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In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

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In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
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An engrossing and necessary work of memoir, queer perspective, and groundbreaking from examining a history of abuse through a series of prismatic episodes dissecting road trips, meetings with parents, Disney villains, and gaslighting. Stumbling through each new layer you delve deeper into the unshakeable, irrational hold of abuse. At times what seemed like romance transforms in the next page into folklore, raw emotion, queer theory, criticism, and horror. I am immensely grateful for the work Carmen Maria Machado has done in writing as generous a book as In the Dream House.

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, (List Price: $18, Graywolf Press, 9781644450383, December 2020)

Reviewed by Luis Correa, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
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Through the eyes of precocious 9-year-old protagonist Oskar Schell, Foer grapples with questions like why do tragedies happen, how to handle loss and grief, and how to keep going. As he asks these impossible questions, he takes you through a kaleidoscope of a quest through points in history and through New York. It’s a tale of loss and searching, but also light and hope.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, (List Price: $16.99, Mariner Book Classics, 9780618711659, March 2006 2023)

Reviewed by Julia Jarema, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay

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The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay
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Ross Gay is an ambassador of pure joy—not the sugar-coated, roll-your-eyes kind of happiness, but the subversive, wink-and-nod kind of delectation. Whether he is comparing clusters of harvested sweet potatoes to snuggled bunnies or finding beauty at his aunt’s funeral, Gay’s eye for the oft-overlooked wonders of life is unrivaled, and his conversational, familiar delivery is perfection. Each tiny essay in this beautiful book digresses again and again, which, no surprise, makes it all the more delightful. Do we need a book of more delights? Yes, yes, yes. This book is a ray of sunshine, a juicy peach, a warm hug, a sunflower growing out of a crack in the sidewalk.

The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay, (List Price: $28, Algonquin Books, 9781643753096, September 2023)

Reviewed by Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Good Men by Arnon Grunberg

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Good Men by Arnon Grunberg
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For a book that claims to “chart the downfall” of its protagonist, I knew the ride I was potentially in for. However, the end of the book seems to kick the reader down a notch as well. The trainwreck rubbernecker in me really loved the first 3/4ths of this one: just-a-guy, content with his simple job, generic work friends, paint-by-most-numbers marriage and run-of-the-offbrand-mill child(ren), marking off each on his failure checklist. These tragedies are handled in such off kilter ways, laced with a stealthy wit, to keep the story fresh and engaging without the need to step it up to a fast pace. And though I didn’t NOT like the final quarter, where people are just plain disgusting (the reader just as lackadaisically unobservant as our “hero” to the clues displayed throughout), the final lap just felt like the author rubbing your face in the filth of life. But then again, the book’s a self-proclaimed downfall chart. Please watch your feet as you exit the ride.

Good Men by Arnon Grunberg, (List Price: 18.95, Open Letter, 9781948830652, May 2023)

Reviewed by Ian McCord, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Cousins by Aurora Venturini

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Cousins by Aurora Venturini
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My kinda fare: a colorful palette of characters reminiscent of school days when you mush all the cafeteria food together on the tray then dare your neighbor to eat it. Blushworthy moments galore, like being shot from an early-oeuvre John Waters canon, to land in a Leonora Carrington net. A gourmet gag-fest, even more chokingly delicious in hindsight.

Cousins by Aurora Venturini, (List Price: 17.95, Soft Skull, 9781593767297, May 2023)

Reviewed by Ian McCord, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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The Best Strangers in the World by Ari Shapiro

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The Best Strangers in the World by Ari Shapiro
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As a near-constant NPR fanatic (my ringtone is "All Rings Considered" from Bojack Horseman and I wake up to Morning Edition) with friends in journalism, really enjoyed this peek behind the curtain of journalism and the human element of stories that cannot always be told on air. Ari Shapiro weaves together stories of his childhood growing up in North Dakota, with the story of meeting his husband, with his journalism, and his cabaret show with Alan Cumming in a way that makes this memoir irresistible to put down. Moments in this collection of journalistic stories made me laugh out loud, while others made me tear up in their poignancy and relevance. A beautiful collection to remind any reader of the importance of human connection.

The Best Strangers in the World by Ari Shapiro, (List Price: 28.99, HarperOne, 9780063221345, April 2023)

Reviewed by Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Ancient Night by David Alvarez

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Ancient Night by David Alvarez
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Álvarez’s illustrations alone are enough to make this stunning picture book a winner—the dreamy feel of the milky moonlight against the deep-dark night and the crisp simplicity of the animals and their world is masterful. When paired with interwoven traditional Mesoamerican tales of the magic and power of our lunar companion, the story sings, enchanting readers with its mystery and beauty. Don’t miss this one!

Ancient Night by David Alvarez, (List Price: $18.99, Levine Querido, 9781646142514, March 2023)

Reviewed by Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin

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I loved Curtis Chin’s memoir, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant. Chin grew up in 1980s Detroit with the center of his world being his family’s restaurant, Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine. One of six children and the son of immigrants, Chin’s tight-knit family and community weathered social injustice, racism, and violence by providing a welcoming environment, delicious food, and open arms. Chin shares his struggles to figure out his sexuality, his feelings of being lost in a large family, and wanted to please his elders in touching and funny stories that show his earnest and kind heart. Highly recommend and also great as an audiobook from Libro.fm as the author narrates.

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin, (List Price: 30, Little, Brown and Company, 9780316507653, 2023-10-17)

Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

Buy Link: https://avidbookshop.com/book/

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We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

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We All Want Impossible Things by Terry Crews
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Oh my goodness. I never thought any book would have me weeping more than A Little Life, but Catherine Newman’s We All Want Impossible Things broke that record along the floodgates. This is not to say the novel is a depressing one: in fact, its depictions of life-affirming, forever-friendships veritably burst with love and wit. Newman perfectly captures the confusing contradictions that accompany end-of-life care: the emergencies among the mundanity, the darkly hilarious moments that punctuate the slow-motion, eviscerating heartbreak. Some readers who’ve said goodbye to terminally ill beloveds may find that their wounds are too raw for this novel. I, on the other hand, read it a few months after cancer took a very close friend of mine and I found it to be incredibly cathartic. Many moments were eerily—no, magically!—similar to moments I shared with Becky toward the end. I underlined like mad and scribbled in the margins; more than once I started to make a mental note to share certain excerpts with Becky, knowing she’d recognize herself and our friendship in the words, then remembering she’s not anywhere I can reach her. Five stars. Pairs well with Kathryn Schulz’s Lost & Found and/or Janine Kwoh’s Welcome to the Grief Club.

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman (List Price: $25.99, Harper, 9780063230897, November 2022)

Reviewed by Janet Geddis, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Foster by Claire Keegan

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Foster by Claire Keegan
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Claire Keegan’s books are little, quietly epic works of art. Foster is the story of a lonely child sent to live with relatives one summer, not knowing whether she would return home. The love and compassion shown to her on the Irish farm starkly contrast with the child’s family. Keegan’s prose is gorgeous.

Foster by Claire Keegan, (List Price: $20, Grove Press, 9780802160140, November 2022)

Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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It Came from the Closet by Joe Vallese

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It Came from the Closet by Joe Vallese
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It’s human nature to look for validation of oneself in the art we consume, and It Came From the Closet is a collection of essays by queer and trans authors on their interpretations and interactions with horror films. Edited by Joe Vallese, these essays are tender and funny, vulnerable and courageous. It Came From the Closet will make you see movies you’ve watched numerous times in a different light and that is a spectacular point of view.

It Came from the Closet by Joe Vallese, (List Price: $25.95, The Feminist Press at CUNY, 9781952177798, October 2022)

Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela

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The Town of Babylon: Stories by Alejandro Varela
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A full-hearted homecoming story of reckoning with the past as it hits you hard and fast all while trying to carve a way forward–when for so long it looked like the only way was straight. Bounces around the lives of late 30s queer Latino and his former classmates and family to map out the landscape of the suburbs and the inner lives America so often pushes aside. Astute, enraged, and charming as hell.

The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela, (List Price: $27, Astra House, 9781662601033, March 2022)

Reviewed by Luis Correa, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Still This Love Goes On by Buffy Sainte-Marie

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Still This Love Goes On by Buffy Sainte-Marie
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Beautiful and poignant, this stunning ode to Cree life sings with love for the relations that sustain it—between people, with the land, and the communal practices that have endured through generations. Flett’s warm, evocative artwork is, as always, a treasure, imbuing Sainte-Marie’s lyrics with tender resonance.

Still This Love Goes On by Buffy Sainte-Marie, (List Price: $18.95, Greystone Kids, 9781771648073, September 2022)

Reviewed by Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Chirri & Chirra, In the Night by Kaya Doi

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Chirri & Chirra, In the Night by Kaya Doi
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I don’t know how Kaya Doi does it, but even though this is EIGHTH book in the Chirri & Chirra series, it’s still just as magical and enjoyable to read as the first. The formula, rather than being tiresome, is soothing and reassuring—you know from the first “dring-dring!” that you are setting off on a charming adventure with tasty treats and friendly animals. This one, with a full moon festival in the forest, works particularly well for bedtime reading.

Chirri & Chirra, In the Night by Kaya Doi (List Price: $16.95, Enchanted Lion Books, 9781592703845, November 2022)

Reviewed by Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery

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If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery
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A September 2022 Read This Next! Title

Jonathan Escoffery’s debut If I Survive You chronicles an American immigration story full of hope, heartbreak, promises broken, and most importantly the constant struggle. Told in interconnected stories, If I Survive You addresses class, race, and economic disparity but is also funny. Mark my words, Escoffery is a rising literary star.

If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery, (List Price: $27.00, MCD, 9780374605988, September 2022)

Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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