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The week of September 3, 2024 Read This Next!: What Booksellers Want Everyone to Read  Last week SBR looked at some of the forthcoming children’s and young adult books that booksellers were really excited about. This week is a list of their favorites for grown ups. Mind-bending stories and unnerving narratives weave through the books on the September Read This Next! list. "Vivid," "beautiful," but also "mysterious," "mesmerizing," and "ravenous." As one bookseller says, "Get lost in these stories. I hope you make it back." The Examiner by Janice Hallett After reading The Examiner, you will never complain about having to work on a group project again. A multitextual mystery, narrated through text messages, emails, class notes, and additional forms of media, the book’s puzzle-like nature, witty dialogue, and impressive intrigue combine to create a ravenous read. – Catherine Pabalate, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina | BUY Good Night, Sleep Tight by Brian Evenson This is the power of Evenson’s stories: not that he merely tells you about the squishy places in the membrane between our world and worlds beyond, but that he plants within your mind the certainty—which all children feel but adults tend to doubt—that you have already fallen through. Get lost in these stories. I hope you make it back. – Charlie Monroe, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina | BUY A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez, Megan McDowell (trans.) Mariana Enriquez is the best short story writer in all of modern horror. Her stories are clever, heartbreakingly honest, disgustingly horrific, and often darkly humorous. Take it from someone who got the cover of Our Share of Night tattooed on their body – this woman knows horror. – Adam Fall, Underbrush Books in Rogers, Arkansas | BUY The Lantern of Lost Memories by Sanaka Hiiragi Pick this one up and start reading. You won’t want to stop until you have turned the last page, and then you just might want to turn to page one and start reading it all over again. Sanaka Hiiragi has created a magical photo studio that is sure to warm your heart and make you ponder the pivotal moments in your own life. – Angela Redden, Reading Rock Books in Dickson, Tennessee | Buy The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi by Wright Thompson This incredible book connects hundreds of dots, centering the murder of Emmett Till in a stream of events, characters and circumstances going all the way back into prehistory. Vivid storytelling, thorough research and interviews, beautiful prose, insights and turns of phrase that I wanted to share with whoever was nearby. – Amanda Grell, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas | BUY 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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Medusa of the Roses by Navid Sinaki Adult Fiction, Literary Medusa of the Roses is propulsive, unrelenting queer noir. The story follows Anjir, a morbid romantic and petty thief, as he scours modern-day Tehran for his missing boyfriend, all the while undergoing a gender transition with the hopes of reforming their relationship in accordance with Iranian law regarding homosexuality. Steeped in Greek and Persian myth, Medusa of the Roses is at turns gritty and beatific, unpacking the grime and gore and beauty of modern love. Reviewed by Charlie Marks, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia |
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The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir Adult Fiction, Horror A fast-paced and terrifying tale of a woman who loses control over her body. Is her uncontrollable sleepwalking caused by an undiagnosed medical problem? A mental illness left untreated? The ghost of her drowned sister? Read it and find out. Reviewed by Joshua Lambie, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: The Pairing by Casey McQuiston  I wrote The Pairing to be a bit of every decadent thing. I wanted it to overflow with flavors and pleasures and lush details, to make the reader feel like the two characters at its center, Theo and Kit. They’ve found each other again, four years after their breakup, accidentally booked on the same sumptuous, sensual three-week European food-and-wine tour. Hopefully, if I’ve done my job right, you’ll find yourself just as lost in it as they are. This is a love story about things that taste better together. Food and drink, art and sex, gender and transformation, laughing and crying, pleasure and need, European travel and bisexuals, falling apart and coming back together. It’s about maximalism, about soul mates who needed time apart to grow into the perfect partners for each other. It’s quite a bit about being slutty abroad. And I had the time of my life drowning myself in cookbooks, art history lessons, and French poetry so I could write it. What booksellers are saying about The Pairing 
Casey McQuiston is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of romantic comedies, including One Last Stop, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, and Red, White & Royal Blue, whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Bon Appetit. Born and raised in southern Louisiana, Casey now lives in New York City with a poodle mix named Pepper. |
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The Examiner by Janice Hallett Adult Fiction, Crime, Thrillers  A September Read This Next! Title After reading The Examiner, you will never complain about having to work on a group project again. The Examiner is a multitextual mystery narrated through text messages, emails, class notes, and additional forms of media. The story follows a six-person cohort through their fine arts Master’s program, where tensions grow high after something sinister occurs during a class trip. Each character within the program is vivid and highly complex, and the conflicts between them are masterfully crafted. Despite its page count, I consumed this book in less than a day; the book’s puzzle-like nature, witty dialogue, and impressive intrigue combine to create a ravenous read. Reviewed by Catherine Pabalate, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
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Goth Parenting by Casey Gilly Adult Nonfiction, Celebrity & Popular Culture, Family & Relationships, Humor, Marriage & Family, Parenting This book was HILARIOUS. Loved the concept, the drawings, and overall the humor. This should be the only parenting book used from now on. Also, a bonus point for making me shed an actual tear at the end with how sweet it was. I’m not a parent, but this was still very enjoyable. Reviewed by Stephanie St. John, E. Shaver, bookseller in Savannah, Georgia |
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Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma Vampires, Young Adult Fiction Twilight had it wrong. Vampires don’t sparkle. Kidan says they lure you with their dark gaze and plump lips until they can taste you. To her, they’re pure evil, and all evil must be purged. When a vampire takes her sister, Kidan vows to do anything to get her back, even if she must become the monster she hates. With enemies-to-lovers, secret societies, and African lore, Immortal Dark is a debut you won’t forget. Reviewed by Raegyn Oliver, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee |
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The Sherlock Society by James Ponti Children, Juvenile Fiction, Mysteries & Detective Stories A September/October Read This Next! Kids Title How much trouble can four tweens and a senior citizen get into in a summer? A lot, as readers discover in The Sherlock Society! It turns out that investigating Al Capone and contemporary thieves does come with some risks…. Luckily, Alex, Zoe, Yadi, and Lina are good sleuths and Alex and Zoe’s grandfather has a lot of connections! A fun romp through puzzles, riddles, and history. For fans of Chasing Vermeer, Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library, and Hoot. Reviewed by Monie Henderson, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi |
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Lunar Boy by Jes and Cin Wibowo Children, Comics & Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Juvenile Fiction This story is truly out of this world! It imagines a future where there are civilizations both on Earth or “New Earth” as well as space stations. At its core, this is a story of belonging and finding your place, and IF there is a place for you? These things are hard for Indu because he is 1) from the moon and 2) he’s transgender. This story is a slow burn and has you rooting for all the characters! Themes of love, learning, family and courage. Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, 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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Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera Banned Books, Coming of Age, LGBTQ+, Romance, Young Adult Fiction Juliet is Puerto Rican, lesbian, and mostly just trying to figure herself out. She hopes that an internship with Harlowe Brisbane, renowned feminist author, will help. In a new city, all the way across the country from everything and everyone she knows, Juliet has a chance to learn about herself. Her inner thoughts are snarky and amusing, but also honest and relatable. Juliet Takes a Breath is a wonderful coming-of-age story for the modern era. Reviewed by Wendy, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
    [ See the full list ] |
Parting Thought “To feel most beautifully alive means to be reading something beautiful, ready always to apprehend in the flow of language the sudden flash of poetry.” |
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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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