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The week of May 28, 2024  A year of banned books “Let children read whatever they want and then talk about it with them. If parents and kids can talk together, we won’t have as much censorship because we won’t have as much fear.” ― Judy Blume This week’s issue of The Southern Bookseller Review marks an unhappy anniversary. A year ago, SBR launched "Decide For Yourself" ― a section of the newsletter dedicated to bookseller reviews of books which have appeared on PEN America’s index of school book bans. With over 1500 books on the list, it has been never been difficult to find books both beloved by booksellers and challenged in school districts and library systems. The first book featured in SBR’s "Decide For Yourself" one year ago this week was Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, which Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi calls "A beautiful story about love and loss, and how sometimes those things can be really complicated." This week’s banned book feature is Parable of the Sower by the iconic Octavia Butler. The review is from Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, but like many of the books that are challenged, Parable of the Sower has many fans among Southern booksellers: A riveting, poignant, and timely read for anyone concerned about the climate crisis. Revolutionary. Butler constructs a beautifully imaginative, albeit dark, future that reflects the inequalities of our own universe. While at moments it’s challenging to read, it offers a hopeful look into the future we could have with complex characters and relationships. This book left me with a renewed sense of purpose in today’s fight for justice, despite being released in 1993. It’s science fiction universality makes this book a classic. Although polls show that most people are against banning books, the rate of book bans has only skyrocketed over the past several years. Ostensibly challenged for violence or sexual content, as PEN American notes, "everywhere, it is the books that have long fought for a place on the shelf that are being targeted. Books by authors of color, by LGBTQ+ authors, by women. Books about racism, sexuality, gender, history." The resource website Unite Against Book Bans is building a library of "book résumés" to help parents and teachers learn what a book is about, with links to resources and professional reviews from libraries and the School Library Journal, as well as what age or grade level it is recommended for. Or, you can simply ask your local indie bookseller, and then decide for yourself.
Read This Now | Read This Next | Book Buzz | The Bookseller Directory |
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Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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The Manicurist’s Daughter by Susan Lieu Adult Nonfiction, Asian American & Pacific Islander, Bereavement, Death, Family & Relationships, Grief Lieu raises the bar, taking a complex immigrant story from interesting, past compelling to unput-downable gut-level honesty. Her journey to come to terms with her mother’s death is complicated by cultural patterns, emotional barriers, generational trauma, and her own mental health. She is unstinting in her portrayals of family and herself. Prepare to rethink what you know about families and trauma. Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina |
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Fire Exit by Morgan Talty Adult Fiction, Indigenous Morgan Talty’s debut novel Fire Exit has an unmistakable pace that leaves you as unsettled as the main character, Charles Lamosway. This story about grief and mental illness is woven around struggles to understand family, both biological and nurtured. Brilliantly written, Fire Exit bears witness to what a birthright and culture mean when you were denied what felt like home. Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: Blue Ruin by Hari Kunzru 
I never used to reread. Then I started teaching and had to think of books I cared about enough to want to discuss with students. Now I reread a lot. I’ve discovered that if I pick up more or less anything I read before I was 30, it’s as if I’m reading it for the first time. It’s odd – the more I read, the less I feel I’ve read. The last “classic” I reread was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which is one of those “over-familiar” books it has become fashionable to dismiss. I was, I think, just as enchanted by Gatsby’s forlorn love for Daisy as when I first read it as an A-level student. ― Hari Kunzru, Guardian What booksellers are saying about Blue Ruin 
Hari Kunzru is the author of six novels, Red Pill, White Tears, Gods Without Men, My Revolutions, Transmission, and The Impressionist. The recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the American Academy in Berlin, and the Cullman Center at the New York Public Library, he is a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books and writes the “Easy Chair” column for Harper’s Magazine. He lives in Brooklyn and teaches in the Creative Writing Program at New York University. |
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April May June July by Alison B. Hart Adult Fiction, Family Life, Siblings I have never read a book quite like this. This close family of six is like any other family until tragedy strikes when their father disappears in the Middle East with no trace. So many times tragedy can rip a family apart, and so this family comes apart. The CIA gets involved and people are actively trying to find their beloved father, but time passes and he is not found. Years later one of the daughters is getting married and wants her family involved. Her mom tries to help out to no avail. Life has taken each of the four siblings on a ride and they are caught up in their own drama. What will unravel the negativity they have for each other? Is their dad alive? How can they go on without knowing? This thriller is like no other I have ever read. You will love it. Reviewed by Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina |
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I’ve Tried Being Nice: Essay by Ann Leary Adult Nonfiction, Essays, Literary Collections Breezy and funny but thought-provoking too. An essay collection may not seem like the most obvious beach read, but this delightful little book is the perfect thing for the beach, or the plane, or the car this summer. Anne Leary brings her unique humor to topics we will all find familiar. She opens herself and her family up just enough to remind us that we are all facing the same daily joys and absurdities and challenges. She’s like a friend over coffee or a college roommate on the phone decades later—you’re never sure where the conversation will go next, but you’re glad to be along for the ride. Reviewed by Amanda Grell, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas |
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Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron Adaptations, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Young Adult Fiction Kalynn Bayron has done it again. Full disclosure: I love her work and have read everything she has published, and it feels really good to be able to continue to recommend her books to readers again and again. Sleep Like Death is another creative and fun twist on a classic story. I couldn’t wait to turn each page and longed to dive back into the world Kalynn had built after I finished the last one Reviewed by Rayna Nielsen, Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans, Louisiana |
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Summer Is Here by Renée Watson Children, Concepts, Juvenile Fiction, Seasons 
A May/June Read This Next! Kids Title Summer is Here is a beautiful story about a girl’s perfect summer day. Watson’s words are light and feel like sunshine, while Jackson’s beautiful illustrations make you want to experience that summer day as a child again. Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia |
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The New Girl by Cassandra Calin Children, Comics & Graphic Novels, Humorous, Juvenile Fiction The New Girl is a delightfully funny story about change, perseverance and embracing those who are different than us. I absolutely fell in love with the adorable pictures and loveable characters. This was so much fun to read and I highly recommend diving into it! 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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Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler Adult Fiction, African American & Black, Apocalyptic Post-Apocalyptic, Banned Books, Coming of Age, Dystopian, Fiction, Science Fiction, Women I didn’t think it was possible to read a book and feel both completely hopeless and hopeful at the end, but leave it up to Octavia Butler to write the impossible. Reviewed by Ndobe Foletia, 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 “All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently, the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.” |
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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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