March 2023 Celebrating Women’s Voices 
In honor of Women’s History Month, this special edition of The Southern Bookseller Review celebrates the lives and words of women. “In a world that wants women to whisper, I choose to yell.” -Luvvie Ajayi |
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Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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Love at Six Thousand Degrees by Maki Kashimada Adult Fiction, Family Life, Fiction, Japan, Literary Fiction, Psychological, World Literature If there’s one thing you should know about me – it’s that I adore a book about an unhappy housewife, not because I like seeing women unhappy, but because I love to support women fighting wrongs. Seeing how a woman reclaims her space, life, and situation – even if she goes about it in questionable ways, is a ride I want to be on. Kashimada’s novel is a prime example of all these elements, with the perfect blend of sparse, deeply impactful prose that explore themes of religion, tragedy, identity, and isolation. Reviewed by Elizabeth Findley, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
"This is a book where if you read it, by the end, you’ll know what happened. But not everything is tied up in a neat bow. My job is not to give answers. My job is to ask questions. My job is to, in fact, take the questions that I already have and to complicate those even for myself. I should be confusing myself greatly as I write. I should be banging my head on the wall. I shouldn’t be coming in already knowing what I want to say." ―Rebecca Makkai, Interview, NPR What booksellers are saying about I Have Some Questions for You 
About Rebecca Makkai Rebecca Makkai is the author of the novels I Have Some Questions for You, The Great Believers, The Hundred-Year House, and The Borrower, and the story collection Music for Wartime. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, The Great Believers received an American Library Association Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, among other honors, and was named one of the Ten Best Books of 2018 by The New York Times. A 202 Guggenheim fellow, Makkai is on the MFA faculties of the University of Nevada, Reno at Lake Tahoe and Northwestern University, and is the artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago. She lives on the campus of the midwestern boarding school where her husband teaches, and in Vermont. |
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The New Guys by Meredith Bagby Adult Nonfiction, History, Women An incredible book that includes exclusive interviews with former astronauts and new pictures from NASA’s archive! More importantly, Meredith Bagby tells the story of the first class of space shuttle astronauts incredibly compellingly; this book is accessible and distills an amazing amount of historical and scientific information into a highly readable narrative. It includes in-depth coverage of the Challenger disaster, which makes for difficult but worthwhile reading. Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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Lone Women by Victor LaValle Adult Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Horror, Literary Fiction Lavalle’s surprising and singular horror/western will appeal to lit fic and genre readers alike with its peculiar and anachronistic, but captivating voice, and its unique wasteland of a setting. It delivers both blood and monsters (human and inhuman) and an affecting exploration of trauma and guilt. This is one that’ll stick with you. Reviewed by Carroll Gelderman, Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans, Louisiana |
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Your Driver Is Waiting by Priya Guns Adult Fiction, Black Humor, City Life, Fiction, Humorous, LGBTQ+ This book is a masterpiece!!!!! Where to begin?! From the very first page, the narrator captivates the reader’s attention and affections. She is incredibly passionate and strong, while perfecting a gritty, humorous commentary that was absolutely intoxicating. The story itself shared a vital perspective- specifically that of a queer, Sri Lankan woman. Her story highlighted the perilous, and at times, violent nature of performative activism without the presence of active, internalized antiracism practices. It was truly an enthralling novel. Priya Guns is an incredibly talented author and I cannot wait to read their other novel(s) and rave about them! Reviewed by Finn Fletcher, E. Shaver, Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia |
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All Rise: The Story of Ketanji Brown Jackson by Carole Boston Weatherford Biography & Autobiography, Children, Cultural, Ethnic & Regional, Juvenile Nonfiction, Political, Women A beautiful new picture book from the perennial bestseller, Carole Boston Weatherford. An important and necessary addition to libraries and history books everywhere about the nation’s first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Reviewed by Jamie Southern, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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Parting Thought “I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.” |
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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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