Book Review: Queer Communion

Davis Shoulders, ed., Queer Communion: religion in Appalachia. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2025. ISBN: 9781985902961. 

Genre: memoir, Christianity, Appalachia

Subgenre: religion, regional interest

Format: trade paperback

Source: Hutchins Library, Berea College  

 

This book is a collection of 12 poems, essays, and stories by and about LGBTQ+ folks and their experiences with religion in Appalachia. Religion in this context is Christianity, and in Appalachia this mostly means very conservative, right wing Christianity. In other words, the kind of Christianity that, to put it charitably, is not very welcoming to queers and other LGBTQ+ folks. 

I found the book to be very moving. Personally it challenged me as I struggled a bit to understand why some choose to stay despite awful treatment. The answer to that can be complicated for the writers. For good or ill, their Christianity may be tied to racism and outright bigotry, but it is also tied to some good close family experiences, friendships, and/or positive spiritual moments. It may be hard to leave the religion of your kin, bigoted as they may be, when your granny happens to also be the one who helped raise you or just plain loved you despite the fact she may hate queers otherwise. I can see where the writers experience some tough choices and struggles with their consciences all while trying, often, to accept their queerness and decide whether to come out or not, to leave or stay home, so on. At times you feel the tension as you read the book. 

This is the kind of book I say more people should read, but sadly they won't. It is also a book that clings to some hope. 

I recommend the book for all libraries, especially libraries in the Appalachian region. Academic libraries need to have this, especially for academic programs in religion, women and gender studies, LGBTQ+ studies, and social justice. It may be an academic press book, but its accessibility makes it a good selection for public libraries too. 

I am glad I read it even if there are parts I disagree on or struggled with them, mainly about those who may remain to stay inside a religious tradition that hates them. Then again, I am a heathen, and it is their choice to make. 

Overall I'd consider this an essential book. Definitely a good one to include in various LGBTQ+ library displays. 

5 out of 5 stars. 

 

Additional reading notes: 

On loving people who hate them: 

"It occurred to me, gay Appalachian man that I am, that effectively all queer Appalachians and Southerners have loved people who hated them-- or at least parts of them, parts that can't be divided out. If we hadn't loved people who hated parts of us-- perhaps even most-- of us would never have learned to feel love at all" (x). 

 

On queerness as spiritual: 

"In a world of fascist ideologies, I have learned that queerness is spiritual in its own right. That simply coming into being and surviving in this world is an act of spiritually defiant, radical soul resilience" (21). 

 

On some Christians: 

"There are people who want to run us off the road, burn us, shoot us. There are others who don't want to hurt us but wish they could close their eyes and in a flash we'd cease to exist. Some of those people call themselves Christians" (86).

So very often it goes between Christians willing to get their hands dirty to hurt queers and those unwilling to act on their bigotry, unwilling to get their hands dirty, but very willing to support policies and provide silent tacit support to the active bigots.   

 

This book qualifies for the following 2026 Reading Challenge: 

 

Short book review: Little Book of Whiskey Cocktails

Bryan Paiement, The Little Book of Whiskey Cocktails. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2022. ISBN: 9780813195469.

Genre: recipe books

Subgenre: whiskey, spirits, cocktails, trivia, humor

Format: small hardcover

Source: Berea branch, Madison County (KY) Public Library 

This little book combines some stories and trivia about whiskey along with a few jokes and cocktail recipes. The book features classic recipes and some recipes created by the author. For each recipe, you get a short note with some history and trivia about the cocktail followed by the recipe. 

Overall, this small book is accessible and easy to read. Most of the recipes are easy to make and use common ingredients. If something extra, like simple syrup, is needed, the book explains how to make it. The book lacks illustrations, but it does include a key to glassware and bar tools. It is a small book that can be a good gift for whiskey fans and home mixologists. I liked it, and I would recommend it. 

3 out of 5 stars.

Booknote: The Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book

Joy Perrine and Susan Reigler, The Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2009.  ISBN: 978-0-8131-9246-8.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: cookbooks, recipes, cocktails, Kentuckiana, bourbon whiskey
Format: small hardback
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library

This is a small book of cocktail recipes featuring Kentucky bourbon whiskey by Joy Perrine. Perrine is an award winning bar manager out of Louisville, Kentucky. Her coauthor, Susan Reigler, is a restaurant critic and drinks writer. According to the book's description, this book is to "showcase the world of bourbon in  reader-friendly, highlighting techniques, ingredients, food selection, and glassware for the professional or home bartender."

I would say this book is more for the professional bartender or the very sophisticated, probably with a bit more disposable money, home bartender. The average person with a small to modest cabinet at home may find this book not too accessible. It has the usual issue many of these cocktail recipe books (and other cookbooks) have which is recipes with often complex and/or rarely used and/or not easy to find ingredients. So the book can be nice to read, but it is not practical for the average person.

The book is arranged as follows:

• A preface by Susan Reigler.
• 8 chapters with topics such as Getting Started, Infusions, cocktail recipes such as classics and seasonal, and nibbles (light food recipes).
• A small glossary.
• A small suggested further reading list. 

Though you can use any bourbon you prefer, the author does have her list of 12 bourbons; these range in price from low price (under $20) to expensive stuff the average person will never find (i.e. that Pappy Van Winkle 15 years old). If you are curious, here is the list. For fun, I am putting an asterisk (*) next to brands I have personally tasted and tried:

• Basil Hayden *
• Blanton
• Buffalo Trace *
• Evan Williams Single Barrel
• Four Roses Single Barrel *
• Jefferson Reserve
• Jim Beam White Label *
• Maker's Mark *
• Old Fitzgerald Prime
• Old Forester 86 proof
• Pappy Van Winkle 15-year-old (LOL on me ever even seeing this). 
• Wild Turkey 80 proof *
• Woodford Reserve *

 I've tasted seven from the list. Let me add a bit of additional comment. For Four Roses, we tend to prefer and keep a bottle of their Four Roses Small Batch at home. For Evan Williams, I've recently had and liked their Evan Williams Bottled in Bond; I've got the single barrel to try out sometime soon. A favorite of mine not on the list is Elijah Craig Small Batch (at 94 proof). As for Wild Turkey, I tend to prefer Wild Turkey 101.

Let's get back to the book. Getting the bourbon is not the challenge (except for that one or two brands, unless you live in some retrograde hick place with dry laws, then it can get harder to get the bourbon). Getting other ingredients for some recipes can be the real challenge, especially for things like liqueurs, cordials, so on that the average person may not use often outside of a specific recipe. This issue is not unique to this book by the way.

Otherwise, the book is pretty reader-friendly with an easy and encouraging tone. Instructions are fairly easy to follow too.

On a final note, though the book's description says the book is "accompanied by stunning color photographs." I'd take that with a grain of salt. Photos in the book are nice but small and far between. This is not really a book that stands out of the photos.

In the end, I liked it. It's a book to borrow, browse, maybe find one of the easier recipes to try out, and move on. Nice but optional.

3 out of 5 stars.

Booknote: Appalachian Health and Well-Being

Robert L. Ludke and Phillip J. Obermiller, eds. with Foreword by Richard A. Couto, Appalachia Health and Well-Being. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2012.  ISBN: 978-0-8131-35861.

Genre: nonfiction, reference work
Subgenre: Appalachia, health, health care, academic essays anthology
Format: Hardcover
Source: Hutchins Library, Reference Collection

This note is a reference book review. We currently have this book in our collection at Hutchins Library; I saw it on our new reference books' shelf, and I decided to make this note both to help me better know this resource and to see if it can be helpful for our students here. In this note, I will mainly look at key features of the book, how it is organized, and why it may be useful and how. On a small side note, I will probably pull some notes or items from this review to write a small quick review for our library's blog about this book. What I am saying is this note is a bit different than my usual booknotes.

In our library, we get a lot of questions related to Appalachia and the region in general. Appalachia is also a big part of the college's curriculum, especially in the required reading second semester General Studies course, so we are always looking for resources in this area. Health in the region is often a popular topic in those classes, so this book seems relevant.

I need to note it was published in 2012. For some of our classes that may require sources within 5 years (for reasons I will not go into here), this book may already be "too old." However, for classes looking at the region more broadly and at overall conditions in the region, this book can be useful.

The book is a collection of scholarly signed essays on various health related topics in the region. The book is organized as follows:

• List of illustrations
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Three major parts, each containing a series of essays. The book has a total of 16 essays. The major part topics are: 
• Appalachian Health Determinants
• Appalachian Health Status
• Urban Appalachian Health
• Acknowledgements
• Selected bibliography
• List of contributors
• Index

In his foreword to the book, Professor Couto tells us chapters in this book "addressed all the factors that promote health and well-being, including economic, political, psychological, environmental, and social ones" (xi). Maybe "all" is a bit too ambitious, but a look at the book's contents shows work "to put health and health care in a socioeconomic and political context" (xi). For many classes here on campus, specially in that General Studies curriculum I mentioned, this book can provide a good start for student research assignments.

This book is not just a collection of essays. The book's foreword and introduction provide a good overview of the complex issues of the region in terms of health and health care. The editor writes,

"This volume takes a broad perspective by focusing on the health of all Appalachians, both residents of Appalachia and those who have migrated from the region" (1).

The introduction's overview goes over various essential topics in a brief but clear manner in order to provide background material. Some of these topics include:

• Medical services for rural areas
• Health innovations
• Definitions and concepts

What the book does not cover and why. This is the kind of statement that students and researchers need to pay attention to when considering a source for a research task or assignment as it presents the limitations of the work being considered:

"There are important Appalachian subpopulations (e.g African Americans, Hispanics, Eastern Band Cherokee) and health cohorts (e.g. those with HIV/AIDS) that are not discussed in this volume. Although women's health is reasonably well represented here, many other subgroups in Appalachia are not. This is not an intentional omission; it is caused by an unfortunate lack of reliable regional data on these populations" (16). 

The book's introduction includes a section on "organization of this book." Good scholarly essay collections often include this kind of section. Here the editors define how a book is organized and why they chose their book's arrangement as well as briefly describes each essay in the book. So for students, read the introduction, specially this part, to quickly assess how well this book may suit your assignment or not. For many topics on Appalachian health and health care, you may find this book is a good source. At the end of the introduction you will find endnotes and references used in the introduction, which can be useful for expanding your research.

In the book, each scholarly essay has its own list of references as well. Again, those references are a tool to help students and researchers expand their research. We librarians often call using references from a source "citation mining." Want to learn more about this research technique? You can ask your local friendly librarian.

Finally, the book has an index of terms you can use to locate specific contents in the book. Book also contains various tables, charts, and graphs.

I'd say for some of our classes here, especially for some in the General Studies curriculum as well as classes here and in other places in Appalachian Studies, health, and wellness, this book can be a good resource.

Note: no stars rating. This is a reference book. If you have questions about why I did not rate this book, see my book review statement.

Booknote: Tales from Kentucky Funeral Homes

William Lynwood Montell, Tales from Kentucky Funeral Homes. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2009.  ISBN: 978-0-8131-2567-1.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: funerary rites and practices, folklore, traditions, Kentuckiana
Format: hardcover
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library

I finally finished reading this. The book jacket's description of this book as collecting stories "both humorous and touching" is not quite accurate. The main issue with this book is that it is outright boring and repetitive. Most of the stories are repeated over and over until the reader finally has to say, "I've got it already. Can we move on?" The author is a folklorist with an interest in recording stories by members of "significant" professional groups; he has other books similar to this one about doctors and lawyers.

At the beginning of the book, the author states why funeral directors' stories are significant:

"I fully realized that funeral directors' accounts also held important historical content, since they are the final persons to care for friends and community members when death occurs. I have collected their stories here to preserve their memories and to document the funeral practices of earlier years and contemporary times" (1).

It is a pity he could not present those stories in a more interesting way. Some serious editing and being more selective would have worked better. I can't help but feel that big parts of this book are just filler. Had better story selection and editing been done, this would have likely been a few articles in a historical society newsletter or maybe  a folklore journal. Overall, there are some interesting stories, one or two amusing ones, but they get lost in the monotonous repetition of the same events over and over.

The book is organized into an introduction, following by six chapters, and ending with biographical notes of the storytellers. Topics include funeral practices over the years, folk customs, humor and mistakes, and memories. The book is pretty much a Kentuckiana artifact. Unless you have a narrow interest in Kentucky funerary practices, the average reader has no reason to pick this up. It's just dry, boring, and repetitive as I mentioned. If you must, borrow it.

Libraries with an interest in Kentuckiana may want to add this to their collections. Otherwise, I'd say libraries in general can skip it. Having read it, I can say I would not purchase it for my library. The local public library has it, and that is plenty.

1 out of 5 stars.

Booknote: The Birth of Bourbon

Carol Peachee, The Birth of Bourbon: a Photographic Tour of Early Distilleries. Lexington, KY: University of Kentucky Press, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-8131-6554-7.

Genre: nonfiction
Subgenre: photography, Kentuckiana, bourbon whiskey, distilleries
Format: hardback coffee table book
Source: Berea branch of the Madison County (KY) Public Library

Carol Peachee went out to seek the remains of old whisky distilleries in Kentucky. She then photographed them. The result is a beautiful, at times a bit somber compilation of photographs that raise the format to an art. For some, this is preserving history and getting a glimpse into the past. We see the ruins and remains, and we can imagine what working on one of these distilleries and producing bourbon may have been like. For a brief moment we can travel back in time thanks to the author's photos.

The organization of the book is very simple. Jim Gray provides a short introduction. Then we get the photos. These are full color photos of various sizes showing various parts of buildings and machinery of the old distilleries. The conditions of these old distilleries varies; some are in a bit better condition than others. Some are about to be demolished, and she got there right on time to catch that one last glimpse of the past. A strength in the work is the author's ability to often catch small details that can be very revealing. Each photography is fully captioned so you know where it is and what you are looking at.

Fans of Kentucky bourbon and its history will likely enjoy the book. This is also a good book for photography enthusiasts whether they like bourbon or not. The author has truly created a good tribute to an important slice of Kentucky history. Libraries collecting Kentuckiana should get this book.

4 out of 5 stars.

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This book qualifies for the following 2016 Reading Challenges: