Wordless Wednesday: Atlanta Skyline

Atlanta Skyline 

More Wordless Wednesday here.
Photo by moi.

Wordless Wednesday: Oakland Cemetery

Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, GA

More Wordless Wednesday here.
Photo by moi.

Wordless Wednesday: Margaret Mitchell's House

In honor of Margaret Mitchell's birthday on Friday this post is about my visit to her home/museum in Atlanta. Mitchell, the author of Gone With the Wind, and her second husband lived in an apartment in this gorgeous home. It has since been turned into a museum in her honor. 

I took a tour of the apartment and saw where she typed the novel. There's also a small area dedicated to the movie with huge paintings for the costumes. I loved learning more about Mitchell, who was such a spitfire! She never did what was expected of her and frankly it's a miracle the novel was published. She had no intention of publishing it. 

I'm so glad I got a chance re-read Gone With the Wind before visiting Atlanta. It's such a wonderful novel, so full of history and life. Read it! 

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Wordless Wednesday: Margaret Mitchell's Grave

In honor of Banned Book Week 

Margaret Mitchell’s grave in Oakland Cemetery

Mitchell is the author of Gone with the Wind, 

which was banned for its depictions of slavery.

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Bookstores and Beaches

I am off on a hopefully relaxing vacation with the Huz. This week I'll be exploring the shelves of the Parnassus Bookstore in Nashville, touring Margaret Mitchell's house and museum in Atlanta, eating mahi mahi, visiting Hogwarts and reading to my hearts content on a sandy beach. 

Pardon my absence, I'll be back in about a week with pictures, books to review and a sunburn. 

Images from here, here and here. 

Dirtyville Rhapsodies

Dirtyville Rhapsodies

by Josh Green

★★★★

This solid short story collection is packed with grim pictures of “normal” life. Each of the 18 stories clocks in between 10 and 15 pages, just long enough to give the reader a glimpse into the sordid lives of its characters. A cop on the brink of self-destruction, a desperate journalist, a junkie, a soldier, a honeymooning couple, Green catches each of them at their worst moment and then chronicles it for our amusement. The result is a powerful portrait of broken souls.

In “Missing Athena” we meet a grieving husband, trying to care for his son while longing for his wife. “Axis of Symmetry” paints a vicious picture of a jealous ex-husband. “The Abduction” breaks your heart. It’s hard to say exactly where this book hooks you, but it’s hard to put it down.

Each of the stories stands alone, but their subjects tend to have one common thread: unhappiness. Whether it’s a crumbling marriage or drug addiction, they’re all struggling with something. In Atlanta, the capital of the "Dirty South" people are just trying to make it through the day.

BOTTOM LINE: The beautiful writing and palpable descriptions make this a quick read and great collection.

“No one pays attention to calendars but there’s something in the Friday air you can taste, the sweet sugar of workaday liberation.”

Side Note: Men’s Health just listed the book as one of the top 11 best reads for the summer, alongside Stephen King and Dan Brown’s new novels.

Photo of Atlanta from here.