Read our latest staff reviews and recommendations featured in the The Southern Bookseller Review.
This book shows the very ugly truth that is a reality for many people. This woman survived unimaginable conditions and lived to tell the tale. I have nothing but the utmost respect for her being able to share her truth, and feel this book really opened my eyes to the treatment of the Uyghur people of China.
I Escaped a Chinese Internment Camp by Anthony Del Col, (List Price: $19.99, Lev Gleason, 9781988247960, September 2023)
Reviewed by Lana Repic, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia
Nathan Hill has done it again! Wellness is so good, I think my heart both broke and grew at the same time, while reading it. Hill’s ability to capture both the beauty and horror of life are astounding. There is so much more I could say about this book, but I don’t want to spoil the magic of it for other readers! "Behind curtains, this, he thinks, is what lovers do-they are alchemists and architects; they invent the world around them." Indeed, this is what lovers do. Thank you for this wonderful book!
Wellness by Nathan Hill, (List Price: 30, Knopf, 9780593536117, September 2023)
Reviewed by Jessica Osborne, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia
A September 2023 Read This Next Book!
Full confession, I adore Lauren Groff, her writing and subject matter are exactly my cup of tea, so it is unlikely that I would not like this book. That said, I was a little skeptical, I kept turning the pages wondering when she was going to be rescued, live happily ever after with her Native husband? This is not that story. What this is, is an amazing meditation on what it means to be alive, to want to stay alive, and the big question, why do we live at all. What if everything you have learned about life in your time on earth is stripped away and you are left with a more beautiful and brutal understanding of God and the world? (I also love that she wrote a draft in iambic pentameter just for fun and to get into the rhythm of the language of the time, it makes my nerdy heart go pitter pat!). Thank you Lauren Groff for writing books for book lovers like me.
The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff, (List Price: 28, Riverhead Books, 9780593418390, September 2023)
Reviewed by Jessica Osborne from E. Shaver, bookseller in Savannah, GA
This book is stirring, evocative, gorgeous, and compulsively readable! I was drawn in by the strong, clear voice of the heroine from the first page. This book weaves together themes of magic, power, nature, duty, safety, love, wildness, and passion. A beautiful story extremely well told. I can’t wait for the next installment, because I am left with the conviction that Tana’s story has only just begun.
Bring Me Your Midnight by Rachel Griffin, (List Price: 18.99, Sourcebooks Fire, 9781728256153, August 2023)
Reviewed by Ruth Goldstein, E. Shaver, bookseller in Savannah, Georgia
Artwork was good but a bit simplistic. I enjoyed following Mia’s story as she tries to reconnect with her father and learn to balance her Hebrew and Native American heritages. Anyone dealing with divorced parents and different cultural backgrounds will enjoy this book.
Two Tribes by Emily Bowen Cohen, (List Price: 15.99, Heartdrum, 9780062983589, August 2023)
Reviewed by Krista Roach, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia
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