will love both books. In The Miniaturist’s Assistant, Katherine Scott Crawford would, for a moment, like you to believe that Charleston, South Carolina, is a town like any other town. If you’ve ever been to Charleston, you know that is simply […]
December Read of the Month: “Junah at the End of the World” by Dan Leach
December 2, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Editor’s note: SLR has two Reads of the Month for December. We think you will love both books. You won’t find a more huggable narrator than twelve-year-old Junah, the unforgettable protagonist of Junah at the End of the World by Dan Leach. His voice—funny, irreverent, and deeply original—calls to mind Holden Caulfield from The Catcher […]
“Where the Rivers Merge” by Mary Alice Monroe
November 5, 2025 by 1 Comment
Mary Alice Monroe, New York Times best selling author of thirty books, has taken a divergent path with her new historical novel. In Where the Rivers Merge (William Morrow 2025) we follow a journey that transports us in time and place between the grand city of Charleston, South Carolina, and a lush Lowcountry plantation to […]
Read of the Month: “The Summer We Ate Off the China” by Devin Jacobsen
October 1, 2025 by Leave a Comment
Introduction: When Devin Jacobsen, author of the novel, Breath Like the Wind at Dawn, reached out to me in the of Fall 2024 requesting a review of his short story collection, The Summer We Ate Off the China, it was the year-end— never a good time—so I read a sample of his work and added […]