Red-State Disneyland or Bastion of Equality?
Graham Hoppe’s Gone Dollywood explores the theme-park juggernaut, the genius behind Dolly Parton’s stardom, and the effect of Pigeon Forge’s culture on Appalachian identity.
Book Reviews
A Cinephile’s Brilliant Friend
The late Nashville Scene film critic and editor Jim Ridley wrote about movies with dazzling insight, humor, and honesty. In People Only Die of Love in Movies editor Steve Haruch has collected some of the best of Ridley’s work.
Tree of Dreams
Karen White’s Dreams of Falling ticks the boxes for a perfect summer read: evocative setting, tragic romance, unsolved mystery, and family drama. White will appear at a fundraiser for the Southern Lit Alliance in Chattanooga on June 14.
A Newly Shattered World
Hannah Pittard’s new novel describes a plane crash’s effect not just on the white, rich, cultured elite—the “visible empire” that makes up Atlanta’s ruling class in 1962-but also on the city’s disenfranchised. Pittard will appear at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 13.
A Road Trip with a Twist
Like her earlier books, Sheba Karim’s new YA novel is populated with appealing characters who tussle with real-life issues. In Mariam Sharma Hits the Road, the Nashville author has put a new spin on the familiar road-trip tale.
Josiah Rising
Jared A. Brock’s The Road to Dawn traces the harrowing story of Josiah Henson’s journey from slavery to world-wide fame as “the real Uncle Tom.” Brock will discuss the book at Novel in Memphis on June 5.
