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The week of August 29, 2023 Read These Next! September Sneak Peak
Read This Next! September takes readers on adventure after adventure, from outer space to the wilderness of an American continent menaced by colonizers. From regency romance to the horror-tinged Victorian marriage market. Sink your teeth into these five books, because they will certainly sink their teeth into you! What SIBA Booksellers have to say: The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush Rouge by Mona Awad A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by KJ Charles Read This Next! highlights new books that are receiving exceptional, and exceptionally enthusiastic, buzz from Southern indie booksellers. 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 Land of Lost Things by John Connolly Adult Fiction, Suspense, Thrillers The Land of Lost Things is a extraordinary work, filled with both the original spirit of the Grimm fairy tales, and environmental concerns. Phoebe, an eight year old girl, has been severely injured in a car accident, and has been left in a comatose state. Her mother, Ceres, constantly reads to her, especially fairy tales. When the hospital can no longer help her, Phoebe is transferred to a chronic care facility, funded by the legacy of the missing author of The Book of Lost Things, and located very close to his deserted home. When Ceres explores the house, she somehow finds herself transported into the world of The Book of Lost Things. What then transpires is a joy to read, filled with both wonderful characters, and ones that are pure evil. Always stressing the importance and the meaning of books and stories. There are many allusions and characters taken from history and folktales/fairy tales/legends that make appearances, and also some wonderful touches of humor. Throughout the story you are constantly hypnotized by life’s fragility. It is impossible to put down, and you will dream about it if you do. Reviewed by Amy Loewy, Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans, Louisiana |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: Those We Thought We Knew by David Joy 
“I think there’s a great deal of that blend of horror in the tradition where my work is rooted. I think about a writer like William Gay and a story like “The Paperhanger,” O’Connor and a character like the misfit or McCarthy’s Lester Ballard. That’s to say that is the tradition. With this book specifically, though, it was very much a treatise on violence. I wanted there to be moments the reader put the book down because they couldn’t face what was happening on the page. I wanted there to be moments that very same reader cheered the violence on with a fiery sense of vengeance and justice. I wanted the reader to recognize those moments and reactions and question the difference. Those were lofty goals that may very well have been unreached, but that was the intent. The difference in those two reactions speaks a great deal to our humanity.” ― David Joy, Interview, Daily Yonder What booksellers are saying about Those We Thought We Knew 
About David Joy David Joy is the author of When These Mountains Burn (winner of the 2020 Dashiell Hammett Award), The Line That Held Us (winner of the 2018 SIBA Book Prize), The Weight of This World, and Where All Light Tends to Go (Edgar finalist for Best First Novel). Joy lives in Tuckasegee, North Carolina. |
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The Free People’s Village by Sim Kern Adult Fiction, LGBTQ+, Nature & Environment, Science Fiction In an alternate 2020, in which Al Gore once won the presidency and Democrats have held court for 20 years…we still live in an economically and racially unjust, imperialist, carceral state (now with more greenwashing!), and teacher and punk band guitarist Maddie Ryan finds herself and her community forever changed when she stands against the building of a new hyperway through the Black 8th Ward she’s inadvertently helped gentrify and gets swept up in a revolution. Achingly real, bitterly funny, and deeply moving, The Free People’s Village is a commentary, both compassionate and cutting, on the woke white activist’s journey and, above all, a full-throated ode to resistance and the found family that fuels it. Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia |
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Move Like Water by Hannah Stowe Adult Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Personal Memoirs Beautifully evocative, Stowe’s memoir captures the emotional and physical pull of open waters in a visceral and compelling way. A book that can be read on many levels– memoir, a natural history guide, a call to care–with it’s strength in the intersection of all. If you love oceans, women explorers and artists, or just a book to challenge your mind and soul, this one is for you. Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina |
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The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes Mysteries & Detective Stories, Young Adult Fiction Set in the same world as the Inheritance Games this book focuses on fan favorites Grayson and Jameson Hawthorne. They are in pursuit of a dangerous winner take all game. Less brutal than the Hunger Games it does evoke the eagerness to win and you won’t be able to put it down. Reviewed by Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina |
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The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead Animals, Cats, Children, Juvenile Fiction  An August 2023 Read This Next! Title The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass is a middle grade mystery that celebrates the power of a good book. Evan has grown up in a town without a library and none of the adults talk about the fire that destroyed such a beloved place. A librarian, a cat, a few ghosts, and a handful of mice put in motion an unraveling of a collective puzzle that may make you gasp! Highly recommend. Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia |
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The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu Comics & Graphic Novels, Coming of Age, Young Adult Fiction Every time you pick up a novel by Wendy Xu, you’re guaranteed a beautiful and wonderful story. The Infinity Particle is no different. A loving glance into the future where we have terraformed Mars and now have robotic companions, this is the story of Clementine and Kye. Clementine is running from pain and loneliness on Earth to work with her idol. When she arrives on Mars, she meets her idol’s AI robot who isn’t what he seems. Determined to help Kye despite going against her mentor, Clementine and Kye discover so much more. This was a beautiful story of love, loss, loneliness, and of course sci-fi! Put this on your radar because the art and the story aren’t one to be missed! Reviewed by Katlin Kerrison, Story on the Square in McDonough, Georgia |
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Decide for Yourself Books that appear on PEN America’s list of challenged books. |
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Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde Adult Nonfiction, African American & Black Studies, American, Banned Books, Ethnic Studies, Feminism & Feminist Theory, Lesbian Studies, LGBTQ+ Studies, Social Science Essential reading for all humans — insightful, brilliant, and emotive writing from Audre Lorde. Reviewed by RC Collman, Flyleaf Books 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 “Of course anyone who truly loves books buys more of them than he or she can hope to read in one fleeting lifetime. A good book, resting unopened in its slot on a shelf, full of majestic potentiality, is the most comforting sort of intellectual wallpaper.” |
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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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