GATOR COUNTRY "will change Florida in the eyes of everyone who reads it."
What readers are saying about Rebecca Renner's debut book.
Howdy Friends,
Team Rebecca here. Gator Country continues to get amazing coverage, including this feature in Creative Loafing Tampa: Best Florida Books of 2023. They used almost a whole page in their print edition to share a picture of Rebecca and Jeff from her event at Tombolo Books. Rebecca is proud to be included alongside several other incredible Florida writers.
Audiofile Magazine offered a review of the audiobook recording of Gator Country, saying:
With this audiobook, listeners are immersed in the exotic environment of the Florida Everglades and the bizarre underworld of alligator poaching. John Pirhalla offers a first-rate narration. His facility with accents gives atmosphere to this true-crime work. He varies his tone, pitch, and cadence to good effect, and effectively handles both its hard-boiled police procedural aspects and the author's loving passages about the ecosystem at the center of the story. Rebecca Renner narrates the introduction to her nonfiction debut, offering insightful autobiographical notes. She also makes clear the distinction between poaching for survival and doing so for crass commercial purposes. But the publisher wisely chose to use Pirhalla for this largely male-dominated tale.
The Christian Science Monitor included Gator Country in their Best Books of 2023 round-up. They described the book by saying, “Renner blends fine storytelling with Florida history, local lore, nature writing, and personal anecdotes.”
Additionally, the Chicago Public Library included Gator Country on their Must-Read Nonfiction of 2023 list. Awesome!
ICYMI, we are still celebrating a glowing review of Gator Country from NPR in which they said the book “will change Florida in the eyes of everyone who reads it.” Gator Country also received rave reviews from the New York Times, Washington Post, People & more! This is an incredible accomplishment.
Keep reading the newsletter to stay informed on all things Gator Country.
Yours Truly,
Team Rebecca
This week, Rebecca is excited to recommend The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by American journalist David Grann. She wrote the following on Goodreads about The Wager:
This book lives up to the hype. It's my favorite book of the year. I'm a maritime history buff. (I've even written about sea shanties for the NYT!) So I knew significant parts of this story already. I had read some of the source material years ago. That's what's so uncanny to me about The Wager: Even with all of my background knowledge, the story felt new and fresh. It was truly gripping. I can't imagine how exciting it would be coming to the tale with new eyes.
Rebecca especially recommends The Wager for history buffs, maritime enthusiasts—in addition to lovers of Horatio Hornblower, Moby Dick, and the Master and Commander series, all of which were influenced by the true events that unfold in this book.
Jojo encourages you to follow Rebecca on Tik Tok, Twitter, Facebook, Threads, and Bluesky!