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February 15, 2022 Southern Book Prize Winners
Readers select the best Southern books of the year! The Prize, representing Southern bookseller favorites from 2021, is awarded to “the best Southern book of the year” as nominated by Southern indie booksellers and voted on by their customers. Winners were chosen by popular vote from a ballot of finalists in fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature. This year’s winners are When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash in Fiction, Graceland, At Last by Margaret Renkl in Nonfiction, and Keep Your Head Up by Aliya King Neil and Charly Palmer (illus.) in Children’s. Winners receive a donation in their name to the charity or nonprofit of their choice.
2022 SBP Children’s Winner:
2022 SBP Fiction Winner: When Ghosts Come Home by Wiley Cash
2022 SBP Nonfiction Winner: Graceland, At Last by Margaret Renkl
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 Swimmers by Julie Otsuka Adult Fiction, Literary Fiction So, this book made me cry on the airplane. A ode to swimming, routine, kindness, and what it is like to fall into dementia, to love someone with dementia, and to loose that person as they lose themselves. A beautifully written meditation on the difficulties of a mother/ daughter relationship. Reviewed by Jessica Osborne, E. Shaver bookseller in Savannah, Georgia |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: How to Be Perfect by Michael Schur
"I’ve spent five years on this show about moral philosophy, so I learned a lot about intention. Intention does matter. There’s a difference between someone intending to hurt someone and someone intending to be funny and make a joke and it going horribly wrong and miscalculating. But we have to be better at understanding that the things we say, regardless of their intention, can be really hurtful and can contribute to this ongoing problem of people feeling disrespected and less than and everything else…intention isn’t the only thing that matters. "—Michael Schur (via Vulture) 
What booksellers are saying about How to Be Perfect
About Michael Schur Michael Schur is a television writer and producer who has worked on shows like The Office, Master of None, The Comeback, and Hacks, and created or cocreated Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn 99, The Good Place, and Rutherford Falls. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Jennifer, and their two kids, William and Ivy. |
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Only a Monster by Vanessa Len Fantasy, Young Adult Only A Monster uses my favorite type of time travel device (the fixed timeline) to craft an incredible tale spanning decades and centuries. I felt like I was right alongside Joan, trying to unravel the mysteries of the monster world. The idea of these sort of monsters moving throughout our world is a fascinating, if terrifying, one, and I was immediately intrigued. I wasn’t sold on the story right away, but the monster mystery was enough to keep me hooked until I really fell in love with the story itself. The world feels well-developed and larger than Joan and Aaron and our protagonists, and you get a distinct sense that a lot is going on in the “normal” world, while we see only a small fraction where we’ve chosen to focus our lens. Only A Monster is both heartbreaking and spellbinding, leaving you breathless for a happy ending. Will you get one? Only time will tell! Reviewed by Kate Wilder, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia |
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The Eye Test by Chris Jones Adult Nonfiction, Creative Ability, Psychology Jones looks back on a career of studying fascinating individuals for his journalism, and in doing so reveals a truth he’s learned: analytics are helpful, but human passion, experience, and imagination are the things that count in the end. A great storyteller, Jones’s subjects include doctors, sports figures, entertainers, writers, cops, scientists, businesspeople, and more. He found that effective specialists learn, watch, and then act in a way that pushes society towards being better. They use both expertise and their minds. Models and formulas help with this, but they are limited because they rely on what has happened before. Sometimes new and crazy things happen; then they’re kind of useless. My favorite quote: “We do our best work when we remember our humanity, especially when it’s hard to remember it.” Reviewed by Sissy Gardner, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee |
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The Year We Learned to Fly by Jacqueline Woodson, Rafael López African American & Black, Children, People & Places, United States When the world is too boring or too hard or too angry for them, a brother and sister are reminded by their very wise grandmother that somewhere in the world somebody else felt the same way. This stunningly illustrated (by Rafael López) masterpiece from Jacqueline Woodson, former Ambassador for Children’s Literature, highlights the power of the imagination and encourages young readers to believe in something, leave troubles behind, and imagine a better world. Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina |
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Silent Parade by Keigo Higashino Adult Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural Detective Galileo is back in another compelling puzzle-box mystery from the great Keigo Higashino. Whether you are a big fan of the series or a newcomer, Silent Parade is a excellent entry point into these engrossing mysteries. Set in Tokyo, a murder suspect has been able to avoid conviction twice because of lack on concrete evidence. Now the murder suspect has turned up dead during the community’s annual parade and Galileo is on the case to finally uncover the truth. Methodical, full of wonderful characters and an excellent sense of place, Silent Parade is a winning mystery experience. Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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Read This Next! Books on the horizon: Forthcoming favorites from Southern indies… |
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Funny Farm by Laurie Zaleski Adult Nonfiction, Animal Rights, Biography & Autobiography, Environmentalists & Naturalists, Nature, Pets A February 2022 Read This Next! Title Once you open this book, this story will never leave your heart. Laurie Zalenski tells of her mother’s love as the family escapes an abusive husband and father and attempts life with zero money. As the family scrapes by, they adopt and care for others including neglected animals. The love of people and animals shine on every page as the tale leads to the Funny Farm and the 600 abused and neglected animals that thrive on the New Jersey farm. You will fall in love with Laurie, the many animals, and the book as you plan your trip to see for yourself the Funny Farm. Reviewed by Nancy Pierce from Bookmiser, Inc. in Marietta, Georgia |
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Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
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Parting Thought “So long as I have questions to which there are no answers, I shall go on writing.” |
Publisher:
The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance /
siba@sibaweb.com |
SIBA | 51 Pleasant Ridge Drive | Asheville, NC 28805
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