READERS GUIDE – The Best Books to Read Instead of Hillbilly Elegy

This here is what started my exciting life in Hillbilly Evangelism (TM). Ever since he-who-must-not-be-named wrote ("wrote") that book to jumpstart his political career, I have been snatching copies of it from the hands of yankees, liberals, and well intentioned do-gooders from the New York City Subway. I have hidden more copies of that book on the shelves of big city bookstores that I care to count. But what I really needed was a solution to correct the problems that book is infected with..and now I have it! This 60-page alternative readers guide to THE BEST BOOKS TO READ INSTEAD OF [THAT BOOK] has something for everyone in my profiles of 20 books about Appalachia by actual Appalachians.

Here's what you get:

• Brief geography lesson to situate yourself the area of the country you'll be reading about
• Quick dip into the history and usage of 'hillbilly'
• Concise, yet detailed, list of the major problems with that book
• Quick Start How-To user manual for this Readers Guide
• Two--not one, but two--Top !0 (and Top 10 More) Books to Read Instead of that book
• 20 two-page book profiles, each of which is chockfull of fascinating and educational content: About the Book and Author, How it addresses that book, 5 Questions to Jumpstart Discussion and a handy list of Cross-References to other books to read next
• 13 (yes, Danny, thirteen) curated reading list to help you skip trippingly along the path to true Appalachian literacy, arranged according to theme and curative speciality
• AND! what may be my absolute favorite part: TWO (2) Progress Report and Handy Gift Tracker pages (one for each Top 10 list) to help you keep track of the books as you read them and to write down the names as you go of potential converts to the Truth of Appalachia movement (TM), and in that last column on the end there, I've included a space where you can keep track of how many of each book you've given to dyed-in-the-wool Republicans and other souls in need of saving. You can either make hash marks as you go or try and erase the number each time you give out a book but that's liable to start ripping the paper after so long you might wanna go with my idea about the hash marks.

Just look at all that! What amazing value for your hard-earned money! If you were paying attention (I'm looking at you Sherry Ann), that's 100 ways to kick up the dust with your book club that you yourself don't have to generate. Just think of how much time you'll save!

And, now that the temperature is dropping and we race at breakneck speed toward our festivals of greed and gluttony, with this guide, you'll be all set when it comes to holiday gift shopping (see, that's what the gift tracker is for!)