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The week of April 9, 2024 Happy National Bookmobile Day!.
Reading poetry is an adventure in renewal, a creative act, a perpetual beginning, a rebirth of wonder. ―Edward Hirsch
Raise your hand if you remember a visit from the bookmobile! Tomorrow, April 10th, is National Bookmobile Day, aka National Library Outreach Day, always celebrated the Wednesday of National Library Week, and honoring those who go the extra distance to bring books to people no matter where they are. Meet Katie Mitchell, owner of Trope Bookshop: Trope Bookshop, also known as “the Smut Bus,” is a romance bookshop on wheels in Charlotte, NC, owned by Katie Mitchell. Trope is the product of a second chance romance with reading + #Booktok + corporate burnout. Katie opened the doors of the bus, affectionately known as Green Girl, in October of 2023. Katie fell back in love with reading during the COVID lock down, and that combined with discovering the world of Sarah J Maas inspired the idea for Trope Bookshop. Initially, Katie dreamed of a store front for the romance-only bookstore, inspired by the work of The Ripped Bodice, but the cost of real estate was simply too much. Katie’s friends encouraged her to keep the dream alive, so she began to look into mobile options. A few weeks later, she acquired the “Green Girl” and began renovating. Trope Bookshop is a place where all love is welcome, encouraged, and sold, from classic rom coms to enemies to lovers, to romantasy, to Katie’s personal favorite, Mafia Romances. Katie hopes that when customers visit the book bus they find a warm, welcoming, and fun experience shopping for their next book boyfriend. Since opening, Trope has launched a Smutty Bookclub that meets once a month, partnered with other local Charlotte businesses for indie author book signings, and more. Follow Trope on Instagram @tropebookshop to see all their upcoming bus stops and field trips around the Queen City.   by Candice Huber, Membership Coordinator Read This Now | Read This Next | Book Buzz | The Bookseller Directory |
Spotlight on Trope Bookshop|
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Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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The Blue Mimes by Sara Daniele Rivera Adult Nonfiction, Poetry A bilingual and elegiac collection that explores transnational sorrow with an openness to delving into the gulfs loss creates, rather than succumbing to them. Memories of family and political histories intertwine with cultural unrest and the sensorially intimate to form poems with a sketchy quality—much like the drawings in the book—with deep feeling and sense of possibility. Disarmingly beautiful. Reviewed by Luis Correa, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia |
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Fervor by Toby Lloyd Adult Fiction, Jewish Is it nature? Nurture? Unacknowledged familial trauma? Kabbalah? God? Does it matter? Toby Lloyd’s stunning novel debut feels like a long-lost dream, rippling with uncertainty for the best kind of unsettled reading experience — just after finishing, I wanted to read it all again. In a London, modern Ashkenazi Jewish home, our intersecting narrators offer multiple realities, inviting us to hold them amidst reflections on tradition, power, and existence with heart-wrenching beauty. Impressively succinct writing that unfolds in the mind like a flower in bloom with heart-wrenching beauty and depth – the rest of 2024’s reads are up against a powerhouse. Reviewed by RC Collman, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
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How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Fiction, Romance 
An April Read This Next! Title It’s actually unfair how good this book is. Kuang seamlessly weaves together grief, trauma, and hope in a way that cracked me open. Grant and Helen are linked by a horrific tragedy, and eventually wind up in the same television writers’ room, both trying their hardest to escape from themselves. A love letter to competency porn, vulnerability, and tripping headfirst into something great with the last person you should be falling in love with. An incredibly moving, honest debut. Reviewed by Gaby Iori, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez 
While this is absolutely a work of fiction, it comes from a deeply personal place to me. In some ways, this book has been percolating inside me since my own grandparents moved me from our walk-up in Brooklyn to College Hill nearly thirty years ago. It was still, in those days, rare to be a Latina at Brown. I was part of a very small community of minority students that sat inside this larger school: a position that came with the comforts of an intimate collective, but all the challenges of feeling like a visitor to a dominant culture. ― Xochitl Gonzalez, Letter from the author What booksellers are saying about Anita de Monte Laughs Last 
Xochitl Gonzalez is the New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming. Named a Best Book of 2022 by The New York Times, TIME, Kirkus, Washington Post, and NPR, Olga Dies Dreaming was the winner of the Brooklyn Public Library Book Prize in Fiction and the New York City Book Award. Gonzalez is a 2021 MFA graduate from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Her nonfiction work has been published in Elle Decor, Allure, Vogue, Real Simple, and The Cut. Her commentary writing for The Atlantic was recognized as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. A native Brooklynite and proud public school graduate, Gonzalez holds a BA from Brown University and lives in her hometown of Brooklyn with her dog, Hectah Lavoe. |
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Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes Adult Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, Space Exploration With Dead Silence (a haunted Titantic in space!) and now Ghost Station, Barnes is set to become the queen of intense, claustrophobic space horror! Again with a small crew of deeply disturbed and damaged people, Barnes sets them loose on an icy, abandoned planet to do some dangerous work for an uncaring corporation. Everyone is hiding something. There is a jump-startle behind every closed door and every corner. If it were just these things, that would be great, but under the chills and thrills, there are thoughtful explorations of class, the definition of family, the nature of trauma, and opening oneself up to trust and love. Reviewed by Kelly Justice, Fountain Books in Richmond, Virginia |
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Sociopath by Patric Gagne Adult Fiction, Horror, Science Fiction, Space Exploration Sociopath is an illuminating memoir about Patric Gagne’s lifelong quest to understand herself and her lack of emotion. As a child who is aware that she is different from her family and peers to an adult striving for true intimacy, Patric shines a light on sociopathy and related antisocial behaviors. I started reading Sociopath with my own preconceived notions and prejudices around the word "sociopath" and finished with a deeper understanding and empathy. Reviewed by Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina |
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Poetrees by Douglas Florians Childrens, Juvenile Fiction, Poetry Perfectly positioned for Poetry Month and Earth Day, Poetrees is a poetry book, an art book, and a science primer all in one. From the humble seed to the Giant Sequoia there’s sure to be an ode to your favorite forest giant. Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina |
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Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé Thrillers & Suspense, Young Adult Fiction To say I’m obsessed is an understatement. Sade arrives at a boarding school, escaping her past, when her new roommate disappears the next day. Layers of secrets and twists are uncovered as Sade tries to find her roommate. I couldn’t put this down and will immediately read anything she writes! Reviewed by Kayla Matykunas, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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Snail by Minu Kim Children, Friendship, Juvenile Fiction, Social Themes
A March/April Read This Next! Kids Title What a delightful book. I absolutely adore the illustrations, black and white drawing with minimal use of color. Reviewed by Keeshia Jacklitch, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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Decide for Yourself Books that appear on PEN America’s list of challenged books. |
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A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas Adult Fiction, Banned Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Romance Can I just live in this book please? A perfect book boyfriend, lovely world-building, just the right amount of spice….what more can we ask for? There is a reason it’s the most beloved book in the fantasy realm. Reviewed by Kelley Dykes, Main Street Reads in Summerville, South Carolina |
Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
[ See the full list ] |
Parting Thought “The library was open for one hour after school let out. I hid there, looking at art books and reading poetry.” |
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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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