Georgia Bookstores

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

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The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
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So, this book made me cry on the airplane. An ode to swimming, routine, kindness, and what it is like to fall into dementia, to love someone with dementia, and to lose that person as they lose themselves. A beautifully written meditation on the difficulties of a mother/ daughter relationship.

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka, (List Price: $23.00, Knopf, 9780593321331, February 2022)

Reviewed by Jessica Osborne, E. Shaver bookseller in Savannah, Georgia


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Funny Farm by Laurie Zaleski

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Funny Farm by Laurie Zaleski
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Once you open this book, this story will never leave your heart. Laurie Zalenski tells of her mother’s love as the family escapes an abusive husband and father and attempts life with zero money. As the family scrapes by, they adopt and care for others including neglected animals. The love of people and animals shine on every page as the tale leads to the Funny Farm and the 600 abused and neglected animals that thrive on the New Jersey farm. You will fall in love with Laurie, the many animals, and the book as you plan your trip to see for yourself the Funny Farm.

Funny Farm by Laurie Zaleski, (List Price: $27.99, St. Martin’s Press, 97812502728366, February 2022)

Reviewed by Nancy Pierce from Bookmiser, Inc. in Marietta, Georgia


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Golden Boys by Phil Stamper

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Golden Boys by Phil Stamper
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Stamper brings his trademark storytelling, full of heart and magic, to his story of 4 boys and one incredible summer. Sal, Gabriel, Heath, and Reese are the best of friends, but they’re all headed their separate ways for the summer. Sal is headed to DC to intern for a senator. Gabriel is headed to Boston to work for a nonprofit and save the trees. Heath is headed to Daytona to work with his aunt and cousin while his parents work out their divorce. And Reese is off to Paris for a summer design school. They’ve always been inseparable, so how will they make it through the summer?


Golden Boys by Phil Stamper, (List Price: $18.99, Bloomsbury YA, 9781547607372, February 2022)

Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia


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The Sunny Nihilist by Wendy Syfret

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The Sunny Nihilist by Wendy Syfret
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The Sunny Nihilist will open your mind to the brighter side of meaninglessness. (Hear me out.) Embracing nihilism–or at least being open to it–can free you from the constant messages we receive about how every. single. thing. must. have. DEEP. meaning. As someone who detests the phrase “everything happens for a reason” but is grateful for what past mistakes and successes have taught me, Wendy Syfret’s book is just what the doctor ordered.


The Sunny Nihilist by Wendy Syfret, (List Price: $24.95, Chronicle Prism, 9781797215808, January 2022)

Reviewed by Janet Geddis, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia


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Unraveling by Peggy Orenstein

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Unraveling by Peggy Orenstein
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Get the audiobook

While reading Unraveling, not only did I find out about sheering sheep and spinning and dyeing wool, I learned much more about climate sustainability and fire dangers and go bags in California. I also lived some of the pandemic through Peggy Orenstein’s eyes and felt her sadness over the loss of her parents and her daughter Daisy going off to school and all of our eventual aging. This book covered much of the history of women and women’s rights and making clothing from fairy tales to knitting today’s pussy hats. I also learned that we discard 80 pounds of clothes a year per person with most of it ending up in landfills. This book has made me determined to buy less and think about my purchases and our climate emergencies. Rarely have I read a book that has affected me so deeply as I also felt I had made a new friend by reading the author’s story. I look forward to reading this over with friends and my book club.

Unraveling by Peggy Orenstein, (List Price: $27.99, Harper, 9780063081727, January 2023)

Reviewed by Nancy Pierce, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia

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Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

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Black Cake
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Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel Black Cake shares the story of a woman who survives a negligent father, an absent mother, racism, trauma, and exile from her home. It’s only after Eleanor’s death that her children Byron and Benne learn just how much they don’t know about their Ma. Full of twists, Black Cake is the story of a mother’s love and the sacrifices she makes to keep safe.

Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, (List Price: $28.00, Ballantine Books, 9780593358337, February 2022)

Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Sea State by Tabitha Lasley

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Sea State
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I can’t claim to be in the traditional target audience for romantic memoirs written by women in their thirties, but the cover art was so wonderful that I had to pick up Sea State. I found the story in the book to be a rather skillful balancing act in which Lasley simultaneously profiles an oil industry in crisis and chronicles her own attachments to, and impressions of, the men who work in it. She immediately becomes the mistress of a married oil rig worker, which causes her a significant deal of stress, but also offers her an unparalleled degree of access to the types of men who work on offshore oil rigs. I think she has interesting interactions with these men, treating them with respect and honesty… or whatever else they may deserve at the moment.

Sea State by Tabitha Lasley, (List Price: $27.99, $27.99, 9780063030831, December 2021)

Reviewed by Carter Adkins, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia

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Pride, Prejudice, and Peril by Katie Oliver

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Pride, Prejudice, and Peril
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Phaedra works as an English professor at the local college, lecturing her students about Jane Austen, while wearing garb from the time period. When a reality show starts filming in town called Who Wants to Marry Mr. Darcy?, she’s hired to consult. But when her best friend’s new husband is murdered (they own the estate where the reality show is being filmed), Phaedra has to solve the mystery before her friend is charged with murder. The first in the new Jane Austen Tea Society Mystery series, Austenites will see plenty of similarities to their favorite author’s stories.

Pride, Prejudice, and Peril by Katie Oliver, (List Price: $8.99, Berkley, 9780593337615, December 2021)

Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia

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Medusa by Jessie Burton

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Medusa
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Burton’s feminist retelling of Medusa is filled with wonderful illustrations, and a story with which we’re all somewhat familiar. Medusa has been exiled to a remote island with her two sisters. But they are immortal and have wings, so Medusa’s existence is fairly lonely. But one day, a beautiful boy named Perseus arrives by boat and he and Medusa strike up a friendship, talking while each is on the other side of a giant rock. They each find themselves heartbroken, telling the other their story.

Medusa by Jessie Burton, (List Price: $19.99, Bloomsbury YA, 9781547607594, January 2022)

Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia

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Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

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Anatomy: A Love Story
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Anatomy: A Love Story is a dark and deadly tale about just how far you’d go to achieve your dreams in a world designed for you to fail. I fell in love with Hazel and Jack. This was a gothic story of resurrection men and women surgeons in disguise that had me guessing until the last moment.

Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz, (List Price: $18.99, Wednesday Books, 9781250774156, January 2022)

Reviewed by Katlin Kerrison, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia

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Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz

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Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz
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An exquisite view into the inextricable relationship among love, grief, and hope, Kathryn Schulz’s Lost & Found is a masterpiece. It’s been a while since I’ve underlined so many sentences and created marginalia—from page one, it felt as if I myself was part of Schulz’s story. Her metaphors are spot-on and stunning; her fondness for research and etymology manage to deepen our relationship to the work instead of distancing us. Five stars. I’ve already created a mile-long list of loved ones who will, like me, treasure this memoir.

Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz, (List Price: 27, Random House, 9780525512462, January 2022)

Reviewed by Janet Geddis, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia


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I Love You Because I Love You by Muon Thi Van

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I Love You Because I Love You
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I Love You Because I Love You is a sublime psalm to the ways in which love manifests and changes us for the better. Love’s soft, expressive illustrations are a perfect match for the heartfelt text, displaying a beautiful variety of relationships in which love abounds. A perfect gift for baby showers, weddings, graduation, Valentine’s Day, or any day—because every day is a good day to say, “I love you.”

I Love You Because I Love You by Muon Thi Van, (List Price: $17.99, Katherine Tegen Books, 9780062894595, January 2022)

Reviewed by Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

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Small Things Like These
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A Fall Read This Next! Selection

It’s a cold winter Irish winter in 1985 when local coal merchant Bill Furlong enters his busy season before Christmas. Claire Keegan’s novel Small Things Like These tells the story of Bill Furlong who has lived in a small, quiet village his entire life. When Bill discovers an injustice, his decision to help brings up his lifelong question of who was his father. This is a quietly beautiful book.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, (List Price: $20.00, Grove Press, 9780802158741, November 2021)

Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Orphans of the Tide by Struan Murray

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Orphans of the Tide
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Perfect for middle readers with a sense of adventure, this book is a fun ride from the first page! The mystery of learning the identity and nature of the Enemy is captivating, and the tight bonds between both friends and siblings are explored beautifully. I’d absolutely recommend this book to young readers, and I hope to see more from this author, and in this world!

Orphans of the Tide by Struan Murray, (List Price: $17.99, HarperCollins, 9780063043114, December 2021)

Reviewed by Kate Wilder, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia

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Absence of Mallets by Kate Carlisle

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Absence of Mallets
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The ninth in the Fixer Upper series has Shannon and her crew plugging away on the tiny home village for veterans. Shannon is starting up a new class for women to learn construction and Mac has a new group of writers coming in for a retreat. But this new group is…something else. They’re nothing but trouble from the start. Fans of this series will love to read more about this crazy cast of characters.

Absence of Mallets by Kate Carlisle, (List Price: $8.99, Berkley, 9780593201336, December 2021)

Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia

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