Georgia Books

"Southern Comforts" is an evocative prose poem of a place - Alachua, Florida - its countryside and town - its people, Native Americans, black, white, young, old, family, friends, living, and dead - and their stories, fact and fable, that coalese and collect in one woman's search for herself. The author is a rare species, a fifth-generation Floridian whose ancestors came to Alachua in horse-drawn wagons in a state ever increasingly populated with transplants.

"Tell me the landscape in which you live," Cauthen quotes Jose Ortega y Gasset, "and I will tell you who you are." Through her exploration of all aspects of her landscape comes, if not peace, self-knowledge and the comforts of understanding, a portal to the present through memories of things past. "Southern Comforts" points a way to those of us who seek why we are who and where we are and how we may find our way and place in today and tomorrow.

Beautifully written, beautifully bound - I purchased six copies and gave five to friends, all of whom love this book.

Sudye Cauthen is a fifth-generation Floridian who blends memoir, oral history and cultural geography to consider the vanishing elements of a place she holds dear. Southern Comforts: Rooted in a Florida Place is a recommended pick for any library strong on Florida history and culture, surveying the roots of changes to tradition and sense of place and considering archeology as well as history in the process.

Following the weird but vaguely sensible logic of a dream, a teacher finds his school's field trip buses redirected to his father's house, where he grew up.

Once there, the father presents the son's life in a dry slide show. The son rushes from room to room, encountering memories and blocked escapes. A mother and a former lover that he pleads with to hide so that no one should see them. That his lives, past and present, should remain segregated.

And throughout, despite his attempts to put clothes on, the son finds himself naked.

Field Trip, a story from Greg Downs' collection Spit Baths, paints the haunting hopelessness of the great Southern exodus -- the withered roots that never quite break from a region that's all but died. And the guilt that always hangs with the accumulating weight of generations. Each story aches with the same pains.

They flow into each other, each one an expansion on the same themes. The blending of stories is subtle, rich, and connected by the universal string of the past. The prose throughout has a Southern informality to it, making an accessible and enjoyable read which still manages to glimmer with fluid and evocative observation. Cans twang in impacts against the ground, a girl's skin coats her lover's tongue with dried sweat. It all has the familiar, dry, dead beauty of a preserved antebellum house, with furnished rooms all coated in dust.

Spit Baths is a subtle but stunning achievement. A must-read for all Southerners, both resident and expatriate - Greg Downs has given us as grand a eulogy as any for our lost homeland, but tucked it quietly into the obituary page of a small town newspaper.

I am generally not into this genre of fiction, but, a reading group that I follow picked the book up and I decided I would try it out. I'm glad I did. Greg has an uncanny ability to get deep into his characters with what seems like minimal effort and smooth transition.
I'm looking forward to his future work.

I thoroughly enjoyed these stories. Downs characters have a very unique view of the world they inhabit. Their pasts weigh heavy on them as they struggle or push themselves to move forward in an ever changing world. Their take on events and often peculiar advice is refreshing, if somewhat bizarre. It's a good read.

I've been a fan of Science Fiction since the late 1930's, and have read many stories. Stepping Stones stands right up there with the finest of them. It was both an interesting and believable plot that builds to a most unusual and spectacular climax. Stepping Stones is a really fine piece of work that will hold your attention through the many trials and tribulations of its characters.

Connor Davidson has truly created a Science Fiction tale that could just be a view of things to come.

There are few books in my library that I have read and had so many, "Wow" moments. Sea battles, powerful enemies, wonderfully crafted characters, sudden plot developments and a believable yet fantastical setting all lead to one of the best books I have ever read. If you find yourself looking for a read and don't mind wading through the first couple of chapters you will soon find yourself in the deep end of intrigue, action, mystery and a thought provoking experience.

Wow! This book has so many moving parts and so much information that it truly invents a detailed global future. The first 100 pages the author does a great job of detailing the current state of the world. After that, you begin to get involved in a global conflict. Great character development. Great detail.

If ever a book should be required reading for middle-aged, basketball-playing, poetry-writing, underprepared-student-teaching folks, then that book is Themes for English B by J.D. Scrimgeour. As a reader, I happen to fall into that limited demographic, but this book far transcends such a small pool of potential readers.

Scrimgeour's unadorned but note-perfect prose dances through a range of subjects beyond poetry, teaching, and basketball to weave a collection of memoir essays united by the tread of thoughtful reflection on human experience--both his own and the people around him, his students, teachers, family members, friends, and teammates.

This book is highly recommended for readers with an interest in education, poetry, basketball, and life in general.

Scrimgeour writes not just about teaching, but about life. He has grasped the deep truth that what matters in everything -- in reading, teaching, baseball and basketball, choosing a place to live -- is how you connect with other people, and how you affect them. These are simple descriptions of simple, everyday events, but the clarity and honesty of his observations shine through on every page. Very worthwhile.

He says about college teaching what I wish I had said before him, but he says it better. He reminds us of why books matter. Very honest stuff, lyrical and -- at times - funny.

I really luuuurve this series. Rennison captures what it's like to be a spazzy young teenage girl. The trip in the middle of the book to Hamburgeragogoland was very funny. The whole thing with Massimo reminds me of something I nearly went through (though as a freshman in college). I opted instead for my version of Dave the Laugh.

This book is soooo hilarious it never fails to crack me up!!
Join Georgia on her quest to find her love Masimo the "Italian stalion" in hamburger ago-go land! With her Embarrasing family and her little sisters strange dolls, you have to feel for Georgia as she tries to cope with mad family life AND keep her boy entrancers on!!
great teen read

This book along with the previous sequels is about a English girl called Georgia and how she deals with her love life, so-called boyfriends, friends, and an extreme wierd funny family life. In this sequel she goes on a holiday to Hamburger-gogo land in search to find her luurve Masimo. I really liked this sequel as it was very funny and can't wait to read the next one to find out if she would officialy be Masimos girlfriend. (Even though i think Dave the laugh and her should be together).

I love this book, but then again, I'm a bit biased. I've known the Sammons family my entire life and, with help from my mother, found many parallels to real life. I have read both books from Mr. Sammons and am anxiously awaiting his next.

Mr. Sammons has done it again! This is a stay-up-all-nighter, indeed! The charming ways of his writing will stay with the reader forever. One feels himself becoming so attached to the lively, realistic characters in this book that he becomes defensive when necessary and rejoices in their triumphs right alongside them. Until Mr. Sammons chooses to write again, I'll be counting the minutes.

This book allows the reader to see southern rural life. It helps the reader to understand the social order in the south and the social morays that governed the rural south of the 1940's. It is excellent book as it is full of amusing stories that will leave the reader laughing and at times sad.

Cafaro, a professional philosopher (and professor of Philosophy), has done an excellent job of emphasizing and explicating the central concern of Thoreau's career, which was how to live (that most ethical of issues). For this he deserves well. Get this book. Read it. You'll be glad you did. And then go back and begin re-reading Mr. Thoreau's writings with greater understanding and deeper insights. And, finally, express your gratitude to Cafaro for his contribution. Like I said, he deserves it. Congratulations, Professor Cafaro.

"Thoreau's Living Ethics" is one of the most engaging philosophy books I have read this year. It examines every facet of Thoreau's virtue ethics, holding Thoreau's ethic up to the light like a diamond and watching it glitter. Cafaro gently questions Thoreau's suppositions and probes the consequences of his beliefs, without ever losing his admiration for this deep thinker who escaped to the deep woods. This is a great book not only for finding out what made Thoreau tick, but for holding up one's own life to the spotlight he created.

The author begins with an explanation of virtue ethics, which focuses on human excellence rather than the self-abnegation one finds in some other types of ethical systems. The basic concept of virtue ethics, which can be found in Aristotle and Spinoza as well, is that if I am the best person I know how to be, society as a whole will benefit. Most importantly, I will live up to what I was created to be.

Thoreau's personality brought a special emphasis on self-creation and following one's own particular inward nature. He deplored doing things just to be admired by others or to follow the crowd. There are hazards in this perspective, of course, such as the danger of becoming antisocial or reclusive, but Cafaro addresses these carefully, by showing how Thoreau's beliefs caused him to live a life in balance between isolation and community.

If one's true beliefs can only be known by his conduct, Thoreau life passed the test. He was well-beloved by the community in which he lived, in spite of what might be seen as a sometimes cold and distant manner. His ability to find evidences of the divine all around him speaks to those of us who mired in an age increasingly isolated from nature. Most impressively, Thoreau was remarkably free from the need for a large number of possessions to make him happy. Those who are looking for a distinctive set of ethical beliefs from a powerful and original thinker will enjoy this book immensely.

Philip Cafaro pulls together and organizes the best ideas from Thoreau's books, lectures, letters and journal. His book offers the most comprehensive and detailed summation and discussion of Thoreau's ideas I have read, revealing Thoreau as a philosopher of real stature, of great depth and of original thought. Thoreau's Living Ethics stands as a more complete expression of those ideas than any one of Thoreau's own efforts.

This is the most welcome and thought-provoking book I have read all year. Although I have read and enjoyed much of Thoreau's own writings, I have in the past discounted or dismissed certain of his ideas. I did not always understand what Thoreau was aiming at. Now I have a much greater respect for Thoreau's achievements, for his concrete advances and applications. So even a long-time student of Thoreau's works can find new starting points for further study in this book.

This is a serious work about serious ideas, but the author's obvious deep interest in his subject and those ideas lights up every well-reasoned and cleanly-assembled page. This book must have been a labor of love, based on Cafaro's detailed scholarship and enthusiasm. Even then, the author does not idolize Thoreau. Though he puts Thoreau's ideas in the best possible light and context, Cafaro also offers pertinent criticisms and background information when required to fill in the gaps.

I bought this book for my daughter's sixth birthday this past March. I just happened to come across it on an Amazon search. I was so happy to find it, as I was looking for a gardening picture book.

The illustrations are wonderful and the rhyming text naturally spills out of your mouth as read aloud to your child.

There are so many learning opportunities here. We read this book over and over in the springtime, just as we were preparing our garden beds and planting seeds. Our daughters always ask to read "Tim and Sally"!!

I love this book- It is delightfully illustrated and delightfully written. Both educational and entertaining it uses an enchanting poetic approach to explain a fun experience in glowing detail. I particularly enjoy superbly written young children's books that are not just fluff. This one makes learning a joyous experience. it may also whet a child's interest for many "planting" activities.

Reading "Tim and Sally's Vegetable Garden" with your kids is a wonderful way to cultivate and encourage an interest in gardening. It is a warm story about family and love that has the added bonus of teaching kids the basic tenets of vegetable gardening. My family loves reading this bok and the illustrations are magnificent. Great children's book - I highly recommend it!

Brown & Kirkman have synthesized a wonderful, comprehensive guide to Georgia trees. Many species distributions overlap with other states, however, so this guide is useful for most of the Southeast. In addition to species descriptions, they include valuable habitat and economic information. Perhaps the most unique feature is the "Recognition difficulties with other taxa" section that is included with every species description. Now even beginning botanists can distinguish Post Oak from Sand Post Oak with ease.

This book by Brown & Kirkman is the best resource I have seen for those interested in tree identification anywhere in the Southeast. It includes excellent descriptions of over 200 native trees, as well as hundreds of color photographs. There are also charts for identifying every family, genus, and species in the summer and winter. Also included is a list of many non-native species which could be confused with our native trees. Because most other books about dendrology in the Southeast are so outdated, this is definitely the best resource available for any botanist, forester, or anyone else who would like a greater appreciation of our most fascinating natural resource.

for the novice or experienced gardener. Good pictures help to identify trees native to the Southeast U.S. Excellent descriptions of trees with useful information for cultivation.

I'm glad to see this book finally available in paperback.

It was with great pleasure that I worked with Charlie on finalizg "Two Cents Worth". Time spent proofing the book brought back many of my own "all but forgotten" memories of being born and raised in LaGrange, GA. I never considered my family poor, but in reading the book I realize just how far in life we have all moved on. Two Cents Worth is an extremely unique collection of those "good ole times" that will force your mind to travel back in time seeking some of your on! A wonderful collection to add to the coffee table and for conversation during family gatherings, parties, etc!

Reading this collection of newspaper articles is like having a conversation with Charlie. Each article is unigue and there is a lot of southern style humor and good old country commentary about a wide range of subjects in each article. The best ones deal with his boyhood in a small town down in Georgia. There are good ones about his dog Four and the adventures at Day Lake also. This book is worth reading.

Charlie's wit is as sharp as his common-sense wisdom. The book contains several gems of country-style cream gravy and corn pone.

Highly recommended for light and easy reading. Great gifts.