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The week of June 18, 2024 Lambda Finalists: Gay Fiction 
Continuing our celebration of LGBTQ+ storytelling and literature, here is what booksellers have to say about some of the finalist novels in the Gay Fiction category of the Lambda Literary Awards. Family Meal: A Novel by Bryan Washington Blackouts: A Novel by Justin Torres I Will Greet the Sun Again: A Novel by Khashayar J. Khabushani 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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Director’s Cut by Carlyn Greenwald Adult Fiction, Friendship, Lesbian, LGBTQ+, Romance, Romantic Comedy Hollywood meets Academia in this refreshing sapphic romance! Director’s Cut follows Valeria, an Oscar-winning actor who has recently come out as a lesbian and is attempting to shift the conversation from her sexuality to her work. Disillusioned by Hollywood, she tries to return to her academic roots by guest lecturing at USC. Her co-professor Maeve isn’t amused by her foray into academia, but Maeve’s animosity toward the celeb’s designer clothing doesn’t dissuade Val’s inconvenient crush. Good range of queer representation, discussions of anxiety, and a generous amount of movie-musical musings. I raced through it! Reviewed by Julia Lewis, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia |
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A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi Adult Fiction, Women Virginie Grimaldi’s A Good Life was just what I needed at the beginning of the year. At first glance, you might think that this book won’t rip your heart out, but I can tell you that it absolutely does! Themes of grief, mental health, sisterhood, and family converge in gorgeous prose to create a story that feels familiar. Emma and Agathe’s deep love for each other will tug at the heartstrings of any girl who grew up with a sister. It is often time the everyday intricacies and complexities of life that can move us. These two ordinary women become extraordinary through their bond. Fans of Valerie Perrin here in the States are going to LOVE this novel! Reviewed by Kelsey Jagneaux, Tombolo Books in St Petersburg, Florida |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle 
Humans are constantly creating, building, communicating, and growing, filling the endless cosmic void with pieces of ourselves and pushing back against the empty spaces. Some of us create books, songs, paintings, and sculptures, but these traditionally artistic pursuits are not the only forms of creation. You can also create a walk in the park. You can create a conversation with a bud. You can create an idea. When you (yes, you) suggest a book to someone, you’re creating a whole universe that was never there before. This book, Bury Your Gays, is a horror novel about a screenwriter who is asked to kill off his queer characters once they come out of the closet, a media trope known as “burying your gays.” He refuses, and soon his life is on the line as the boundaries between reality and artistic expression blur. Bury Your Gays is also a story about the importance of creation as a sacred and deeply human expression. It’s about using our power as creators (because we are all creators) to craft a better world. ― Chuck Tingle, Letter to booksellers What booksellers are saying about Shae 
Chuck Tingle is the USA Today bestselling author of Camp Damascus. He is a mysterious force of energy behind sunglasses and a pink mask. He is also an anonymous author of romance, horror, and fantasy. Chuck was born in Home of Truth, Utah, and now splits time between Billings, Montana and Los Angeles, California. Chuck writes to prove love is real, because love is the most important tool we have when resisting the endless cosmic void. Not everything people say about Chuck is true, but the important parts are. |
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Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi Adult Fiction, Friendship, Literary, Psychological Oh my good god. I have to start by saying I love Awkwake Emezi, so when I saw their next book, I knew I had to read it. Having read their past works, I knew I’d have to go in with no expectations or ideas about what could possibly be in store for me because Emezi has this way of throwing it all back in your face and saying, “fuck you, strap in for the ride.” And what a ride! This author has such a vivid writing style, so as a reader, you hardly have to work to paint every graphic, sensual, and appalling picture in your head. Each sentence was so carefully and cleverly constructed that I literally hung on to every word. This story never lost me for a second. It had me by the throat with a knife, and it was all I could do to sit back and let it unfold. Reviewed by Laney Sheehan, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
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The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson Adult Nonfiction, Civil War Period (1850-1877), History, United States Another triumph by Erik Larson, who, again, has produced an imposing history that is amazing, informative, and always entertaining. The Demon of Unrest is an engrossing preamble to the Civil War and fully meets Larson’s stated objective to choose a topic that is “inherently suspenseful.” Unfortunately, the book’s title may be too obscure to properly convey any sense of how riveting this book actually is. Of course, this will matter little to confirmed Larson fans, but, hopefully, the casual browser will not “judge this book by its cover!” Reviewed by Michael Yetter, Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington, Kentucky |
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With Love, Miss Americanah by Jane Igharo Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult Fiction This semi-autobiographical YA story follows a Nigerian teen and her family as they emigrate to the U.S. after the unexpected death of her father. Enore is a planner, and preps herself for American High School by watching classic teen movies. I loved all the references to some of my favorite films! I enjoyed tagging along on Enore’s journey, as she learns that the kids at her school are more than just their movie stereotypes, finds endearing first love, and learns to use her voice and stand up for the things she wants. There were a couple of cringy moments, but overall this is a heartfelt story, told with an authentic and relatable voice! Reviewed by Emma Tara, E. Shaver bookseller in Savannah, Georgia |
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I’m Afraid, Said the Leaf by Danielle Daniel Children, Environment, Juvenile Fiction, Science & Nature Everything is connected, and that is a very comforting thought. This seems like a great book to get children thinking about nature and perhaps experience it in a way they hadn’t before! Reviewed by Lana Repic, E. Shaver bookseller in Savannah, Georgia |
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Woman, Life, Freedom by Marjane Satrapi Comics & Graphic Novels, Contemporary Women In September 2022, in Tehran, Mahsa Amini was arrested and beaten to death by the morality police for not wearing her hijab properly. Women, men, and schoolchildren rose up in protest all over the country. This is a powerful and important reminder not to forget the people of Iran who continue to suffer under the brutal regime of Iran’s government. Reviewed by Tony Peltier, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
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Decide for Yourself Books that appear on PEN America’s list of challenged books. |
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Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi, Yusef Salaam Banned Books, Prejudice & Racism, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction This book can eat away at you. So beautiful, written in verse with such vivid, raw and gripping emotion. What happens one night when teenagers get in a fight and one white boy ends up in a coma? Everyone involved is part of the tragic story but what continues to the wrongly accused is heart-thumping and beyond wrong. This is a story 400 years in the making and why we still have to tell it is the real tragedy. How can our country get better? How can we heal? I wish everyone would read it so we can have some much-needed conversations. The butterflies scattered throughout the book helped me breath through some tough parts and offered real hope. "Butterfly, if you’re in here with me then you have to go back out there and change the world." I hope the butterfly succeeds. Reviewed by Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina |
Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
[ See the full list ] |
Parting Thought “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” |
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Publisher:
The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance /
siba@sibaweb.com |
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