I'm reading Something Rich and Strange by Ron Rash. It's a collection of previously published short stories, but they were all new to me. His stories ring so true and are so affecting they've now become a part of me. Reviewers describe him as an Appalachian author; while that's true, I think it does   disservice to him as an author. His stories are so human, so filled with the gamut of human emotion that the place setting is secondary. The Appalachian label could be code for an author who's expert at portraying the intrinsic connectedness of his characters to their natural settings, but maybe it is the love of his home terrain that allows him to paint his word pictures so unflinchingly.  I'm not the only one who thinks he's great, he's won the O'Henry twice and is a Pen/Faulkner finalist.