Southern Literature Challenge 2011

Introverted Jen is hosting this challenge.
 http://www.theintrovertedreader.com/2010/12/my-southern-literature-challenge.html

I am a Southern girl too and was excited to see this reading challenge. I am signing up for level 2, Pull up a seat and stay a while!, which is to read two books. :)

I am proud of my Southern heritage, troubled and imperfect as it may be, and I love to read books set in my region. It sometimes feels like we are a little under-represented in the publishing world, so I would love to encourage any of you who haven't read any Southern lit to give it a try!  And, of course, if you're already a fan, I would love to see what you're reading so that I can add to my ever-growing to-read list!  So here is my Southern lit challenge!

Read a book(s)--non-fiction or fiction of any genre, adult or young adult--written by an author from the South and set mostly in the South.

Definitions of the South are flexible, so I've decided to define it the way I want. That's the fun of hosting your own challenge, right? :-)

The states:
South Carolina
Georgia
Alabama
North Carolina
Virginia
Tennessee
Mississippi
Louisiana
Kentucky
West Virginia
Texas
Florida--as long as you find a book by a Florida author and/or set in Florida that feels Southern.

Levels:

Level 1--C'mon in the house! Read 1 book.

Level 2--Pull up a seat and stay a while! Read 2 books

Level 3--Have a glass of sweet iced tea, honey. Read 3 books

Level 4--Y'all come back now, y'hear! Read 4 books

The challenge will run from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.

I am not limiting the challenge to bloggers.  You can also link to a review you wrote on another site, such as GoodReads or LibraryThing.

Reading suggestions: I have a shelf on GoodReads with lots of books on it. There's also a Best Southern Literature list on GoodReads that readers have voted on that should give you lots of ideas.

I can't help but feel like there should be a reward for a challenge successfully completed.  So, I'll offer up one Southern lit book of your choice (up to $15) to two randomly-drawn readers at the end of the challenge.  Each review you link will give you one entry, with a limit of four entries per person.  This part will be open to anyone who lives in an area where Book Depository offers free shipping.

The button is a picture of Annandale Plantation near Georgetown, SC that I found on the Historic American Buildings Survey website.  As far as I can tell, it is in the public domain.