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The week of May 24, 2022 Good storytelling and worst-case scenarios James Lee Burke’s appearance at the Reader Meet Writer Author Series is now available to watch. His conversation with Wiley Cash (When Ghosts Come Home) ranges across many topics, including grief, the precarious lives of working class people, the mysterious source of stories, and what makes a writer a good writer. "If you want to be a good writer," notes Burke, "you need to be a good listener." Read This Now | Read This Next | The Bookseller Directory |
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Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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Scary Monsters by Michelle De Kretser Adult Fiction, Australia, Fiction, Multiple Timelines, Southeast Asia, World Literature A brilliant, expertly-written novel that is at once horrifyingly real and also hilariously overstated. The two stories are surprising and suspenseful as each South Asian immigrant deals with the multi-layered pieces of their lives in the 80s and in the near future. As an Asian immigrant to Australia, the author captures these characters so thoroughly it is a shock to the system to step back out of their stories. Wonderful study on racism and how immigrants are received and perceived around the world. Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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Spotlight on: Hide by Kiersten White
“Anxiety is actually why I write. It’s why I started telling stories to myself as a child, because I found if I could feed my anxiety a story then it wouldn’t rip me apart, and so I always had a story going on in the back of my head to tell myself instead of going through worst case scenarios of my own life. Part of what makes a lot of people with high anxiety good storytellers is your brain is constantly coming up with the worst case scenarios and playing through things and replaying them and replaying them and replaying them, and that lends itself well to writing and storytelling. ” —Kiersten White, interview, BookPeople What booksellers are saying about Hide 
About Holly Black Kiersten White is the New York Times bestselling, Bram Stoker Award-winning, and critically acclaimed author of many books, including the And I Darken trilogy, the Sinister Summer series, the Camelot Rising trilogy, and her adult debut, Hide. Her books have been published in over twenty territories, and her novel The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein is currently in development with Sony Pictures Television. Kiersten lives with her family in San Diego, where she can regularly be found pressing her hands against the glass of her back door, furtively whispering I love you to her deeply ambivalent tortoise, Kimberly. |
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Middlemarch and the Imperfect Life: Bookmarked by Pamela Erens Adult Nonfiction, Books & Reading, Literary Criticism A modern-day writer’s engaging appreciation of George Eliot’s Middlemarch and what she’s gained both as a writer and a woman from reading the iconic 19th-century novel over the years. Pamela Erens argues that Eliot’s sophisticated insights into human nature, her boundless compassion for her characters’ frailties, and her acceptance of their inevitable contradictions make her an especially wise guide to the struggles we face today. Erens is most thoughtful in discussing Eliot’s belief in the central role of community in society and of the responsibilities required of its members, and persuades us of its practicality today. Reviewed by Clara Boza, Malaprop’s in Asheville, North Carolina |
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Kings of B’more by R. Eric Thomas African American & Black, People & Places, United States, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction This is truly a novel for both teens and adults. I’m Gen X and saw Ferris Bueller’s Day Off in the theater back in the day and absolutely loved this plot! R. Eric captures the essence of teen friendship – how it really is your whole world once you start getting ready to fly the nest. His characters all have really interesting relationships with both peers and parents – no one is having the same experience yet they are all listening to and supporting one another. R. Eric is the funniest man on earth, and I knew I’d love this book. Reviewed by Sissy Gardner, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee |
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Mustique Island by Sarah McCoy Adult Fiction, Women Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night meets Fantasy Island in this beautifully written story about family, love, and loss. Set on a private island in the Caribbean during the 1970’s, Willy May Michaels, a wealthy divorcee, moves to the luxurious playground for the rich, engaging in numerous soirées with the likes of Princess Margaret, Colin Tennant, and Mick Jagger. She is later joined by her troubled daughter Hilly, a fashion model whose actions summon Willy May’s oldest daughter, Joanne. Their relationship to date, has been strained, but as the daughters begin to understand their mother and each other, the seemingly glamorous life on Mustique begins to unravel as they face the most difficult storm any of them have ever faced. This character-driven novel explores many facets of mother-daughter and sibling relationships revealing that it’s never too late to deal with pain of the past. The discoveries that Willy May, Hilly, and Joanne make are precious, and their bond is strengthened through tragedy Reviewed by Sharon Davis, Book Bound Bookstore in Blairsville, Georgia |
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Osmo Unknown and the Eightpenny Woods by Catherynne M. Valente Action & Adventure, Children, Juvenile Fiction Osmo has always dreamed of Somewhere Else, somewhere that he can be himself and fee like he belongs, but his town has rules (very good rules, for very good reasons…probably) that keep everyone where they’re supposed to be and out of the magical woods where the supposedly fearsome Quidnunx live. But then Osmo’s mom kills a Quidnunk, and Osmo has to journey to the land of the dead to make amends. He makes new friends (a rude skadgebat and a lonely pangirlin) and has new experiences, but ultimately his quest is to understand. This book will speak to your feelings and live in your heart like all the best stories do. Fans of Kelly Barnhill will love this, and readers of Valente’s Fairyland books won’t be disappointed. Reviewed by Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina |
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Read This Next! Books on the horizon: Forthcoming favorites from Southern indies… |
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You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance A May 2022 Read This Next! Selection Y’all, oh my GOD. Akwaeke Emezi has done it again and I love it so much. It is hot and messy and hot-messy and addicting. I thrive on drama and this novel delivers! Forget love triangles, this is a love star, five different points criss-crossing into something bright and beautiful and a little bit hard to look at. As fun and exciting as it is, it also touches on trauma and recovery, self-growth, and love. Utterly heart-wrenching and belly-laughter-inducing. Reviewed by Laney Sheehan from Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, 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 “My library is an archive of longings.” |
Publisher:
The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance /
siba@sibaweb.com |
SIBA | 51 Pleasant Ridge Drive | Asheville, NC 28805
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