I ran across this Southern Literature Challenge today at The Introverted Reader, and thought it sounded like a perfect fit for a girl with Southern roots.  So I signed up.  I hope to read more Southern lit this year than because of this challenge, and if Southern Lit interests you, click on over and sign up as well.

THE RULES (as established by The Introverted Reader)

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 Arkansas 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, 2012 to December 31, 2012.  You can join in anytime throughout the year.
The challenge is not limited to bloggers.  You can also link to a review you wrote on another site, such as GoodReads or LibraryThing.

Reading suggestions:  The host has 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, as will Amazon.com and many other bookstores & libraries.

There is a reward for a challenge successfully completed: 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.

There are some wonderful authors in & from the South, and I hope you’ll join me in discovering them!

My Progress so far…

1. Complete Stories by Flannery O’Connor (in progress)
2. A Death in the Family by James Agee