Nonfiction author and award-winning newspaper columnist David Magee will be signing his latest work, The South is Round: Contemplations of a 21st Century Redneck, Saturday, May 12, from 1-3 p.m. at Page & Palette Bookstore, 32 S. Section St. in Fairhope.

A satirical play on the bestselling book The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman, Magee’s book takes a humorous approach to social issues facing the conflicted, contemporary South.

Tackling everything from crystal meth abuse and obesity to misconduct, it blends sarcasm with outspoken insight that will make readers laugh in spite of it all.

Magee grew up in Oxford, Miss., so he’s well-situated to explain the 21st century South, a region that continues to maintain its distinctive foibles and state of mind.

According to Magee, today’s South is a place where good ol’ boys still take off work to go hunting, except that now they pack the deer on a bed of sales brochures in the trunk of an otherwise pristine company-owned Ford Taurus.

In other chapters, Magee points out the irony of Halloween being so enthusiastically celebrated deep in the Bible Belt and is amused, but not at all surprised, that he knows people devoted to reading both “Racer” magazine and the “Dining Out” section of the Wednesday New York Times.

Reviews of The South is Round have compared Magee’s work to that of the late bestselling author and columnist Lewis Grizzard and bestselling author and syndicated columnist Dave Barry.

Booklist states, “There’s a lot of Dave Barry here … Magee’s stuff is more firmly rooted in its unique landscape, and he is often as enlightening as he is funny.”

Kirkus Reviews notes that Magee takes on social problems “with gentle humor that recalls the late Lewis Grizzard.”

Magee is an award-winning columnist for the Chattanooga Times Free Press and author of several books including The John Deere Way, Moonpie and Turnaround.

He is a lifelong Southerner who has covered the region as a reporter, news editor and freelance journalist for more than 20 years.

He currently lives in Lookout Mountain, Tenn.

For more information, call 928-5295 or visit www.pageandpalette.com.