|
|
|
|
The week of November 19, 2024 The story behind the story: Southern Book Prize Nonfiction finalists. 
Visit The Southern Book Prize and vote for the books they think deserve to be called "The best Southern book of the year." Everyone has a chance to win a collection of some of the finalists, as well as a $100 gift card to their favorite indie bookstore. Also, give a shout out to your favorite bookstore, and it will be shared by SBR. Vote here. A Well-Trained Wife by Tia Levings [St. Martin’s Press] A Well-Trained Wife requires readers to go deep and summon the strength to continue reading through the darkest of parts, which is a luxury the author didn’t have. ― Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina The Barn by Wright Thompson [Penguin Press] This incredible book connects hundreds of dots, centering the murder of Emmett Till in a stream of events, characters and circumstances going all the way back into prehistory. Wright Thompson grew up in the same Mississippi township as Till’s relatives and Till’s murderers, and he is quick to point out how all the local families, white and black alike, have been connected throughout history. ― Amanda Grell, Pearl’s Books, Fayetteville, Arkansas The Mango Tree by Annabelle Tometich [Little, Brown and Company] Parts of Annabelle Tometich’s story of growing up in Fort Myers, FL, the daughter of a Filipino mom and white dad, are so unbelievable they must be true. This family saga is told with unflinching candor. Bravo! ― Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop, Athens, Georgia Sharks Don’t Sink by Jasmin Graham [Pantheon] A cautionary tale with a sense of hope, Graham’s memoir details her struggles with academia and her successes as a mentor to a new generation of scientists. Told with humor and clarity, this is a good addition to women in science shelves. ― Jan Blodgett Main Street Books, Davidson, North Carolina A Really Strange and Wonderful Time by Tom Maxwell [Hachette Books] While this is THE Chapel Hill scene it will still be enjoyable to anyone who cares about music and it’s magic within a community, especially a supportive community which is what Chapel Hill was and still is. Two thumbs, and two big toes, up! ― Pete Mock, McIntyre’s Books Pittsboro, North Carolina The Witch’s Daughter by Orenda Fink [Gallery Books] I haven’t stopped talking about The Witch’s Daughter since page one. (Seriously, ask anyone.) This memoir is as enthralling as it is brutal. ― LeeAnna Callon, Blue Cypress Books, New Orleans, Louisiana Visit The Southern Book Prize Ballot and cast your vote for your favorite Southern books.
You can help! 
Independent bookstores in the South are still struggling in the wake of Hurricane Helene, and now Hurricane Milton. You can help: Donate to Binc; a relief organization for booksellers and comic book sellers. Visit the SIBA Hurricane Relief Resources page to donate directly to store fundraisers. And shop online at a store that has been impacted. Read This Now | Read This Next | Book Buzz | The Bookseller Directory |
|
|
Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
|
|
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal Vampires, Young Adult Fiction
2025 Southern Book Prize Finalist An orphan with her own agenda of revenge, Arthie is forced to steal from vampire society in order to keep her teahouse and her found family safe. The worldbuilding, the vibes, and the cast of characters are all perfection. Faizal has delivered a twisty page-turner that I haven’t stopped thinking about. Reviewed by Chelsea Stringfield, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee |
|
|
Masquerade by Mike Fu Adult Fiction, Gay, LGBTQ+ Beginning in New York City in a tangled web of post-academia adulthood, in the late-20s, early-30s haze, Masquerade follows Meadow through a life in New York City, a childhood left behind in Shanghai, a friendship with his mysterious artist friend, and an ever-increasingly odd set of coincidences of mirrors and doubles, wrapped up in an odd book of 1930s Shanghai. Past the layers of mirrors and doubles, peeling away history and memory, Masquerade is about resisting the inertia of remaining in life when and where it’s comfortable and instead (re)-writing the story as you would like to see it. Reviewed by Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bookseller Buzz |
 |
|
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer 
I suppose that one important aspect of the economy of nature that has shaped my thinking is its circularity, in which materials flow in cycles and there is no such thing as waste. Everything gets regenerated so that life continues to flourish. Just about all the miraculous production by plants is redistributed in some way, passed among food webs, feeding other lives and eventually building the soil so it can all start again. I continue to marvel every day at the reciprocity in something as basic as the two foundations of life on the planet–the inverse processes of photosynthesis and respiration. I mean, think of it…every breath we take is oxygen exhaled by plants, a so-called waste product. And no sooner does it enliven our bloodstream than we exhale carbon dioxide in return, which the plants take in in order to return the favor. It’s the ultimate biological poetry, my breath is your breath, and life is magnified by the exchange. Shouldn’t human economies emulate this? ― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Interview, Orion Magazine What booksellers are saying about The Serviceberry 
Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants as well as Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses. Kimmerer is a 2022 MacArthur Fellow. She lives in Syracuse, New York, where she is a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology, and the founder of the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. John Burgoyne is a member of the New York Society of Illustrators and an alumni of Massachusetts College of Art. John has won over 100 awards in the United States and Europe including Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, Hatch Awards, Graphis, Print, One Show, New York Art Directors Club and Clio. His work can be found at JohnTBurgoyneIllustration.com. |
 |
|
|
The Burrow by Melanie Cheng Adult Fiction, Literary
A November Read This Next! Title Melanie Cheng’s novel The Burrow is a compact, moving story of a family tragedy. Beautifully written, it shows all believable family members as they deal with the death of the infant Ruby in a tragic accident. Each member of the family becomes intimately known to the reader as each relates their private feelings about each other and the trauma and grief. Relief is brought by the rabbit, Fiver, as Grandma Pauline and ten-year-old daughter Lucie bond with the new pet. The father, Jin, and Mother Amy show their weaknesses, guilts, and imperfections in this realistic telling of a family’s pain, love, and hope. Reviewed by Nancy Pierce, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia |
|
|
The Black Utopians by Aaron Robertson Adult Nonfiction, African American & Black, History A book that feels groundbreaking: ambitious in scope and deeply felt. The Black Utopians is a necessary book, redefining the very Euro-centric image many of us hold of intentional communities that are rooted in the American experience. This is my favorite kind of history book- a re-visioning of not just of place and ideas but also a reframing of how we look forward. Robertson offers an elegant book of hope and expansiveness. Reviewed by Johanna Hynes, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Wild Huntress by Emily Lloyd-Jones Dark Fantasy, Fables, Fantasy, Legends, Myths, Romance, Young Adult Fiction A huntress accidentally enchanted as a baby to see hidden magic and the Other Folk embarks on a deadly hunt with a trickster and a reluctant prince to save her Mam. Emily Lloyd-Jones strikes again with the gorgeously-written, unique Welsh fantasy that will utterly captivate readers with each page. Reviewed by Cindy Otis, The Stacks Bookstore in Savannah, Georgia |
|
|
Brown Girl, Brown Girl by Leslé Honoré Children, Girls & Women, Juvenile Fiction
A November/December Read This Next! Kids Title Cozbi Cabrera’s beautiful illustrations really make this poem by Leslé Honoré sing! This will be a book that all ages can enjoy; as a read-aloud for littlest listeners, as a shared read for older kids who can also enjoy the details in the artwork, and as a lovely gift for adults. Reviewed by Johanna Hynes, McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina |
|
|
Please Be My Star: A Graphic Novel by Victoria Grace Elliott Comics & Graphic Novels, Young Adult Fiction High school stands out in my mind as such a time for being awkward, self-critical, and overly romantic. This is the case for Erika, a new student who has a voice in her head that often makes her question herself and if she’s capable of making friends. Surely, something has to give! When her school opens up submissions for one-act plays, she writes one for her crush.. But she never expects him to agree to be her lead! Full of angst and obsession that only comes with a new crush. Reviewed by Arthur Acton, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina |
|
Decide for Yourself Books that appear on PEN America’s list of challenged books. |
|
|
Debating Darcy by Sayantani DasGupta Banned Books, Friendship, Performing Arts, Romance, Young Adult Fiction I’m always a fan of a good Pride and Prejudice retelling, and this one does not disappoint. I love the setting of competing high school debate teams and the issues of racism and sexism that are addressed. Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
[ See the full list ] |
Parting Thought “The unread story is not a story; it is little black marks on wood pulp. The reader, reading it, makes it live: a live thing, a story.” |
|
Publisher:
The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance /
siba@sibaweb.com |
SIBA | 51 Pleasant Ridge Drive | Asheville, NC 28805
You have received this email because you are currently subscribed to receive The Southern Bookseller Review.
Please click @@unsubscribe_url@@ if you no longer wish to receive these communications.