The Southern Bookseller Review 11/28/23
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The week of November 28, 2023 We are all readers.
 The last month of the year is always a whirlwind of people searching for just the right gift for somebody on their holiday list. Luckily, it really is true what indie booksellers think: there really is a book for every reader. The bookstores do them have been sending out their holiday gift catalogs over the past several weeks. For the rest of the year, SBR include some bookseller reviews for the books in those catalogs. Since there is a book for every reader, there is a book out there somewhere for every person on your list. Alebrijes by Donna Barba Higuera If I Was a Horse by Sophie Blackall Mascot by Charles Waters, Traci Sorell Merry and Hark by April Genevieve Tucholke, Rebecca Santo (Illus.) My Grandfather’s Song by Phùng Nguyên Quang, Huynh Kim Liên Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis  Read This Now | Read This Next | Book Buzz | The Bookseller Directory |
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Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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Cross-Stitch by Jazmina Barrera Adult Fiction, Coming of Age, Literary Collections, Mexico, Women, World Literature A delicate coming-of-age story that is both elegiac and an ode to craftwork, womanhood, and friendship. Much like the characters in Cross-Stitch, Barrera and translator MacSweeny have yet again come together to craft another gift to treasure. One of my favorite reads of the year. Reviewed by Luis Correa, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree 
Initially, my plan for both [Viv and Tandry] was that they would simply build a supportive, essential friendship and that Viv’s recognition of the value of that relationship was key to her new life. That strengthened over the course of the story and became what it is now, and it felt inevitable to me. It isn’t a romance, really – it’s a friendship that evolved into something more. The book is largely about quiet acts of bravery that don’t involve a sword – and the leap from friendship to romantic relationship was one of Viv’s last brave acts. The kind of risk that most of us can relate to. What booksellers are saying about Bookshops & Bonedust 
About Travis Baldree Travis Baldree (he/him) is a full-time audiobook narrator who has lent his voice to hundreds of stories. Before that, he spent decades designing and building video games like Torchlight, Rebel Galaxy, and Fate. Apparently, he now also writes books. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his very patient family and their small, nervous dog. |
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Starling House by Alix E. Harrow Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Fiction, Gothic, Southern Book Prize Finalist 
2024 Southern Book Prize Finalist As someone who has always been a little too soft for the world, nothing delights me more than living vicariously through fierce and hard as nail protagonists like Opal. Opal is fighting every day to make sure her brother doesn’t go without in the town of Eden. Despite barely having time to think, Opal begins to dream of Starling House, the Secret that no one talks about, and even though she knows better, she finds herself at the front door. Arthur is going to be the last warden of the Starling House, taking its legacy of monsters and magic down with him. He’s determined to be so until Opal breaks down the walls around his heart with her knock at Starling House’s door. This is a story of two people who are less than beautiful that smile with crooked teeth and black eyes, and I didn’t want it to end. Reviewed by Katlin Kerrison, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia |
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Being Henry by Henry Winkler Adult Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Entertainment & Performing Arts I wanted to reach through the pages and hug this little boy who wasn’t loved by his family. Henry was born to Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. The trauma must have been horrible for them, but a child is innocent. Henry was a funny kid who got away with so much outside his home and was grounded for life always inside it His parents called him dumb dog in German. He had no idea he had dyslexia until his early 30’s but was able to complete college and ended up getting into Yale Theater Group for his masters. He is not to be kept down. They took a chance on him with Happy Days but what happened on that show and after leaves you cheering him on. I can’t wait to meet him again. Last time he stole my wine and I want it back. Reviewed by Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina |
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Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult Fiction 
This YA debut by Ali was not only riveting it was exceptionally written. This novel almost feels like chess when your reading it and watching how intricately Ali has weaved these characters together. Mallory, who loved chess until an unexpected tragedy in her family, now 18 and working to help support her family beats a world champion, Nolan. Suddenly everything in her life gets all mixed up as she stumbles into a romance she didn’t know she wanted. This novel, like her adult novels, does an AMAZING JOB touching on the sexism and expectations of a female vs male in the chess (STEM sport) community. Reviewed by Charlotte Beck, Main Street Reads in Summerville, South Carolina |
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I Want 100 Dogs by Stacy McAnulty Animals, Children, Dogs, Juvenile Fiction Getting a new pet is always a delicate negotiation between the pet want-er and the ultimate pet-care-for-er. This delightful new tail tale from kids nonfiction genius Stacy McAnulty hilariously yet poignantly digs into the how, what, when, and why of pet ownership. Fun for anyone considering adding a furry family member. Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina |
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I Must Be Dreaming by Roz Chast Comics & Graphic Novels, Humorous Roz Chast gives us a deeply personal (and, naturally, hilarious) view of the meaning of her own dreams and their influence on her work, in cartoon form, of course. Includes a fascinatingly nerdy section on the history of dreaming and dream interpretation, across many cultures. Reviewed by Anne Peck, Righton Books in St Simons Island, Georgia |
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Decide for Yourself Books that appear on PEN America’s list of challenged books. |
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The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu Banned Books, Bullying, Dating & Sex, Young Adult Fiction This is a really quick but rich read with several unique voices narrating the story of Alice Franklin, a teenage girl in a small Texas town who may or may not have slept with two different guys at a party one night. Whether or not it’s true, the rumor propels the story into several directions, including a fatal car accident, a vandalized bathroom stall, and an unlikely friendship. Each character has a distinct voice, and they somehow transcend the high school stereotypes that they’re all so desperate to conform to. ‘The Truth About Alice’ is a thoughtful look at the delicate balance of high school hierarchy and how a few words uttered by the right person can change–and potentially ruin–someone else’s life. Reviewed by Lelia Nebecker, One More Page Books in Arlington, Virginia |
Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
[ See the full list ] |
Parting Thought “Isn’t it odd how much fatter a book gets when you’ve read it several times?” Mo had said…”As if something were left between the pages every time you read it. Feelings, thoughts, sounds, smells…and then, when you look at the book again many years later, you find yourself there, too, a slightly younger self, slightly different, as if the book had preserved you like a pressed flower…both strange and familiar.” |
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Publisher:
The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance /
siba@sibaweb.com |
SIBA | 51 Pleasant Ridge Drive | Asheville, NC 28805
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Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki is an award-winning speculative fiction writer, editor and publisher from Nigeria. He edited the first ever Year’s Best African Speculative Fiction anthology, the Bridging Worlds anthology and co-edited the Dominion anthology
Zelda Knight is an award-winning author, editor and bookseller. She co-edited the Dominion anthology, and has written numerous short stories and science fiction/romance series and books.
Sheree Renée Thomas is an award-winning author, editor and poet. Her works include the Dark Matter anthology, Nine Bar Blues, the Marvel novel Black Panther: Panther’s Rage, the story "Timebox Altar(ed)" in Janelle Monáe’s collection The Memory Librarian and Other Stories of Dirty Computer and much more.
Profile by Candice Huber
A ballot readers are happy to cast!
