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OCTOBER PRIZE: “THE WATERMELON KING”

I don’t know about you, but I do most of my reading in the fall and winter. I think a lot of people are that way. It gets cold out and people spend more time indoors. Maybe you light a fire and pour some hot cocoa. It’s the perfect book-reading scenario.

With that in mind, this month’s prize is a novel by Daniel Wallace called “The Watermelon King.” Some of you may know Daniel as the author of “Big Fish,” which got the big Hollywood movie treatment back in the mid-90s. “Big Fish” was set in the fictional town of Ashland, Alabama, and “The Watermelon King” is, too.

Wallace’s Ashland is the former Watermelon Capital of the World. An excerpt from the book’s opening chapter explains how the town got this title:



Once upon a long time ago, beneath this sun, in these fields, our world was full of watermelons. Everywhere you looked there were watermelons. You couldn’t walk without stepping on them. No one person thought to grow them; they just seemed to grow themselves.

I haven’t read the book, so I can’t testify as to whether it’s good or bad, but the handful of reviewers on Amazon.com gave the tale an overall ranking of four out of five stars. I’ll choose one comment from all the comments left on the blog this month, and that person will receive the novel. After reading it, feel free to give us your take with a review posted here on What About Watermelon.


Categories: General
The Watermelon Guy:

View Comments (3)

  • A book with Watermelon and King in the title sounds like a book worth reading. I’m going to see if it’s in my local book store or maybe read a chapter or two online (if possible) to see what it’s all about. Like you, I read a lot in fall and winter because I’d rather be inside than out when it’s cold and blustery. Some people like cold weather so they can go skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, etc. And those who prefer to be inside with a fire going enjoying the leaves changing and the snow falling through a window.

  • Yes this is a good time of year at my house to read.Being the only woman in the house with 2 sons and my husband equals….Football!And all if not 1 of the TV’s playing someone’s favorite team.So i would love a good book to read!