The American South is an intriguing place with a complex past and since moving here I’ve learned a bit about this slice of America and the Southern way of life. Below are some books I’ve enjoyed (anything by Julia Reed!) or are on my reading list about the place we now call home. Most are light-hearted and focus on Southern interiors, cooking, and entertaining, but many touch on the region’s complicated history as well. Are there any non-fiction Southern classics I’m missing in my library? Do tell!
Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties: An Entertaining Life (with Recipes) by Julia Reed
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Southern Lady Code: Essays by Helen Ellis
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Deep South by Paul Theroux
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Some Day You’ll Thank Me for This: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Being a “Perfect” Mother by Charlotte Hays and Gayden Metcalfe
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Southern Women: More Than 100 Stories of Innovators, Artists, and Icons by the Editors of Garden & Gun
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Queen of the Turtle Derby and Other Southern Phenomena by Julia Reed
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South Toward Home: Adventures and Misadventures in My Native Land by Julia Reed
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The Southerner’s Handbook: A Guide to Living the Good Life by the Editors of Garden & Gun
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S Is for Southern: A Guide to the South, from Absinthe to Zydeco by the Editors of Garden & Gun
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The Art of Southern Charm by Patricia Altschul
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Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz
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Spying on the South: An Odyssey Across the American Divide by Tony Horwitz
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What Southern Women Know (That Every Woman Should): Timeless Secrets to Get Everything you Want in Love, Life, and Work by Ronda Rich
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A Southern Belle Primer: Why Princess Margaret Will Never Be a Kappa Kappa Gamma by Marilyn Schwartz
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Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits by Reese Witherspoon
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Talk Southern to Me: Stories & Sayings to Accent Your Life by Julia Fowler
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Secrets of the Southern Belle: How to Be Nice, Work Hard, Look Pretty, Have Fun, and Never Have an Off Moment by Phaedra Parks
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Sue Ellen’s Girl Ain’t Fat, She Just Weighs Heavy by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson
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Suck Your Stomach in and Put Some Color On! by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson
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I hope you’ve found this list helpful (or at least entertaining—some of the titles alone gave me a good laugh!).
For those interested there’s a new Daily Hunt full of finds for your home and wardrobe available here!
I do love anything I can get my hands on by Julia Reed, from her books, to recipes in the NYT to her political writing. I would also highly recommend Bailey White, another funny observant Southern writer. Mama makes up her mind, is terrific. I loved Bailey White’s stories on All Things Considered on NPR. My favorites are her tales of her kindergarteners, just so tender.
Kumi – Adding some Bailey White titles to my wish list! Thank you so much for the rec!
Hey! One of THE best books ever is Rick Bragg’s “It’s All Over But the Shoutin”…..an amazing story of rising from the depths of poverty in the South to become a NY Times Reporter…Cannot recommend enough….!
I love Helen Ellis’ books! Another Southern author I’ve recently picked up is Rick Bragg. His latest book of stories from the South is spot on!
Victoria – Googling it now. Sounds like something my husband and I would both enjoy reading! Thank you so much!
Catherine – Another Rick Bragg rec! My readers are the best. I just ordered his first memoir and hope to start it this weekend. Thank you so much!
Rebecca Wells, Pat Conroy, Fannie Flagg, Wiley Cash. And Faulkner, of course!
Eliza – Yes! I need to do separate list all for the fantastic fiction from the area!
As a girl raised in the south (a “GRITS,” as so many tea towels will tell you), there is a lot I love about it, but I have also developed much more awareness of its complexities as I’ve gotten older. If you haven’t read Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, I highly recommended it. He is an amazingly powerful storyteller; his is the most gripping and meaningful non-fiction book I’ve ever read. If you have a chance post-COVID, definitely consider a visit to his museum in Montgomery as well!
MBT – Thank you so much for this tip. Adding it to my reading list and am hopeful we’ll be visiting AL sometime soon!
Lewis Grizzard is a much beloved southern humorist and wrote lots of great stories about Southern life, including his beloved Georgia Bulldogs! Pat Conroy is a must also.
I also highly recommend anything written by Rick Bragg! I learned so much…
So, now that you have been in the South for some time, do you have a deviled egg plate? The true mark of a Southern woman. I lived there for 25 years and was married for 23 of them to a true FFV. Flat out refused one. I am a Yankee of many generations and there is just so far I was willing to go.
The make-up thing – true story! My late MIL was admitted to the hospital and ended up in the CCU where it was one nurse to two patients. The nurses couldn’t stop talking about her as they had never had a 90 year-old patient who had a screaming red mani/pedi and who kept her lipstick and a mirror on her bed tray along with a pick for her hair! MIL was a nurse way back when and the staff asked her some questions about what nursing was like back then (she graduated nursing school in 1942, at the height of the war). She proceeded to tell the story of how she and another student sneaked out of their dorm to get the other girl’s BF to Baltimore to be shipped out. Back then if any military person needed a ride, it was common practice to just get them to their destination. Well, some Marine got in the back seat with her and started to get fresh which included running his hand up her legs. She was properly horrified and smacked him across the face – like any true Southern woman would! I suggested that the staff might be more interested in how they nursed, what they did, etc. She looked at me like I had three heads and said, “Well, Honey, they just laughed their asses off when I told them.” I gave up but still, 10 years later, the story makes me laugh.
How is Gabe doing? We all need some new pics!
Susan
Read Dispatches from Pluto
I agree that you definitely should add Rick Bragg to the list. I did read Whiskey in a Tea Cup and found it terribly disappointing. I am from a more rural area than Nashville so possibly it was due to that, but Reese’s vision of the South seemed like a shallow caricature. A lot of what she wrote seemed overly concerned with appearances, missing the real reason for our traditions, cooking skills, manners and social graces: to make OTHER people feel comfortable & welcome so as to foster a lasting connection. Most cultures have a “flavor” of hospitality and traditional family values….African American, Middle Eastern, Hispanic; British, French, Italian, even Midwestern US culture is interesting and unique….we can all learn from each other, but we have to remember the point of most cultural idiosyncrasies surrounds fostering relationship, not showy flamboyance for the sake of personal attention. There is enough Me, Me, Me in our present day. I am sorry to say that book left a sour taste in my mouth.
Denise – Sounds like a very fair criticism. I’ve only flipped through Reese’s book. I’ll have to take a deeper dive and see for myself! Enjoying Rick Bragg’s memoir immensely. Thank you for weighing in!
Just Mercy, The Warmth of Other Sons and Caste are all wonderful books that offer a much different perspective on the South than many of the books on your list. The South has a complex history…as Faulkner said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”
I’d suggest How the South Won the Civil War by Heather Cox Richardson. The South has a complicated history, and HCR does a fabulous job explaining it!
Rani – Thank you so much for these suggestions. My husband and I watched the Just Mercy film recently and it was so powerful. I found myself wishing I had first read the book.
A wonderful list! I might also add, The Potlikker Papers by John T. Edge. It has been a fabulous read. I also cannot put down Old Southwest to Old South by Mike Bunn and Clay Williams.