Review from one of my guest bloggers: You won’t find Rick Bragg’s pieces in history textbooks, social studies syllabi, or even any English class curriculums, but that’s a pea-pickin’ shame in my opinion. The former New York Times award-winning journalist, writer, essayist, social commentator, my southern journeyUniversity of Alabama professor and yarn-spinner deserves a place in all of the above.

His latest nonfiction book, My Southern Journey, is an anthology of the essays he’s been writing for Southern Living Magazine and various other periodicals for the past decade, give or take. For those of us who are diehard fans, it’s a little disappointing not to have something new to guffaw over, but it is convenient to have all that wisdom in one volume.

And that’s the thing that makes Bragg’s pieces accessible to all audiences: it’s uncommon wisdom disguised as humor and wit, with a heaping dash of Southern absurdity and hilarity. Much of the time it’s dry yet polite, it touches on sometimes difficult subjects, but it’s appropriate for all ages.

Take, for instance, the following exchange in which Bragg discusses his aging mother’s new status as a crazy cat lady. Absurd, yes. Hilarious, pretty much. Quintessentially Southern, absolutely.

My Southern Journey is in stores (print & digital) now. It should come with a glass of sweet tea and a bag of pork rinds.

Oh, my goodness, I loved this one. I read Rick Bragg’s pieces in Southern Living every month, so a few of these were familiar. But I enjoyed them just as much the second time around. His love for the South and all its eccentricities comes through loud and clear in these pieces. For good measure, I ended up listening to the audio version as well, which he narrates himself. Even better! His voice is wonderful, we get all those inflections and emphasis points right where he wants them. Perfection! I highly recommend this one to anyone who loves the South, or outsiders who may want to understand it a bit better.
Copy provided by Netgalley and Time Inc. Books in exchange for an unbiased review.