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December 21, 2021 SBP: The Nonfiction Finalists 
For very the last minute gifts on your shopping list consider some of the Nonfiction finalists for the 2022 Southern Book Prize. And don’t forget to cast your vote for your favorite book(s) on the list. VOTE HERE Here are what some booksellers have to say about the finalists in the Nonfiction category: Bress ‘N’ Nyam by Matthew Raiford Fight Songs by Ed Southern Graceland, At Last by Margaret Renkl Bring Your Baggage and Don’t Pack Light by Helen Ellis How the Word Is Passed by Clint Smith Black, White, and The Grey by Mashama Bailey, John O. Morisano Read This Now | Read This Next | The Bookseller Directory |
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Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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The Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan Adult Fiction, Holidays & Celebrations, Women Who doesn’t love Christmas spirit, Christmas decorations and books that transport us to that magical season? The Christmas Bookshop deposits us into the middle of the life of Carmen who is suddenly without a job or place to live. She moves in with her perfect sister Sofia in Edinburgh—into a perfect house with Sofia’s many children. Carmen begins working with a seemingly impossible-to-save failing bookstore. Can she help the bookstore? Can she cope with her sister’s family? Can she ever find love? All these questions are answered surrounded by the promise of the festive season. Jenny Colten has given us a fun holiday journey that you won’t want to leave when the last page is read. Reviewed by Nancy Pierce, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M. Valente
"Unlike most of my work, Apples turned up in my head whole one day a few years back. I knew exactly where it was headed, how I’d get there, and how I’d wreck the neighborhood on the way there before I ever touched one letter on my keyboard."–Cathrynne M. Valente (My Favorite Bit) The newest book by the prolific and much-beloved Catherynne Valente is described as a thriller, a horror story, and a fairy tale. But more detailed descriptions are deliberately lacking. That was intentional: "It has such a massive twist that we’ve worked so hard not to spoil in the lead-up to its release (and reviewers have kindly helped out!)" The story centers around Sophia, who is a happy housewife with the perfect husband living in a gated community she loves. Until one day she discovers what looks like the tip of a human finger when she is cleaning her house. Suddenly, Sophia’s perfect life seems not quite so perfect. The conspiracy of silence around the plot and its twists has not prevented a rising chorus of surprised delight from Valente’s readers. Valente has written across multiple genres and formats, including the recently released speculative climate-change graphic novel The Past is Red, which was a recent Read This Next! selection by Southern booksellers. Her work, as an interviewer for Gridmark Magazine notes, includes stories of myth and superheroes, science fiction and fantasy, comedy and horror, and both middle-grade and adult. "It’s very important to me to always be trying something new," says Valente, "pushing the edges of my skill level" 
What booksellers are saying about Comfort Me With Apples
About Catherynne M. Valente Catherynne M. Valente is the New York Times bestselling author of over two dozen works of fiction and poetry, including Palimpsest, the Orphan’s Tales series, Deathless, Radiance, and the crowdfunded phenomenon The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (and the four books that followed it). She is the winner of the Andre Norton, Tiptree, Sturgeon, Eugie Foster Memorial, Mythopoeic, Rhysling, Lambda, Locus, and Hugo awards, as well as the Prix Imaginales. Valente has also been a finalist for the Nebula and World Fantasy Awards. She lives on an island off the coast of Maine with a small but growing menagerie of beasts, some of which are human. |
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A Rush of Wings by Laura E. Weymouth Young Adult, Historical, Fantasy This book is all the things I love about Weymouth’s writing: atmospheric, complex characters, compelling narrative, quietly philosophical. Rowenna is a force and I loved her! Reviewed by Lauren Brown, The Story Shop in Monroe, Georgia |
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The Churchill Sisters by Rachel Trethewey Adult Nonfiction, 20th Century, Europe, Great Britain, History A fascinating look at the lives of Winston Churchill’s daughters. Diana, Sarah, and Mary each lived very different lives but had a unique bond with their father. Despite their daughters’ difficulties that included divorce, alcoholism, and mental issues, Winston and his wife Clementine remained supportive and loving until their final years. The girls reveled in their father’s triumphs and were by his side through difficult times. Trethewey’s book provides great insight into the family life of a magnificent statesman. Reviewed by Linda Hodges, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina |
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Cremation by Rafael Chirbes Adult Fiction, Spain, World Literature Cremation is a stream-of-monologue masterpiece that harkens to Beckett and Faulkner. When Matias, the patriarch of a rich Spanish family, dies, it sets off psychological battles among the surviving members. These spats take the form of unbroken pages-long conversations and thoughts, going beyond the closet-drama scope to encompass architecture, economics, corruption, art, and the consequences of 20th century European history. Towards the end, the fictional town of Misent turns into a character, much after the fashion of Durrell’s Alexandria, but more bitter and disillusioned. By the end of a reading, these incredible speeches come through like blasts of hot air over rivers of concrete. Reviewed by Conor Hultman, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi |
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Stuntboy, in the Meantime by Jason Reynolds Children, Humorous Stories, African-American & Black Move over Dogman, there’s a new kid on the graphic novel shelf and he has things to say. Portico is wrestling with some real big kid issues, finding his footing, and using his super power to making sure all of the special people in his world stay super and stay safe. With a story by the award winning Jason Reynolds and illustrated by the amazing Raoul the Third, Stuntboy is sure to rocket straight to the top of everyone’s list this Fall. Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina |
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Read This Next! Books on the horizon: Forthcoming favorites from Southern indies… |
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Tidesong by Wendy Xu Children, Comics & Graphic Novels, Fairy Tales,, Folklore Legends & Mythology A Fall 2021 Read This Next! Title Xu’s beautiful artwork in combination with such strong storytelling makes for an enchanting graphic novel. Sophie’s struggles with her inner thoughts reflect much of my own as a child, making this read all the more special. I can see this story so clearly in my mind’s eye as a Studio Ghibli film – it provides such similar comfort in small things, the beauty of nature, and how two young people can have such a central impact on each other. This graphic novel is certainly a favorite for this year. Grace Quinn from Foggy Pine Books in Boone, NC |
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Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
[ See the full list ] |
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Parting Thought “Reading is a majority skill but a minority art. Yet nothing can replace the exact, complicated, subtle communion between absent author and entranced, present reader. ” |
Publisher:
The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance /
siba@sibaweb.com |
SIBA | 51 Pleasant Ridge Drive | Asheville, NC 28805
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