Old Ben lived on the outskirts of the strangely named Florida community of Two Egg and, to tell the truth, his life was not going so well. Alone and forgotten, Ben was in need of redemption, but he never imagined the way it would come. Christmas in Two Egg, Florida is the first novel from noted Southern writer and historian Dale Cox and spins the unexpected story of a forgotten man, Confederate gold, a place called Two Egg and an unlikely Christmas visitor. Set in the days of the Great Depression, but timeless in the story it tells, the book is the story of a man, his neighbors and the day God answered their prayers.

Florida has its own special way of celebrating the holiday.

I think this book will be fun and interesting for you. Portmanteaus like smog and Bennifer are a very current craze. Palindromes are words, phrases, sentences, numbers, and dates that read the same forwards and backwards. One chapter is devoted to how many of our last names came about.

This Florida Book Awards Gold Medal-winner in the Cooking category celebrates the Sunshine State’s culinary heritage—from turtle soup to boiled peanuts. Though starting in one-story shacks in the piney woods of the Panhandle, Cracker cooking in Florida has evolved with our tastes and times and is now just as home in high-rise apartments along the glistening waterways. When supplies were limited and the workday arduous, black coffee with leftover cornbread might serve as breakfast. Today’s bounty and life’s relative ease bring mornings with lattes and biscotti, biscuits and sausage gravy. What’s on the plate has changed, but our heritage infuses who we are. As we follow the path laid out by gastronomic pioneers, this culinary quest, guided by sixth-generation Cracker Joy Sheffield Harris, will whet your appetite with recipes and sumptuous reflections. Pull up a chair and dig in.

Descriptions of some offbeat places and people of Florida.