#southernstates — Public Fediverse posts

The Curated Bookshelf – October 2026: Books That Invited Me to Play Along

I often find reading to be a calm, relaxing activity. Sometimes I have to think fast to keep up, and sometimes I don’t. While I do like the more leisurely reads, the ones that sweep me away on an adventure and I don’t have to think too hard, I also adore those books that do make me think, that do throw puzzles in my path. I love books that invite me to play along, that encourage me to answer questions and solve riddles. So I thought it would be fun to highlight those this month.

I read this over 20 years ago because I was a weird high school student that knew nothing about philosophy and couldn’t find anything more interesting to read. But I enjoyed it. I learned a lot about philosophy, partly because several questions where posed to Sophie and I felt like I was invited to answer them, too, so my copy is filled with little papers covered in my answers.

Ethics & Culture | Niteen Hatle | Becoming Carmen | Kara Reviews

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

I wouldn’t say I’m good at solving riddles and puzzles, but I do love trying my hand at it. This one presented a series of puzzles and cyphers, but I had no clue how to solve any of them. It was fun to consider bending my mind to them before deciding I didn’t know enough to even try.

my review | Barlin’s Books | Danita Reads

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

This one might be a bit of a stretch, but it did make me stop and think how I might write a mystery. Set at a mystery writer’s conference where Eleanor is one of the mentors, a syllabus is presented throughout the novel, breaking down how to write a mystery.

my review | Leah’s Books | Book After Book | Feed The Bookworm | Always With a Book

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Similar to The Enigma Challenge, this one offers a lot of different kinds of puzzles as Destiny tries to solve a mystery. Some were easier than others, and readers were even invited to email in (not necessary to enjoy the novel). I had a lot of fun trying to solve the puzzles, but was more wrong than right.

my review | It’s All About Books | Novels Alive | Read Bake Create | The Baking Bookworm

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

This one bent my mind into weird shapes. There aren’t any real puzzles, but K is looking for clues that will lead to more clues and following K around while trying to figure out what to remember and what I could discard was surprisingly fun, until it bent too much and I felt like my brain wanted to turn inside out.

my review | Thoroughly Modern Reviewer | The Bibliosanctum | Food for Thought | Before We Go Blog

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

I think this one tried by offering questions that were supposedly on this Wonder Test, but there’s zero context given so I quickly found it was impossible to answer the vast majority of them. It was an interesting idea, but not feasible.

my review | What’s Better Than Books? | MBTB’s Mystery Book Blog

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

This was a fun one that incorporated puzzles. As a reader, I felt invited to play along. These were so much easier than the puzzles presented in the other books on this list, but the story is also so lovely that I eventually skipped trying to figure out the answers just so I could keep reading.

my review | Novel Notions | Book Thoughts From Bed | The Cozy Owlet | Bookshelf Fantasies

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

I enjoy choose your own adventure novels, and this one presented that. I wasn’t as keen on the limited number of options and endings as I eventually found myself on familiar ground too many times, but I liked what this one did.

my review | forests and fiction | dear y’all |Jujucation

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Democrats Eye Southern Senate Seats Amid Trump's Declining Popularity

📰 Original title: 'Historic': Data guru finds Trump tanking Republicans in slew of ex-Confederate states

🤖 IA: It's clickbait ⚠️
👥 Users: It's clickbait ⚠️

View full AI summary https://en.killbait.com/democrats-eye-southern-senate-seats-amid-trump-s-declining-popularity.html?utm_source=mastodon_social&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=killbait.mastodon_social

#politics #elections #southernstates

Southern states remain materially resilient to weak smartphone sales: Retailer Pulse report

Industry sources viewed the trend as a temporary disruption rather than a structural shift, given India’s population distribution…
#NewsBeep #News #US #USA #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #Mobile #RetailerPulse #Southernstates #Technology
https://www.newsbeep.com/us/788931/

Southern states remain materially resilient to weak smartphone sales: Retailer Pulse report

Industry sources viewed the trend as a temporary disruption rather than a structural shift, given India’s population distribution…
#NewsBeep #News #Mobile #RetailerPulse #Southernstates #Technology #UK #UnitedKingdom
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/714738/

Nolan Wells’ Death Rattles Black Parents About All-White Spaces

LaTonya Davis has been following the death of Nolan Wells “constantly on TikTok,” she said, and has been…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #blackpeople #HornIsland(Miss) #Nolan(2007-2026) #parenting #SouthernStates(US) #UnitedStates #Us #USA #wells
https://www.newsbeep.com/660835/

https://www.europesays.com/news/42786/ What to Know About the Storm That Brought Deadly Flooding to the South #Floods #Headlines #Louisiana #Mississippi #NationalOceanicAndAtmosphericAdministration #NewOrleans(La) #News #SouthernStates(US) #Summer(Season) #TopStories #weather

Pete Buttigieg visits Little Rock on Juneteenth to endorse Chris Jones for Congress

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/buttigieg-endorses-chris-jones-arkansas

Pete Buttgigieg visits Little Rock on Juneteenth to endorse Chris Jones for Congress

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/buttgigieg-endorses-chris-jones-arkansas

Athletic Labor and Political Leverage: The NAACP "Out of Bounds" Campaign

The NAACP and CBC are boycotting Southern college sports to protest voting rights changes. See how this affects student-athletes and university funding.

#naacp, #collegeathletics, #votingrights, #southernstates, #studentathletes

https://newsletter.tf/naacp-boycott-southern-college-sports-may-2026/

The NAACP is asking athletes to avoid colleges in 8 Southern states. This campaign aims to stop new voting laws that hurt Black voters.

#naacp, #collegeathletics, #votingrights, #southernstates, #studentathletes
https://newsletter.tf/naacp-boycott-southern-college-sports-may-2026/

https://www.europesays.com/people/87749/ Justice Jackson warns an increasingly partisan Supreme Court #AmericanLawInstitute #ChiefJusticeJohnRoberts #CongressionalDistrict #CongressionalDistricts #JohnRoberts #JusticeAmyConeyBarrett #JusticeElenaKagan #JusticeSamuelAlito #KetanjiBrownJackson #PartisanGerrymandering #PolicyDecisions #PoliticalRealm #SouthernStates #SupremeCourt #VotingRightsAct

https://www.europesays.com/people/83021/ Sound Off: May 22, 2026 #DonaldTrump #HakeemJeffries #RaulCastro #SouthernStates #TrinidadChambliss

https://www.europesays.com/news/26492/ How Minority Districts Fueled the G.O.P.’s Southern Ascendancy in Congress #BlackPeople #CivilRightsAndLiberties #Clyburn #Conservatism(USPolitics) #DemocraticParty #elections #Headlines #HouseOfRepresentatives #JamesE #JohnR #lewis #News #RedistrictingAndReapportionment #RepublicanParty #SouthernStates(US) #SupremeCourt(US) #TopStories #UnitedStatesPoliticsAndGovernment #VotingRightsAct(1965) #WashingtonDC

https://www.europesays.com/news/23874/ Behind Supreme Court Voting Rights Ruling, a Clash Over the Reality of Racism #Alito #BlackPeople #Discrimination #Elena #Headlines #Kagan #Minorities #News #RedistrictingAndReapportionment #SamuelAJr #SouthernStates(US) #StateLegislatures #SupremeCourt(US) #TopStories #UnitedStatesPoliticsAndGovernment #VotingRightsAct(1965)

Behind Supreme Court Voting Rights Ruling, a Clash Over the Reality of Racism

In 1965, the year Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, it did not take much detective work to…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #Alito #blackpeople #Discrimination #Elena #Kagan #Minorities #RedistrictingandReapportionment #SamuelAJr #SouthernStates(US) #StateLegislatures #SupremeCourt(US) #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesPoliticsandGovernment #Us #USA #VotingRightsAct(1965)
https://www.newsbeep.com/517743/

Centre Claims No Southern Seat Loss in Delimitation, Southern States Remain Skeptical

Southern states fear losing Lok Sabha seats due to delimitation. The Union government assures no seats will be lost, but concerns remain.

#LokSabhaSeats, #Delimitation, #SouthernStates, #Parliament, #PopulationControl

https://newsletter.tf/southern-states-lok-sabha-seats-delimitation-govt-assures/

Southern states are worried about losing Lok Sabha seats in the new delimitation. The government says this won't happen, but states like Tamil Nadu are still concerned.

#LokSabhaSeats, #Delimitation, #SouthernStates, #Parliament, #PopulationControl
https://newsletter.tf/southern-states-lok-sabha-seats-delimitation-govt-assures/

The Curated Bookshelf -March 2026: The American South

A bit of a programming note: I’m changing up how I do the Curated Bookshelf because the previous way was starting to take up too much time. Instead, there’s a link to my review, to which I’ve added links to other reviews and a few purchase sites.

Last year I developed a bit of wanderlust and created a bunch of Curated Bookshelves that would take me, and you, traveling across the world. Unfortunately, life happened and I had to temporarily put my traveling plans on hiatus. Now I’m ready to travel through my list, starting with the American South, because I’ve discovered I’ve read a ton of books set in the South.

I’ve learned, though, that defining the southern part of the United States is a bit tricky, with some states considered part of the South by the census while, culturally, they’re not. So I’m going with generally in a southern direction.

This is such a sweet story set in Tennessee. Hannah returns home to care for her grandmother, and falls for an old friend

Book review

Maybe a bit of a weird one, this is set in Texas, but an alternate Texas where the state has seceded and become it’s own country and weirdness happens

Book review

This is kind of an odd slice of life story set in Alabama about a widow becoming a hospice nurse before an old neighbor turns his life upside down

Book review

A fun, slightly magical story with birds, ghosts, interesting neighbors, and murder set in South Carolina

Book review

The 4th in the Quinn and Costa thriller series, it takes the FBI’s Mobile Response Team to Louisiana

Book review

This is kind of a wild ride through two versions of New Orleans, one of which contains magic

Book review

The first in a cozy mystery series set in a small town in Georgia, this introduces Madeline, a former actress come home to run her late aunt’s bookstore

Book review

Set in Kentucky, this is a story of magic and family where an entire town lost all their memories of the same summer

Book review

A small town in Alabama calls to special visitors, imparting magic and healing to the characters and readers

Book review

In a small North Carolina town, one family carries a curse, and, thanks to it, June travels back in time and gets tangled in a murder mystery

Book review

Easter Finery at Scarritt College for Christian Workers in Nashville, Tennessee. 1977. #easter #equinox #spring #springequinox #holiday #holidays #oestre #pagan #scarrittcollege #christianworkers #travel #traveling #holiday #holidays #vacation #vacations #south #southern #southernstates #nashville #tennessee #nashvilletennessee #thegrandoleopry #1970s #vintage #vintagefashion #1970sfashion #1970sdress #1970sattire

The beauty of Nashville, Tennessee, during Easter Weekend, 1977. #nature #natural #naturalbeauty #outdoors #outdoorliving #nashville #Tennessee #nashvilletennessee #South #southernstates #easter #spring #growingseason #growing #redbud #redbuds #redbudtree #redbudtrees #water #waterfeature #beauty #naturesbeauty #springequinox #equinox

When I was younger and loved travel, a city's art museums were always my number one interest. Nashville, Tennessee, Easter, 1977. #travel #travels #vacation #vacations #nashville #Tennessee #nashvilletennessee #museum #museums #artmuseum #museums #nashvilleartmuseum #1970s #South #southernstates #easter #Spring #springequinox #equinox #paintings #painting #art

Easter in Nashville, 1977. I wasn't always a Curmudgeonly Old Hermit. #hermit #hermitting #curmudgeon #hermits #curmudgeons #grump #grumps #coot #geezer #nashville #tennessee #southern #southernstates #travel #vacation #holiday #vacations #usatravel #unitedstates #1970s #visit

Southern states ban transgender books from YA and children's sections in libraries

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/alabama-tennessee-transgender-books-libraries

Southern states ban transgender books from YA and children's sections in libraries

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.advocate.com/politics/alabama-tennessee-transgender-books-libraries

ICE Crackdowns May Quietly Be Reshaping The Freight Market

Something’s happening in the spot market that’s caught a few folks off guard. Rates have jumped — quickly…
#NewsBeep #News #Economy #Business #CA #Canada #freightcapacity #FreightMarket #southernstates
https://www.newsbeep.com/ca/198234/

#MAGA #natsit #nazis #KKK #KuKluxKlan #etelävaltiot #SouthernStates #rasismi #racism #fasismi #facism #natsismi #nazism #äärioikeisto #FarRight #RobertDeNiro #DeNiro #USA #US #USpol #Yhdysvallat

What Is A #PollTax? Definition and Examples

By Robert Longley, July 27, 2022

Excerpt: "In the United States, the origin of the poll tax—and the controversy surrounding it—is associated with the agrarian unrest of the 1880s and 1890s, which culminated in the rise of the Populist Party in the Western and the Southern states. The Populists, representing low-income farmers, gave Democrats in these areas the only serious competition that they had experienced since the end of Reconstruction. The competition led both parties to see the need to attract Black citizens back into politics and to compete for their vote. As the Democrats defeated the Populists, they amended their state constitutions or drafted new ones to include various discriminatory disfranchising devices. When the payment of the poll tax was made a prerequisite to voting, impoverished #BlackPeople and often #PoorWhitePeople, unable to afford the tax, were denied the #RightToVote.

"During the post-Civil War Reconstruction Era in the United States, the former states of the Confederacy repurposed the poll tax explicitly to prevent formerly enslaved #BlackAmericans from voting. Although the #14thAmendment and #15thAmendment [s] gave Black men full #citizenship and #VotingRights, the power to determine what constituted a qualified voter was left to the states. Beginning with Mississippi in 1890, #SouthernStates quickly exploited this legal loophole. At its 1890 constitutional convention, Mississippi imposed a $2.00 poll tax and early registration as a requirement for voting. This had catastrophic results for the Black electorate. Whereas approximately 87,000 Black citizens registered to vote in 1869, representing almost 97% of the eligible voting-age population, fewer than 9,000 of them registered to vote after the state’s new constitution took effect in 1892.

"Between 1890 and 1902, all eleven former #Confederate states imposed some form of a poll tax to deter Black Americans from voting. The tax, which ranged from $1 to $2, was prohibitively expensive for most Black sharecroppers, who earned their wages in crops, not currency. Beyond the cost, voter registration and tax payment offices were usually located in public spaces designed to intimidate potential voters, like courthouses and police stations.

"The southern states also enacted #JimCrowLaws intended to reinforce #RacialSegregation and restrict Black voting rights. Along with the poll tax, most of these states also imposed literacy tests, which required potential voters to read and interpret in writing sections of the state constitution. So-called 'grandfather clauses' allowed a person to vote without paying the poll tax or passing the literacy test if their father or grandfather had voted before the abolition of slavery in 1865; a stipulation that automatically precluded all formerly enslaved persons. Together, the grandfather clause and the literacy tests effectively restored voting rights to poorer White voters who could not pay the poll tax, while further suppressing the Black vote.

"Poll taxes of varying stipulations lingered in Southern states well into the 20th century. While some states abolished the tax in the years after World War I, others retained it. Ratified in 1964, the #24thAmendment to the #USConstitution declared the tax unconstitutional in federal elections.

"Specifically, the 24th Amendment states:

'The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.'

"President Lyndon B. Johnson called the amendment a 'triumph of liberty over restriction.' 'It is a verification of people's rights, which are rooted so deeply in the mainstream of this nation's history,' he said.

"The #VotingRightsAct of 1965 created significant changes in the voting status of Black Americans throughout the South. The law prohibited the states from using literacy tests and other methods of excluding Black Americans from voting. Before this, only an estimated twenty-three percent of voting-age Black citizens were registered nationally, but by 1969 the number had jumped to sixty-one percent.

"In 1966 the U.S. Supreme Court went beyond the Twenty-fourth Amendment by ruling in the case of Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections that under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, states could not levy a poll tax as a prerequisite for voting in state and local elections. In two months in the spring of 1966, federal courts declared poll tax laws unconstitutional in the last four states that still had them, starting with Texas on February 9. Similar decisions soon followed in Alabama and Virginia. Mississippi's $2.00 poll tax (about $18 today) was the last to fall, declared unconstitutional on April 8, 1966."

https://www.thoughtco.com/poll-tax-definition-and-examples-5443130
#VoterDisenfranchisement #USPol #USHistory #TwentyFourthAmendment #FourteenthAmendment #FifteenthAmendment #VoterRights #LiteracyTests #USElections #VoterSuppression #BlackAmericans

💥 "LPG tanker lorries to stop operations from tomorrow." Southern LPG Tanker Lorry Owners Association President Sundararajan announced: "The strike will continue until negotiations are initiated." ⚠️ Warning: Risk of gas shortage in southern states.

#LPGStrike #SouthernStates #PublicAlert

Interestingly, some of the highest heat pump adoption rates are in Southern states like Alabama and North Carolina—even where the climate isn’t leading the charge against climate change.

What’s driving this? #ClimateAction #SouthernStates

Time for a Census, come what may

Paradoxically, the Modi government can fast-track delimitation by delaying the population census. The Opposition should resist this tooth and nail, writes Jean Dreze.

#PopulationCensus #delimitation #2029LokSabhaElection #BJP #SouthernStates #india

https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/time-for-a-census-come-what-may/article68303732.ece

@Frances_Larina @jensorensen
#louisiana #gop #republicans are anti-freedom and anti-knowledge and marching towards #authoritarianism and #totalitarianism like #godfather #putin #russia
The scarier part is this is becoming contagious throughout the the #us #SouthernStates

Why are South Indian temples larger than ones in North? Answer isn’t ‘Islamic invasions’

In the medieval period, South Indian temples became investment destinations for middle classes. This is why they transformed into sprawling complexes. Anirudh Kanisetty writes.

#HinduTemples #SouthernStates #TamilNadu #cholas #architecture #history #histodon #india

https://theprint.in/opinion/why-are-south-indian-temples-larger-than-ones-in-north-answer-isnt-islamic-invasions/2046004/

Why India’s South Rejects Modi — And Why It Matters

The more progressive and successful part of the country is drifting away from the poverty-ridden north and its majoritarian leader, writes Andy Mukherjee.

#SouthIndia #NarendraModi #BJP #hindutva #SouthernStates #AndhraPradesh #kerala #karnataka #TamilNadu #development #education #economy #india

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/features/2024-04-07/india-elections-progressive-south-is-rejecting-modi

Tax divide: Why are southern states upset?

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala aren’t happy with the share of funds they receive from the centre.

#FiscalFederalism #TamilNadu #kerala #karnataka #UnionGovt #federalism #SouthTaxMovement #SouthernStates #TaxDevolution #india

The Big Lie Is the South’s New Lost Cause | Of the 117 Republicans currently running for re-election who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s election, 70 are from Southern states.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-big-lie-is-the-souths-new-lost-cause

#TheDailyBeast #SouthernLostCause #RepublicanReelections #BigLie #CertifyingBiden #SouthernStates #Politics #News

Blood

https://library.hrmtc.com/2024/01/08/blood/

Nonunion Workers Are Playing a Big Role in the Autoworkers’ Strike - The three U.S. automakers say they are already at a disadvantage to nonunion rivals while... - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/23/business/union-nonunion-autoworkers-uaw.html #factoriesandmanufacturing #electricandhybridvehicles #bayerischemotorenwerkeag #unitedautomobileworkers #midwesternstates(us) #southernstates(us) #wagesandsalaries #incomeinequality #hondamotorcoltd #toyotamotorcorp #organizedlabor #hyundaimotorco

National Medical Commission’s latest order on seat allocation viewed as unfair to southern States

The recommendation that colleges seeking approval from the National Medical Commission should follow the ratio of 100 MBBS seats per 10 lakh population will punish States that have performed well on this front and undermine federalism in healthcare, say doctors.

https://www.thehindu.com/education/national-medical-commissions-latest-order-on-seat-allocation-viewed-as-unfair-to-southern-states/article67366216.ece

#NationalMedicalCommission #NMC #MedicalColleges #SouthernStates #federalism #healthcare #SouthIndia #TamilNadu #kerala #karnataka #AndhraPradesh #telangana #pondicherry #HimachalPradesh #manipur #sikkim #education #medicine #UnionGovt #india

Strike Is a High-Stakes Gamble for Autoworkers and the Labor Movement - Experts on unions and the industry said the U.A.W. strike could accelerate a wave of work... - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/19/business/economy/strike-autoworkers-labor.html #unitedstatespoliticsandgovernment #electricandhybridvehicles #factoriesandmanufacturing #unitedautomobileworkers #unitedstateseconomy #southernstates(us) #wagesandsalaries #organizedlabor #bidenjosephrjr #generalmotors #laborandjobs #fainshawn

Battle Over Electric Vehicles Is Central to Auto Strike - Carmakers are anxious to keep costs down as they ramp up electric vehicle manufacturing, ... - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/16/business/electric-vehicles-uaw-gm-ford-stellantis.html #sportsutilityvehiclesandlighttrucks #electricandhybridvehicles #factoriesandmanufacturing #shutdowns(institutional) #unitedautomobileworkers #farleyjamesdjr(1962-) #southernstates(us) #organizedlabor #teslamotorsinc #stocksandbonds #bidenjosephrjr

Clean Energy Quest Pits Google Against Utilities - Google says it can’t meet its goals for renewable power unless state-regulated utilities,... - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/20/business/google-clean-energy.html #regulationandderegulationofindustry #antitrustlawsandcompetitionissues #alternativeandrenewableenergy #electriclightandpower #southernstates(us) #lawandlegislation #southerncompany #energyandpower #georgiapowerco #googleinc

Why This Could Be a Critical Year for Electric Cars - Booming in a depressed market, battery-powered vehicles are a plus for the climate but po... - https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/business/energy-environment/electric-cars-vehicles.html #infrastructureinvestmentandjobsact(2021) #fuelemissions(transportation) #centerforautomotiveresearch #electricandhybridvehicles #greenhousegasemissions #southernstates(us) #toyotamotorcorp #teslamotorsinc #fuelefficiency #lithium(metal) #bidenjosephrjr

Amazon Labor Fight: Wages May Not Ward Off Union - Recent organizing campaigns in the South suggest the company’s wage scale may have left it vulnera... - https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/18/business/economy/amazon-wages-alabama-union.html #retailwholesaleanddepartmentstoreunion #southernstates(us) #wagesandsalaries #organizedlabor #amazon.cominc #bessemer(ala) #laborandjobs #minimumwage