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The week of January 28, 2025 Last chance to vote for the Southern Book Prize!
The ballot closes on February 1st, so readers still have a few days to vote for their favorite books and authors. Voting also makes you eligible to enter a raffle for a $100 gift card to your local Southern indie bookstore. The eighteen finalists, six in each fiction, nonfiction, and young reader category, have received enthusiastic reviews from Southern booksellers, making them the most beloved indie bookseller "hand sell" books of the year. SBR has been featuring each of the finalists in the newsletter since voting began so many of the titles will already be familiar to readers. Here is a list of the full ballot. VOTE NOW! Fiction Finalists:
Nonfiction Finalists
Young Readers Finalists
Read This Now | Read This Next | Book Buzz | The Bookseller Directory |
Since the ballot first opened on November 1, 2024 The Southern Bookseller Review has been encouraging readers to place their votes for "the best Southern books of the year" for Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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Mai’s Áo Dài by Thai Nguyen Children, Holidays & Celebrations, Juvenile Fiction, Non-Religious I can’t remember seeing a picture book about the Vietnamese Lunar New Year (Tet). I love the gentle representation throughout and how it’s really a story about a young girl’s dreams of one day being a star. And yet, there’s such beautiful affirmation and support coming from the adults in her life and love for celebrating their Vietnamese heritage. Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Fiction, Romance Shameez Patel’s debut is a delight. I found myself unable to put the book down and reading it at red lights when I could just to get in a few more words. I really enjoyed the sparks between Rose and William- both as competitors and as potential love interests. I am someone who likes her books spicy but I didn’t mind too much that it was more steam than spice. Playing Flirty has multiple story arcs and Shameez, for the most part, manages to balance them really well. I am really looking forward to reading more from Shameez Patel! Reviewed by Preet Singh, Eagle Eye Book Shop in Decatur, Georgia |
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Rednecks by Taylor Brown Adult Fiction, Fiction, Small Town & Rural
2025 Southern Book Prize Finalist Rednecks is the dark and moving story of big coal, broken lives, love, and loyalty. The book chronicles the demands for dignity, fair wages and workplace safety in the coal mines of West Virginia that lead to a bloody, infuriating war you were probably never before aware of. The themes of family, labor’s value, and economic freedom are as prescient today as during the novel’s time period. Rednecks is well-researched and engrossing. I felt like I was in the cold, muddy camps along with the families. Reviewed by Susan Williams, M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming 
I was just desperate for a bit of fun. The world is dark and terrible enough as it is. When I wrote the first book, I just wanted to take myself on a fun little adventure where I knew everything was going to be OK in the end….Imagine you’re minding your business as an animal researcher and then out of nowhere you get attacked by a lion. Rude right? Now imagine you and that lion get abducted by aliens and brought onto a ship with a bunch of freaky looking birds trying to poke and prod at you. You manage to fight your way to freedom, steal an escape pod and crash land onto a planet populated by taller, hotter aliens and dinosaurs. Also, the lion talks now. So, there’s that. ― Kimberly Lemming, Interview, Parnassus Books What booksellers are saying about I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com 
Kimberly Lemming is a USA Today bestselling author who is on an eternal quest to avoid her calling as a main character. She can be found giving the slip to that new werewolf that just blew into town and refusing to make eye contact with a prince of a far-off land. Dodging aliens looking for Earth booty can really take up a girl’s time. But when she’s not running from fate, she can be found writing diverse fantasy romance. Or just shoveling chocolate in her maw until she passes out on the couch. |
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Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey Adult Fiction, Fiction, Literary Birdie is a single mother, barely making ends meet by waitressing in a small Alaskan town. Arthur is a shy, mysterious loner who lives in a remote region of the area. When she becomes involved with Arthur, Birdie thinks this is her chance to get closer to nature and finally change her life for the better. But when she and her daughter move in with Arthur they begin to uncover dangerous secrets. An ominous novel that highlights the beauty and dangers of the Alaskan wilderness and begs the question, What chances will you take to change your life? Reviewed by Kathy Clemmons, Sundog Books in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida |
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I Dream of Joni by Henry Alford Adult Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Music A VIP at Simon & Schuster gave me a preview copy of this book. I put out my hand to take it as if I were being handed a live spider. An aging punk rocker, reading an entire book on the singer/songwriter was not my idea of a good time. I read it on the train returning from New York. What a fantastic book!!!! What an education in trailblazing feminism! With lots of sex, drugs, and a constant parade of celebrities to keep you entertained. Lively and irreverent, it’s a tribute without fawning. I want to read everything Henry Alford has written now! Reviewed by Kelly Justice, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia |
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Mystery Royale by Kaitlyn Cavalancia Action & Adventure, Magical Realism, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Young Adult Fiction I’m noticing a trend with either my reading preferences or books coming out soon because this is the second locked-room, Glass Onion murder mystery Clue game book I’ve read this past couple of weeks. I AM NOT COMPLAINING. I loved how it opened up with Esther, then Mullory and the strange. I was instantly pulled into the intrigue. But then, when everyone came together at the Stoutmire Mansion for the game to begin, I couldn’t really get behind any of the characters. They were all "whimpering" or "screaming." Like I get that it’s scary and we’re all angry but it just put distance between the reader, the characters, and the plot. (Seriously, if I had played a drinking game with those two dialogue tags I probably wouldn’t have made it through the start of the story. I’d be like Saffron Stoutmire with her martinis) Fortunately, those character arcs started kicking in and I began to really get into the story. Their worries were my worries, their stakes were my stakes sort of thing. I started caring about what happened to them, especially Mullory and Lyric. They turned into a grumpy x sunshine done right. So if you feel the same way, STICK WITH IT. Those clues won’t solve themselves. Reviewed by Candice Conner, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama |
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Saturday Morning at the ‘Shop by Keenan Jones African American & Black, Children, Juvenile Fiction Similar to Crown by Derrick Barnes, this ode to the community of a barber shop is touching and real. I love the way the illustrator brings the joy and love that exudes from the characters as they connect, laugh, tell stories, and be in community with one another. It’s celebratory and full of joy. Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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The Harder I Fight the More I Love You by Neko Case Adult Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Memoirs
A January Read This Next! Title I have long admired Neko Case as a powerful singer and incredible songwriter, so I was desperate to get my hands on this book — but you don’t have to already be a fan to be moved by her story. I was stunned to learn what she overcame in her childhood, which reminded me so much of memoirs like The Glass Castle and Educated. The rawness and vulnerability that Case shares in her life’s story give me a new appreciation for her album which inspires the title of her memoir: "The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight, the Harder I Fight, the More I Love You." I will treasure this book for a long time. Reviewed by Emily Liner, Friendly City Books in Columbus, Mississippi |
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Decide for Yourself Books that appear on PEN America’s list of challenged books. |
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Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy Banned Books, LGBTQ+, Romance, Young Adult Fiction I hardly know where to start…I loved everything about this book! Ramona is spectacular in her extraordinary ordinariness ( and I mean that in the very BEST way). She is every girl – sure of herself until she isn’t – and struggling to find her way back while remaining true to herself. Her cast of supporting characters are the kids we encounter every day. They are gay, straight, black, white, struggling, privileged, confident and questioning and they are NOT "issues." They are just regular kids, and their stories are spectacular. This is the perfect addition to the #WNDB [We Need Diverse Books] canon and exactly what bookstore shelves should be filled with! Reviewed by Laura Donohoe, Spellbound Children’s Bookshop in Asheville, North Carolina |
Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
[ See the full list ] |
Parting Thought “I love the way that each book — any book — is its own journey. You open it, and off you go…” |
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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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