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The week of December 6, 2022 The pleasure of bringing a book home. 
This week’s "Book Buzz" is a deep dive into The Light Pirate, Lily Brooks-Dalton’s mesmerizing new novel set in a near future wracked by catastrophic climate change. A world where the infrastructure we take for granted–like electricity and light–is uncertain or absent. "I’ve always been interested in the dark. Literally and figuratively," Brooks-Dalton admits in a recent interview with Bookselling this Week, "…the literal dark is a vital part of the narrative." The Light Pirate topped the December Indie Next List chosen by indie bookstores across the country, and it is also at the top of the December Read This Next! — the list selected by indie bookstores in the South, where it’s Florida setting and story of small towns struggling in the face of increasingly catastrophic storms has special significance this year in the wake of Hurricane Ian. Readers can find the rest of the December Read this Next! List at SBR. The newsletter features a title from the list each week. Each book on the list has enthusiastic recommendations from multiple booksellers. Each one is a book a bookseller wants to share with friends, customers, book clubs, and really anyone who will listen. "Indie bookstores are the gateway to the story drug for a lot of people, myself included," says Brooks-Dalton. "Bringing a new book home will never stop feeling special." |
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Southern Book Prize Finalist! What’s the best Southern book of the year? |
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Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson Adult Fiction, Coming of Age, Southern Book Prize Finalist 
Now is Not The Time to Panic covers that wry space between childhood and adulthood – how we want to be seen and how others see us. Frankie and Zeke ask the questions about the nature of art both to the maker and the viewer, what does obsession really look like, and how do things spin out of control so smoothly. All against an early 90s world that may as well be a thousand years ago. The questions of consequences, family and what lies in front of us through a 90s era time warp. The writing is amazing. Sentences that stop you in your tracks. I loved everything about the novel! VOTE FOR THE SOUTHERN BOOK PRIZE Reviewed by Susan Williams, M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina |
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Nigel and the Moon by Antwan Eady Business, Careers, Children, Juvenile Fiction, Occupations, Southern Book Prize Finalist
Nigel and the Moon will make your heart swell in the best way! Sure to be a beloved book, Nigel’s story resonates deeply with those who are scared to share their dreams. When Nigel looks up at the moon, anything is possible; but in school he’s hesitant to share. Career week in school is tricky when you want to be an astronaut, dancer, and a superhero! I loved Nigel and his story, and applaud Antwan Eady on this superb debut! VOTE FOR THE SOUTHERN BOOK PRIZE Reviewed by Lauren Kean from Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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The Midwife’s Secret by Emily Gunnis Adult Fiction, Historical, Women A wonderfully written book with an original idea. Weaving together 3 main storylines, you get into the intricacies of what an impact made long ago can do to a family, and what it can do to generations of a small town. The mirroring of the disappearances almost 60 years apart really sold me on the story. A great page-turner for those that love small-town hidden secrets set in the UK. Reviewed by Olivia Meletes-Morris, Litchfield Books in Pawleys Island , South Carolina |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
“I think that re-wilding is an extraordinary thing, desirable perhaps, to see nature reclaiming itself. Southern Florida was and would like to be a swamp, you know? And yet we’ve dredged it and drained it and built on top of that. And so much of city management in a place like Miami is trying to keep that boundary between what the landscape wants to do and what the city wants the land to do – bridge it. And so to me, the idea of softening that boundary and trying to be a little harmonious is a good thing.” ―Lily Brooks-Dalton, Interview, Texas Public Radio What booksellers are saying about The Light Pirate 
About Lily Brooks-Dalton Lily Brooks-Dalton’s novel, Good Morning, Midnight (Random House, 2016), has been translated into 17 languages and is the inspiration for the film adaptation, The Midnight Sky. Her memoir, Motorcycles I’ve Loved (Riverhead, 2014), was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. She currently lives in Los Angeles. |
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Hemlock Hollow by Culley Holderfield Adult Fiction, Historical, Mystery & Detective, Southern Culley Holderfield writes poetically about the magical mountain hollow where we meet Caroline McAllister as she mourns her father and her marriage. A college professor, Caroline has just discovered that her deceased father has bequeathed her the family cabin—the cabin which has always haunted her. While restoring the old cabin she finds a century-old journal written by Carson Quinn and the mystery it reveals about the death of his brother haunts her too. This novel has so many facets: Leprechauns and Emerson and Darwin and Socrates and religion and love and death are all found in its pages. The main character is an archaeoastronomy professor and is studying the Grand Octal! This is the most fascinating novel I have read all year and is perfect for a bookclub discussion. I can’t recommend it highly enough as a page-turner that will stay with and haunt the reader. Reviewed by Nancy Pierce, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia |
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Grocery Shopping with My Mother by Kevin Powell Adult Nonfiction, African American & Black, American, Biography & Autobiography, Cultural, Ethnic & Regional, Family, Poetry This will inspire sobbing and a phone call to your mama. Deeply accessible, beautiful work. Reviewed by Aimee Keeble, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina |
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Seoulmates by Susan Lee Romance, Young Adult Fiction Seoulmates is a fun young adult romance sprinkled with k-pop and k-drama references. Susan Lee gave me a glimpse into a Korean American home through this tender love story between two childhood friends who have grown up. A friends to enemies to lovers story, I couldn’t put it down. Reviewed by Rayna Nielsen, Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans, Louisiana |
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A Pinch of Love by Barry Timms Children, Cooking & Food, Friendship, Juvenile Fiction, Love & Romance A Pinch of Love is an adorable picture book about spreading love and overcoming hard times through baking. With diverse characters, an emphasis on community, and a colorful quirky art style that is incredibly appealing, this tender book will be perfect to share with little loved ones with a love of baking (or baked goods)! Reviewed by Julia Lewis, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia |
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Read This Next! Books on the horizon: Forthcoming favorites from Southern indies… |
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The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton Action & Adventure, Adult Fiction, Fiction, Literary, Nature & Environment A December 2022 Read This Next! Title What happens when nature isn’t natural? When in the end, Climate Change is unstoppable? Lily Brooks-Dalton renders a shockingly real depiction of this possibility in the harrowing and beautiful novel The Light Pirate. Florida’s struggle with the aftermath of violent weather has always been a reality, but in this story, the rapidly changing landscape overwhelms the will and stamina of most human beings. Wanda, who was born during, and named after, a particularly vicious hurricane, frequently navigates a new, storm-carved home as the Florida coast shifts and neighborhoods are swallowed by wind, water, and human dereliction. Wanda adapts as nature does, to a strange new world–one dependent not on human infrastructure–but on that which matters most in the end: humility, kindness and bravery. This story is important. This story could happen. This story is happening. A must-read. Reviewed by Laura Simcox, Sunrise Books in High Point, North Carolina |
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Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
[ See the full list ] |
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Parting Thought “Picture books are for everybody at any age, not books to be left behind as we grow older. The best ones leave a tantalizing gap between the pictures and the words, a gap that is filled by the reader’s imagination, adding so much to the excitement of reading a book.” |
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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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