S Is for Southern

A Guide to the South, from Absinthe to Zydeco

By: Editors of Garden and Gun, David DiBenedetto

Narrated by: Graham Halstead

From the bestselling authors of The Southerner’s Handbook, Good Dog, and The Southerner’s Cookbook comes a lively compendium of Southern tradition and contemporary culture.

The American South is a multifaceted region with its own vocabulary, peculiarities, and cultural touchstones. Even for those born in the South, the unspoken rules—layered in local nuances and complexities—can sometimes be confounding. Tennessee whiskey may technically be bourbon, but don't let anyone in Kentucky hear you call it that. And bless your heart, don’t you dare make the mistake of confusing a magnolia blossom with a Japanese tulip.

Now, from the editors of Garden & Gun—the magazine known as ""the soul of the South""—comes this encyclopedia of Southern living, culture, and history. Covering age-old traditions and current zeitgeists, S Is for Southern includes more than 500 entries spanning every letter of the alphabet, from absinthe to zydeco. This audiobook also includes 100 signature essays from notable Southern writers, including:

• Jon Meacham on the Civil War
• Sean Brock on Waffle House
• Roy Blount, Jr. on humidity
• Jessica B. Harris on field peas
• Jason Isbell on the Atlanta Braves
• Jack Hitt on pluff mud
• The Lee Brothers on boiled peanuts
• Jonathan Miles on Larry Brown
• Julia Reed on the Delta

Informative and irreverent, S Is for Southern celebrates and demystifies the traditions of the South, and is a must-listen for all fans of the region and culture enthusiasts.

Relatable

It took be back to may things I experienced and forgot about growing up in the south.

A little too long, and makes you hungry!

This book was educational, and tongue-and-cheeky. The narrator's voice was almost too lyrical and soothing. The length of the book in combination with his perfect accent actually tended to put me to sleep. I'd say nearly 50% of the terms were related to food, so I was constantly hungry listening to it. Overall, it was alright. I just wish it was a little shorter and a little more up-beat to keep me engaged.

This needed a better narrator

I LOVED so many of these definitions. The ones about my favorite authors and books had me swooning. As a lover of words and a lifelong, deep-South resident, this book is a delight in print. (i read this in both print and Audible formats depending on where I was.) Although I dearly loved reading about my favorite authors and literary works, my favorite definition in this is “mess,” a word,I had just finished explaining that term to someone a week or so ago.
READ this one for yourself. I don’t care if this narrator supposedly grew up in Virginia, he’s not authentically Southern. Our language deserves to be read and experienced in our voice. I wanted to scream every time he revealed his “foreignness” by mispronouncing Tupelo and Mobile. If you’re a Yankee, it will sound authentic. But if you’re one of us, just spring for the hardcover because you’re going to want to keep this one.

Interesting book!

I’m from the South and knew most but still learned a few things from this book.

Narrator not from around here!

tu-PELLo
zy-DECKo
Way too many such errors.
A qualified editor should have listened to the recording. As important as language is to the project....