Belles of the South discussion

Here is your chance to let other Belles get to know you better!

Hello everyone, I'm a retired nurse living in north Mississippi. I love to read history and historical fiction, biography, and any other good book.
Looking forward to meeting all of you.

Hi! I wouldn't really consider myself southern, but I have lived most of my life in either southeast Virginia or New Orleans - where I'm currently finishing up a master of architecture. I love historical fiction and fantasy, and especially books that combine the two!

Hello ladies! My name is Anne and I am a northern Belle from Canada :) I've visited the US many times though and loved it! I'm passionate about history and mostly read only historical novels. I also love to craft and play the piano.

Nice to meet you Anne, just goes to show that there are southern belles everywhere! Did you read Gone With The Wind?

Anne, I'm have to admit that I definitely just stalked your profile a bit, and I approve of/agree with about 90% of the things you like in your "about me" section (including crafting and piano!) To add on to Laurie's question, have you ever read the Time Travelers series by Caroline B. Cooney? It's one of my all-time favorites!

Does anyone have ideas for books to add to our group shelf?

Jane Aiken Hodge wrote classic Regency romances.

Marion Chesneyalso wrote great Regency romance books.

Another book that the younger members of this group might enjoy is:


Queen's Grace
by Jan Westcott, one of my favorite authors when I was in my teens.

Hello my name is Lea. I am a single mother to five beautiful children. I love all kinds of books and now have more time to devote to reading as I am currently unemployed.

Welcome to the group! And best wishes on the job hunt!

Welcome Lea, this should be an interesting group once things take off. I understand Abby is quite busy right now. Nice to meet another Southern Belle :).

Hi Everyone - While I'm not exactly a Southern Belle, I love all books set in the south - GONE WITH THE WIND is admittedly still one of my favorites. Thanks for having me!

Welcome to the group Marta.

Laurie wrote: "Welcome to the group Marta."

Thank you. I'm happy to be here.

Hi, I'm Sandy. I am a Southern Belle from the most westerly southern state of Oklahoma. I am a Dialysis Nurse Manager living on close to two acres on the fringes of OKC with two children, two cats, two dogs, and too many chickens. I love absolutely everything about the South... I like reading Historical Fiction and admittedly gravitate to the Southern Tales.

Welcome Sandy! Hopefully this group will take off some day. I am still waiting for the moderator to introduce herself.

Hello everyone! I guess I should say a few words about myself. Although I've never lived in the South, I love taking vacations there and hope to live there someday. I love to bake, garden, craft, and especially read! My favorite genre of books is historical fiction,and putting the setting in the South makes it all the better!

So nice to finally meet you Abby! Any particular area of the south where you would like to live?

Well, the deep South, (Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, etc) is a little too hot and sticky for me, so somewhere like north Carolina or Virginia would be very nice!

I think that's a good idea Abby, you probably would never be able to adjust to the heat and humidity unless you were born here. I would love to live in the Smokey or Ozarks mountains myself. The summers are so much more bearable in the mountains.

My family enjoyed a vacation in Charleston a couple of years ago. The only mistake was to visit in early August... We suffered through the humidity and enjoyed so much of the history of the area. Planning on Savannah in the fall. Love the South

I've spent most of my life in southern VA and I think the weather is the perfect combination of warm and cold (and you still get to experience beautiful autumns!) It may get a little humid in the summer, but after living in New Orleans for years it doesn't bother me much.

And I love both Charleston and Savannah - I'm currently job hunting, and those are two of the places I'd most like to live!

Virginia does sound so beautiful, I often thought I'd like to live there too.
Does New Orleans have horrible humidity being on the Gulf? Don't think I would want to live there but would be a great place to visit.

Sandy wrote: "My family enjoyed a vacation in Charleston a couple of years ago. The only mistake was to visit in early August... We suffered through the humidity and enjoyed so much of the history of the area. ..."

Hope you enjoy your Savannah vacation Sandy, can't wait to hear all about it either!

Hey ya'll. I live in the "Heart of Dixie", northern Alabama. I'm retired and have a goal- to read all the books I have purchased. Hope I live long enough. LOL I love southern mysteries. You know the crazy ones where they kept the aunt in the storm cellar since she was a baby. Hope to get a lot of recommendations from you gals.

Welcome S.K.! I share your goal of reading all the books that I have bought through the years :).

Welcome Marita! So glad you've joined so just make yourself feel right at home!

Hello, Belles! I'm a midwestern gal living and working in Phoenix, originally from Kansas City, but I do believe I have Dixie in my blood.

I love to read and listen to books, particularly those set in the American South.

Deb

Welcome Deb, I'm new here also.

S. K. wrote: "Welcome Deb, I'm new here also."

Thank you. Glad to be in the group!

So nice to meet you Deborah! Since you love the South so much that qualifies you as a honorary Southern Belle! Looking forward to getting to know you better.

Laurie wrote: "So nice to meet you Deborah!..."

Thank you for the warm welcome!

A great big Hi Y'all to our newest Belles: S.K. Marita and Deborah

Hi everyone! I'm not "new " really, I just haven't been on much. I'm a Southerner by transplant but we've lived here in NC for 14 years now so I guess that makes me Southern. Sort of. lol

Hello Dorcas and welcome back! Glad you stopped by to visit us. Be sure to vote on the poll for the upcoming Group Read, lots of good books to pick from.

Where are you originally from Dorcas? Hope you are enjoying living in the South!

I was born in Boston area, then moved to Vermont at age 9, then moved to London England at age 18 (my hubby is British), lived there for 7 years before we came here. So really, NC is where ive lived the longest.

Dorcas wrote: "I was born in Boston area, then moved to Vermont at age 9, then moved to London England at age 18 (my hubby is British), lived there for 7 years before we came here. So really, NC is where ive live..."

Wow! England, I bet that was fun. Did you live in London?

I never would have guessed you were from Boston though, you have always seemed so...well southern :D.

yes, we were in North London (Mill Hill) :)

Were you homesick Dorcas?

I missed my family but I don't tend to get homesick for places, even ones ive really liked. Funny that. But I guess as long as you're with the right person/ people, places don't matter so much.

Maybe that's why I had such a different experience when I lived in W. Germany for awhile when I was younger and didn't have my family with me. I was horribly homesick.

Thank you, Laurie, for the invitation to join the Belles of the South group! Sounds like a fun bunch of readers to get to "know" at Goodreads. My husband and I have both lived all of our lives in New Orleans and have two teenagers - one in college and one a senior in high school. I spent many years as an elementary teacher and children's reading specialist, but I am now at home and loving every minute of it. Historical fiction is my favorite genre to read, as well as historical mysteries and historical romance.

Welcome Joanne! So glad you have joined us here. You're just in time to vote on our next group read over at the poll thread. You are in good company here as there are many members who also love historical fiction, including me.

I've never been there but I've always loved New Orleans. I love spooky gothic books set in N.O. too. If you know of any good ones let me know!

Please check out all the different threads here and make yourself at home!

Hi Joanne! Welcome to the nut house :) Pecans that is.

@Laurie - The spookiest book I've read set in N.O. is Anne Rice's The Witching Hour. Slept with the lights on for days after reading it! ;)

@Dorcas - Glad to meet up with you again, Dorcas!

Will head on over to the poll thread. Can't wait to see what y'all are reading!

S. K. wrote: "Hey ya'll. I live in the "Heart of Dixie", northern Alabama. I'm retired and have a goal- to read all the books I have purchased. Hope I live long enough. LOL I love southern mysteries. You know ..."

I'm in Alabama too! :-)

Hi all. I live in Mobile, AL. On the Gulf Coast. It is very humid and southern indeed. This looks like a fun group. I see several comments about NO. I've been there many times. Not far from here. I like the spooky gothic books set there too. My sister lived in Charleston for a few years and I did get to visit there. So beautiful. Glad to meet you all.

Abby wrote: "Well, the deep South, (Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, etc) is a little too hot and sticky for me, so somewhere like north Carolina or Virginia would be very nice!"

yep, it is hot and sticky here. Almost all year. :-)

Hello!
My name is Annette. I've lived in Tx all my life. My paternal grandfather was born in Arkansas. My paternal grandmother's grandfather was from Newton County, Mississippi.
I'm married, 2 adult sons, the elder son is married and has 2 children.
I'd worked for many years as a hospital unit clerk, left to begin another long career caring for my parents.
I have been a book blog reviewer for almost 8 years.
Besides reading I'm involved in volunteer work at church, and work out at a gym.