Welcome to Litsy!

Gods of Howl Mountain has got granny women, moonshine, revenuers, moonshine runners, early stock car racing, and end-of-the-road roadhouses and whorehouses, snake handlers. All nestled in the mountains of northwest North Carolina.

Brown‘s prose is beautiful and powerful without being inaccessible or overly literary.

#CountryNoir

Full review: https://hillbillyhighways.wordpress.com/2019/03/13/country-noir-gods-of-howl-mou...

“Eustace had stills scattered all across the mountain, in gullies and coves and laurel slicks. They were run by a small army of old men with gnarled hands and bent backs, many disfigured by war or logging accidents or lovers‘ squabbles. Their silence was legendary. They‘d farmed rock-ridden hillsides, or tried, and fought Germans with bayonets and trench guns in hells of mud. They‘d cut whole mountains to stumps for Northern timber barons.”

“The whole valley once smoked like a vent in the earth, people said, the blue smoke of a hundred still-fires spread dusky and ragged across the sky. Whiskey was life. It fed and clothed. A single mule, which could carry only four bushels of corn out of the valley, could carry twenty-four bushels‘ worth of corn whiskey to market.” #CountryNoir

I just started this one late last night and I‘m already hooked. We‘re traveling so I left the dust jacket at home. #CountryNoir

I‘m pushing this book to everyone, everywhere because it‘s so good. I love that it is true to the region and it‘s the perfect amount of gritty. Taylor Brown has superb talent for gorgeous prose; my favorite parts of the story are little details that he included seamlessly, often left out of other stories but beautifully described here. I can‘t get over how tough-as-nails, crass, and whip-smart Granny May is! Every character is perfect, really.

You guys!! I can‘t get enough of this book. I started reading it days ago and I‘m not quite half thru because I read pages and then reread them and then heck I may reread them again. THESE SENTENCES ARE DELICIOUS. The details are precise and perfect. This book is just pure North Carolina: the mountains, the trees. It could be other places in the south but my gosh it feels so like home to me. And the character Granny May? Love her! Love. Her.

I live in Atlanta now but grew up a small town girl. Here‘s a post I wrote about some recent favorite novels that take place in small town America.

https://wellreadneck.wordpress.com/2018/12/14/home-for-the-holidays-books-about-...

Set at the end of the Korean War, these are deeply scarred characters. Add to that - anger, deep family bonds, history, and redemption & the cocktail is bound to ignite. There's folklore, herbal magic, drag racing & prose that is brimming with vivid imagery, told in a lush language. But it's not a loud book. It needs to be read slowly to let the intensity settle. Granny May is a a character I've never met on the page before. Loved her!

Diving straight into this today. I‘ve wanted to read it for ages and thanks to @DGRachel I‘ve got a copy on my hands. I could be further away from the mountains of North Carolina but boy Taylor Brown is taking me there! 3 chapters in and love it.

#litsymail! Thank you for the wonderful birthday present and letter ( both came on the same day - super coordinated!) @DGRachel I‘ve wanted to read this for a long time, it‘s so exciting to read books not published yet in the U.K. Love it and even more so now I know it‘s set in your home state. ❤️🙏❤️

When Rory Docherty comes back from Korea missing part of his leg, he settles into a world of bootlegging, running whiskey in the mountains of North Carolina. Serpent handlers, folk healers, small town sheriffs, and federal agents all have a part to play in this tale about hard times in hard places. As an extra bonus -- Rory's grandma, Granny May is an incredible character. I'd love a novel about her.

A young man back from Korea, an amputee who is running moonshine in the western hills of North Carolina. He is living with his bad ass Granny Mae, a former prostitute who is now a herbalist. There is a dark secret that affects them all. Wonderful characters and a lyrical author.

Enjoy your Memorial Day.
Today I want to honor my 3xGreat Grandfather David Van Wormer who died fighting in the Civil War at the age of 56.
1. Still reading and the goal is to finish today!
2. Reading
3. I love it all, steak, chicken, burgers, veggies 🌽, watermelon.
#manicmonday
@JoScho

1. Yanny
2. Music
3. No idea
4. Don‘t think so
5. Ok

#friyayintro
@jesshowbooks

This is very hard. @amber_ldsmom
1. Alice Hoffman
2. JK Rowling
3. Stephen King
4. Martha Grimes
5. Sharon Kay Penman
6. James Michener
7. Ausma Zehanet Khan
8. Fredrik Backman

Apparently, l'm already behind. It's already the end of April and I've only read one book from my Spring/Summer #TBRBingo card.

I've started the tagged book. It's good, but lately l don't really feel like reading. I think l'm probably a bit fatigured by work and other commitments. Hope to come out of this slump soon. I don't like being this lazy.

l'm planning to takle a couple of these book in the up coming #NetGalleyTBRAttack challenge 😁

There's no way l let this #NetGalley file expire without reading it. Heard too ma y great things about it here on Litsy.

Let's go!

I‘m always interested in Appalachian literature, so I‘m happy to see this on my desk today! 😊

Met the author at #ParkRoadBooks tonight and he was kind enough to inscribe all of his books for me. I loved Howl Mountain, so I had to get his backlist. Such a nice guy. 😊

Rory Docherty left the Korean War without one of his legs & returned home to Howl Mountain & his grandma, known by locals as Granny May, a folk healer & all around feisty woman. He runs whiskey through the hills with his bud Eli for Eli's uncle Eustace. Rory finds himself outrunning the federals, falling in love with a snake charming preacher's daughter, & looking for answers about the night his dad died & his mom fell silent forever. (Cont'd)

Loved the characters, but I really missed something with all the elusive, flowery language. Found myself constantly rereading passages and still missed something that I desperately needed to get what I wanted from this book. I would love to discuss it...

Congrats on your milestone @ErinSueG Spring brings so many great new releases. I‘m excited to read the tagged book- have a rush at the moment for a great yarn! #5kgiveaway

Cheating the Litsy character limit - full review in the image. 😉

1950s Appalachian North Carolina with folk healers, snake handlers, bootleggers, and family secrets. I loved the character of Granny May!

Finished this #netgalley arc on the day the book is published.

Set in the mountains of North Carolina in the 1950s, a richly descriptive, gritty, evocative novel that tells the story of a woman and her grandson who confront the past that haunts them.

Book mail!!! 🎉😍😍😍

I may be struggling with the book overall, but I LOVE Granny May. She‘s a hoot and a half. 🤣🤣

I MUST finish this #netgalley #arc today (it released tomorrow), but I‘m struggling. The writing is beautiful, but I keep wondering “what‘s the point”. I need something serious to happen to move the plot along as I‘m getting bored and I‘m only at the 45% mark. Losing steam. 😔

Cat + good book 😻

Luna has to go into the shop tomorrow and I‘ll be stuck in the waiting room for hours. I have trouble reading heavier books in noisy spaces (my #NetGalley ARC), so I went searching for books that would fill challenge prompts and could be read with distractions (classic kids books). I also confirmed that I have a book buying problem. There were 21 titles waiting to download onto my Kindle when I turned on the wireless. 🤦🏻‍♀️

We have a book signing with Taylor next week, reading up so I can talk him up.

I just started this #netgalley read (cutting it close) and I‘m so mad I have to go to work. At the 4% mark and the writing is so evocative and gorgeous I do not want to put the book down. Why, why can‘t I just get paid to sit at home and read good books??

Best ending I‘ve read in awhile.

Rory Docherty returns home from the Korean war with a missing leg to run whiskey and live with Granny May in the mountains of North Carolina. He has Ron ins with the sheriff, other runners and a snake church. He is a character men would love.

Granny May is a former whore turned healer who forages for leaves, roots and herbs. I particularly liked her and her story except for her age of 54 and it being considered so old (I'm 54) And feeble ish.

Here‘s my Jeffers-approved (I think) February TBR so far:
- a couple of ARCs to read (Gods of Howl Mountain, The Italian Party, Sunburn)
- my #LMPBC read ‘Sourdough‘
- my #HorrorPostalBookClub read ‘The Fireman‘, plus I think we are reading ‘Carrie‘ for the Stephen King read.
And I MUST read ‘Truly Devious‘ please.
That‘s my PLAN...what am I missing? About 6 more books 😹 #FebruaryTBR
PS. I think Batman and Wonder Woman need to be added...

Two words: Granny May. The story here is good, great even, but the bawdy, foul-mouthed, Appalachian folk-witch healer and herbalist steals the show. Her dark, earthy wisdom is balanced with a sly, almost miscreant humor. I think Taylor Brown captured Tom Robbins and Flannery O'Connor and shook them in a cocktail shaker with moonshine and out poured Granny May's character for The Gods of Howl Mountain.

A little more than halfway done with this one. It‘s a very good read. The author is very descriptive, makes you feel like you are actually living in it. I will definitely be reading more of this author.

This novel of historical, regional fiction tells the story of Rory Dochtery, a veteran of the Korean War who has returned to his Morth Carolina mountain home. The setting was vividly drawn and the voice of the characters pitch perfect. Granny May is the best character I‘ve read in a very long time. Highly recommended. #netgalley

Gods of Howl Mountain, explores a world of folk healers, whiskey-runners, and family secrets in the high country 1950s North Carolina.

Rory has returned home to the wilderness that holds its secrets and keeps the outside world at gunpoint. Slowed by a wooden leg and haunted by memories war, Rory runs bootleg whiskey for a clan. Between deliveries to roadhouses, brothels, and private clients, he lives with his grandma, and evades federal agents.

This giveaway book impressed me.
Taylor Brown used words on a page to create a movie in my mind. Howl Mountain is a place I want to see, and Granny May a woman I want to learn from. 5 stars for this book. #stmartinspress #giveawaywinner

Today it is waiting room reading. #stmartinspress #vahospital #proudwifeofausvet

Super excited to be starting this. #stmartinspress #ARC #giveawaywinner

Came home from the post office to bookmail of my own! Two ARCs I won on Goodreads and a Nora Roberts I just had to have when B&N had a sale online 😄📚 #ARC #bookmail

I won my very first Goodreads Giveaway!! And it sounds really good. Southern gothic set in the NC high country 🙌🏽

This will be my first Taylor Brown - has anyone read his other stuff?