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The week of July 11, 2023 Summer Reading: Novels About Bookstores If you are the kind of reader who can’t walk by a bookstore without going inside, you are probably also the kind of reader that can’t resist a good story with a bookstore setting. Booksellers have the same kind of attraction to novels about bookstores. Here is what they have to say about several coming out this summer: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa: The Bookshop by the Bay by Pamela M. Kelley: Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop by Alba Donati: The Door-to-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn:
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 Woods are Waiting by Katherine Greene Adult Fiction, Crime, Southern, Suspense, Thrillers I really enjoy books about secluded mountain towns and the people who live there. The traditions are so rich, the community and family connections so strong. Like any town, especially one somewhat isolated from the outside your fate and reputation might be established before you are born. Cheyenne was an Ashby and the Ashby’s held a relationship with the forest. Rituals were established to keep children safe from the forest, silver in your pockets and dirt in your shoes. The rituals became more extreme when more children continued to disappear. Cheyenne cannot take the constant stress and leaves home. Called back five years later to care for her Mother by the only man she trusts after another child goes missing. She arrives to a Mother she barely recognizes and the animosity of Natalie and Jackson, her two best friends she left behind. Old friendships are tested and many secrets are uncovered. Sometimes you learn you really can’t rely on those you have trusted forever. Reviewed by Jackie Willey, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: Banyan Moon by Thao Thai 
The seed of Banyan Moon was an image of a locked trunk I used to see in my mind, from a Bluebeard-like folk tale my mother used to tell me as a child. I come from a great line of storytellers and we’d often spend evenings listening to the stories of my family’s lives or the tales that’d be handed down to them over the generations. Folklore has always felt to me as less of a practice, and more of a space of the imagination that you can return to. The shared, communal aspect of a folk tale, as well as its oral nature, creates a different sort of narrative magic that can feel larger and more epic than other storytelling modes. One day I’ll tell my daughter the same folk tales I was told as a child, and I imagine it’ll feel like a sort of homecoming. ― Thao Thai, Interview, Indies Introduce What booksellers are saying about Banyan Moon 
About Thao Thai Thao Thai is a writer living in Ohio with her husband and daughter. Her work engages with tangled family relationships and the intersections of motherhood and identity. She’s been published in Cup of Jo, Eater, Catapult, Sunday Long Read, and more. A recipient of the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund, she has also been nominated for multiple Pushcart Prizes and earned fellowships in creative writing. She received her MFA from The Ohio State University and her MA from The University of Chicago. |
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Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter Adult Fiction, Literary Fiction  A July 2023 Read This Next! Title A miserable, beautifully written swan song to the happy life- to freedom, to creativity. Our heroine descends into black hole darkness while trying to navigate her increasingly insane amount of responsibilities at her Silicone Valley startup. Be careful, this will refresh your feelings on whether or not you’re prepared to stay at your 9 – 5… Reviewed by Aimee Keeble, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina |
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First to the Front by Lorissa Rinehart Adult Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Editors, Journalists, Publishers The book is not just a dry recounting of Dickey Chapelle’s story. The writing is moving, engaging, and gripping. The author captures Dickey’s personality and her drive. The reader learns about the many firsts that Dickey accomplished as well as the disturbing “unknown” behind-the-scenes events that the US participated in throughout many wars and conflicts across the globe. Her life spans WWII through the Vietnam war. An amazing life! An amazing story! Reviewed by Robin, A Novel Escape in Franklin, North Carolina |
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Stars, Hide Your Fires by Jessica Best Science Fiction, Space Opera, Young Adult Fiction Best’s debut novel brings the action and the intrigue and I am hooked! Cass is barely getting by, running cons on her dusty planet while taking care of her ailing father. But when she finds out about the ball being held to announce the emperor’s heir, she knows it’s her chance to score big and maybe get them off planet to somewhere healthier for her father. But things don’t go as planned when she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation…as the prime suspect. Reviewed by Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia |
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Bruce and the Legend of Soggy Hollow by Ryan T. Higgins Animals, Bears, Children, Halloween, Juvenile Fiction I literally jumped up and down when we received this! Bruce’s friends don’t know why he doesn’t want to celebrate Halloween. But they get him to give out candy and have fun in only the way that Grumpy Bears can have. The Bruce books are a favorite. This time for a grumpy, hilarious Halloween picture book that will keep you in stitches. Bruce’s friends don’t know why he doesn’t want to celebrate Halloween. But they get him to give out candy and have fun in only the way that Grumpy Bears can have. The Bruce books are a favorite Reviewed by Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina |
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Frontera by Julio Anta Comics & Graphic Novels, Coming of Age, Young Adult Fiction Incredibly moving and powerful. Frontera gives emotional insight into deportations, border crossing and the separation of families. Through impactful graphics and storytelling, it showcases the harsh realties of those making a perilous journey across the border in search of a better life or in Mateo’s case the life they once had. 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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Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas Banned Books, LGBTQ+, Young Adult Fiction MY. FAVORITE. BOOK. OF. ALL. TIME!!!!! Aiden Thomas is an incredibly talented author, and this book- from start to finish- had me absolutely captivated. The book centers around the magic and cultural importance of the Mexican holiday, Día de los Muertos. It brings the holiday to life and emphasizes the value and complexities of family. It also both honors and challenges tradition by incorporating a transgender main character. The characters’ journeys of acceptance, identity, friendship, mystery, and romance are profound and impactful. I went from crying on the floor, to begging my sister to spoil the ending before I finished, to crying again, to finishing the book and needing to take a few weeks to fully recover- in the best way. I couldn’t more highly recommend this beautiful masterpiece of a book!! Reviewed by Finn Fletcher, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia |
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Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
[ See the full list ] |
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Parting Thought “I cannot remember the books I’ve read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me.” |
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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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