A Red State of Mind by Nancy French

Non-Fiction: Humor. Hardback from Center Street. Published in 2006. 248 pages. Purchased from Amazon.com.

I saw this book recommended on Ocular Fusion. Because we have lived in the North East, the Midwest, the Pacific Coast and the South, I thought I might enjoy seeing her take on the clash between cultures. It's a bit difficult to explain, but some of the chapters were very enjoyable (more like aren't we all silly), while others just seemed rather judgmental about the differences she didn't like. So, I enjoyed her humor, but wished she had be able to keep a less condemning tone throughout the book.

Publisher's summary:
For the first 20 years of her life, all Nancy French knew of the world was Paris--Paris, Tennessee, that is. When the former homecoming queen trades in cow-tipping, big hair, and the Catfish Capital of the World for a new life in the Big Apple, she is in for a real education.

Things get lost in translation when she enrolls in her first women's studies/philiosophy class at New York University ("Women's Studies is the study of why men deserve to be eliminated from the planet just as soon as babies can be grown in Petri dishes and pickle jars come with easy open lids"), gives birth in an Ithaca hospital that bans epidurals and pacifiers, faces down recycling police, and almost gets arrested for leaving a stroller at the Liberty Bell.

It's a far cry from life in the red states -- especially when Nancy reveals her conservative politics and takes a beating from the MOB (Mothers Opposing Bush). Undaunted by her misadventures, she bravely acts as a red-state ambassador, dismantling stereotypes (no, red-staters do not think as slowly as they speak) and affectionately describing the nuances of the evangelical subculture.

Whether or not you share her passion for chain restaurants, Wal-Mart, and the GOP you will fall in love with Nancy's All-American brand of spirited humor and find yourself in A RED STATE OF MIND.

Online book shopping:
Powell's: A Red State of Mind
amazon.co.uk: A Red State of Mind
amazon.com: A Red State of Mind
Audible.com: sorry, not currently available as audio from Audible