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The week of February 4, 2025 Booklists. Booklists. Booklists!
In celebration of Black History month, The Southern Bookseller Review will lead off each week in February with recent reviews from southern booksellers of books by Black authors. To find reading lists that are more specific or targeted to a certain age level, visit the Black History Month page at Bookshop.org: Adult Fiction | Nonfiction | Picture Books | Middle Grade Readers | Young Adult | Cookbooks | Poetry | Romance And note the big new from Bookshop: As of this month, ebooks can be purchased via Bookshop.org. Bookshop is one of the most common ways indie bookstores use to let their customers buy books from them online. If one of the "Buy" links below goes to the bookstore’s bookshop page, you will be able to buy the book in ebook format if it is available. Read This Now | Read This Next | Book Buzz | The Bookseller Directory |
“Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.” — Wilma Rudolph, Olympic track and field athleteRead This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor Adult Fiction, Fiction, Sagas Okorafor masterfully threads together a story about the art of storytelling, breaking barriers, and being true to yourself while pulling readers into the passion of being in the Nigerian community. Filled with unexpected friendships, challenges of having a disability, worldwide adventures — and ROBOTS — Zelu and Ankara’s story will challenge your perception of what it means to be part of humanity. You’ll be thinking about Death of the Author long after you’ve returned from the stars. Reviewed by Jenny Gilroy, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia |
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Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis Adult Fiction, Fiction, Humorous, Political, Women Fundamentally is the audacious, hilarious story of Dr. Nadia Amin, a lovesick academic who ends up in Iraq heading up a UN group dedicated to deradicalizing ISIS brides. I laughed out loud, I cringed at her questionable choices, and I fell in love as Nadia becomes attached to and champions the release of one of the brides. Fundamentally is about what we believe in, allowing others to determine their own belief system, and whose job it is to decide who needs saving. Highly recommend! |
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Saint of the Narrows Street by William Boyle Adult Fiction, Crime, Fiction This might sound like a bit of an oxymoron, but nobody does dysfunctional family crime like William Boyle. And this is a perfect example of that. One moment in time, a fatal reaction, that festers like a boil for decades until it bursts and even more lives are ruined. Brooklyn noir at its best! Reviewed by Pete Mock, McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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We Do Not Part by Han Kang 
I moved from Gwangju to Seoul in January 1980, at the age of nine with my family. It was just four months before the Gwanju uprising/massacre occurred. After a few years, there were photo books which were printed and circulated secretly to bear witness. I found one of the photo books on the bookshelf of my father, and it became sort of a defining experience in my life. If I were not that young, I would have been more aware of the political aspect. But I was just 12. The photo book contained numerous dead faces with deep wounds and after reaching the end of the photo book, I thought to myself, ‘Humans are scary’. I couldn’t find a way to accept that I am one of these ‘humans’. However, there were also examples of human dignity and inexplicable strength in the photo book. For example, I saw the endless lines of ordinary people who wanted to donate blood for the wounded right after the mass shooting by the Martial Law army. It was like two unsolvable questions were imprinted on my mind: How can humans be so violent? What can humans do something to fight against that extreme violence? ― Han Kang, Interview, Banana Writers What booksellers are saying about We Do Not Part 
Han Kang was born in 1970 in South Korea. She is the author of The Vegetarian, winner of the International Booker Prize, Human Acts, The White Book, and Greek Lessons. In 2024 she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. e. yaewon is based in Korea and translates from and into Korean, including titles by Hwang Jungeun, Jessica Au, and Maggie Nelson. Paige Aniyah Morris divides her time between the United States and Korea. Recent translations include works by Pak Kyongni, Ji-min Lee, and Chang Kang-myoung. |
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The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill Adult Fiction, Fiction, LGBTQ+, Transgender Underhill has switched to adult fiction in his new book, The In-Between Bookstore, but the heart and joy are still there, in abundance! Darby is a trans man living in NYC, but while he’s got a good group of friends, his apartment rent is rising to an astronomical level and he’s just been let go from his job. He’s been feeling adrift lately, so when his mom tells him she’s selling the house and moving into a condo, he decides it’s time to head home to Illinois and face his fast. But while he’s there, a strange thing happens. When he walks into The In-Between Bookstore, where he worked in high school, it’s still 2009…and his younger self is working behind the counter. But what does this mean? Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia |
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Explorers by Matthew Lockwood Adult Nonfiction, Expeditions & Discoveries, History Whole worlds are contained in a few short chapters that recover the names and stories of explorers usually left out of larger histories. Indigenous peoples and non-western men and women are given credit for their curiosity, bravery, and contributions to exploration and cultural exchanges. Engaging prose and thoughtful reflections make this a must read. Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina |
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Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson Boarding School & Prep School, Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Occult & Supernatural, Paranormal, School Education, Young Adult Fiction I loved the Gothic setting of a castle with ancient roots on a desolate Scottish moor. I’m not really one to go after books about demons because I feel they can hem in the plot, but I loved the way Oak described them as elementals, and how he could see everything alive on the empty-looking moor just by knowing how to look. He was probably my favorite character. I also liked how Page took her chronic pain and made it her superpower later in the book. A big theme of the book is physical bodies versus the mind, and I think Wilkinson did an excellent job weaving that theme through every aspect of the book. From the lessons the Agathion professors taught, to Page’s endometriosis, to the LGBTQ characters, and to the ancient stories of the gods. Reviewed by Candice Conner, The Haunted Book Shop in Mobile, Alabama |
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Soy Sauce! by Laura G. Lee Children, Cooking & Food, Juvenile Fiction They. drew. with. Soy. Sauce. Soy sauce is such an integral part of seasoning… everything! (Even my taco meat gets a healthy zotz of soy sauce!). The cooking onomatopoeia in big comic book-style bubbles and splats reminds me of Ramen for Everyone. Truly, these are life principles. Food means love. Reviewed by Lisa Yee Swope, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams Adult Fiction, African American & Black, Contemporary, Fiction, Historical, Romance New in paperback This book is absolutely delightful. I had some great laugh-out-loud moments while reading. Tia Williams is becoming one of my favorite authors by far! Reviewed by Anastasia Williams, The Bottom in Knoxville, Tennessee |
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Decide for Yourself Books that appear on PEN America’s list of challenged books. |
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The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo Banned Books, Novels in Verse, Young Adult Fiction The Poet X is a piece of Acevedo’s heart that we cradle in our hands, an intimate portrayal of someone who isn’t quiet and easy and is all the more beautiful for her sharp edges. Every stanza, Acevedo seemingly challenges herself to improve on what was written before, creating a brutally bittersweet story of what it means to find your voice, both on and off the page. From my first read five years ago to my last, Xiomara continuously inspires me to occupy the spaces I’m told I cannot with my pen, and more importantly, my voice. Reviewed by Sydney Mason, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
[ See the full list ] |
Parting Thought “We write for the same reason that we walk, talk, climb mountains or swim the oceans – because we can. We have some impulse within us that makes us want to explain ourselves to other human beings.” |
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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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