The Southern Bookseller Review 5/14/24
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The week of May 14, 2024 Coming soon, can’t wait! Six short reviews of soon-to-be-released books
Here for the Wrong Reasons The Dinosaur in the Garden by Deb Pilutti A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi, Hildegarde Serle (Trans.) Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe Read This Now | Read This Next | Book Buzz | The Bookseller Directory |
Click on the book title to read more and, if you just can’t wait, to order from the indie bookstore that feels just like you do.|
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Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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Exhibit by R. O. Kwon Adult Fiction, Friendship 
A May Read This Next! Title Sexy sentences, startling images, complicated and unexpected characters flesh out Kwon’s impressionistic peek inside the art world and the people who inhabit it. I kept finding myself picking up this book and flipping back to sections, re-reading them, and feeling like they were perfect little arias. Two women, with different art forms, brush up against one another at just the right time and form something larger than the sum of their parts. Not for those who need fast-paced, plot heavy action – but this book 100% rewards the lover of graceful language and intricate interiority. Loved, loved loved. Reviewed by Rachel Knox, Tombolo Books in St Petersburg, Florida |
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Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy Adult Fiction, Friendship A May Read This Next! Title “On her eightieth birthday, Helen spent the day moving things in the kitchen cupboard. Three years pass with nothing to fill their pockets. Then early one morning, something happens.” Helen Cartwright is waiting to die. Her husband and son have passed and she is ready to go. She has returned to her childhood town in an English village and she has been living a quiet life. This love story begins with her finding a mouse in her house and as the love grows with the mouse Sipsworth, so does Helen’s contacts. This is such a loving, moving story told with such skill and heart, this reviewer can’t wait to reread this tiny tale perhaps many times. Anyone who reads it will never look at a mouse or an octogenarian the same way. Reviewed by Nancy Pierce, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan 
I wanted to do something tonally different, a relief from this big, heavy family story. This new book continues with Sex and Vanity’s theme of Asian characters outside of Asia. When I was thinking about what the whole trilogy would be, for lack of a better metaphor, I thought of a Chanel bottle: New York, London, Paris. This time they’re in England. I’m taking that traditional English country manor novel, sort of a Jane Austen world, and turning it on its head. ― Kevin Kwan, Hollywood Reporter What booksellers are saying about Lies and Weddings 
Kevin Kwan is the author of the international bestsellers Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend, and Rich People Problems. Crazy Rich Asians was a number one New York Times bestseller and major motion picture and has been translated into forty languages. In 2018, Kevin was named by Time magazine as one of the one hundred most influential people in the world. |
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The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl Adult Fiction, Women Reading this book was like being in Paris. The description of food, wine, couture, art, and BOOKSHOPS was just luxurious. Plus, throw in a Mysterious Artist, missing paintings, evil fiancées, lost fathers, and a band of bookish misfits— the perfect recipe for a can’t-put-it down read! Ruth Reich hasn’t just written a book, she’s created an EXPERIENCE. The kitchen scenes were my favs. Loved it! Reviewed by Elisa Forshey, Givens Books Little Dickens in Lynchburg, Virginia |
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The Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan Adult Nonfiction, Animals, Birds, Nature This is a welcome addition to birding accounts. Lighter in tone than Trish O’Kane’s Birding to Change the World, Tan still evokes the powerful effects of engaging with nature. Wry observations about birds and about herself, along with delightful sketches taken from her journals, make this a special treat for birders and those who do their birding vicariously via books. Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina |
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Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth Coming of Age, Contemporary, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Young Adult Fiction This book was a fun read. I really like the dynamic between Jack (the jock) and Viola (the nerd). The reader gets to see their personality and relationship grow as the book progresses and they end up spending more time with each other outside of school. The book has a few twists on the traditional opposites-attract you wouldn’t expect. Reviewed by Doloris Vest, Book No Further in Roanoke, Virginia |
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Finding the Way to Faraway Valley by Cecilia Heikkila Children, Environment, Juvenile Fiction, Science & Nature A May/June Read This Next! Kids Title A lovely story of a grandfather and his grandson who go searching for Faraway Valley; a place that his grandfather visited when he was younger. This is a sensitive story of the connection they share in order to find this most amazing location. Reviewed by Judith Lafitte, Octavia Books in New Orleans, Louisiana |
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Parachute Kids by Betty C. Tang Asian American & Pacific Islander, Children, Comics & Graphic Novels, Emigration & Immigration, Juvenile Fiction, Social Themes An honest take on the concept of a modern “parachute kid” phenomenon where children are left to study in the U.S. without their parents. An emotional story of a tight-knit family falling into near-despair as three middle-high school aged kids are forced to look after themselves as their parents’ visas expire. A commentary on unreasonably slow immigration policies, forcing families apart, and growing up too young. Reviewed by Mallory Sutton, Bards Alley in Vienna, Virginia |
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Decide for Yourself Books that appear on PEN America’s list of challenged books. |
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Kneel by Candace Buford Banned Books, Contemporary, Diversity & Multicultural, Football, Prejudice & Racism, Romance, Sports & Recreation, Young Adult Fiction I have never cared so much about football as I have while reading Kneel. This is a fantastic debut. Reviewed by Cat Chapman, Oxford Exchange in Tampa, Florida |
Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
[ See the full list ] |
Parting Thought “A story is not like a road to follow … it’s more like a house. You go inside and stay there for a while, wandering back and forth and settling where you like and discovering how the room and corridors relate to each other, how the world outside is altered by being viewed from these windows. And you, the visitor, the reader, are altered as well by being in this enclosed space, whether it is ample and easy or full of crooked turns, or sparsely or opulently furnished. You can go back again and again, and the house, the story, always contains more than you saw the last time. It also has a sturdy sense of itself of being built out of its own necessity, not just to shelter or beguile you.” |
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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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The Southern Bookseller Review 5/14/24 Read More »
To honor Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, the lead review in each SBR newsletter for the month of May will feature an Asian, Asian American, or Pacific Islander author.
The month ahead is full of buzz-worthy books. Yes, we always say that — promoting the buzz-worthy books is the reason for SBR’s monthly Read This Next! list. But it is especially true of the May list, where some of the books have not just several, but over a dozen VERY enthusiastic reviews.
