The Southern Bookseller Review: Soil. River. Flight.
May 2023 Soil, River, Flight. 
This month’s special edition of The Southern Bookseller Review is is dedicated to stories of our relationship to nature and the environment, and to all the wondrous beings that surround us. “He understood for the first time that the world is not dumb at all, but merely waiting for someone to speak to it in a language it understands.” -Susanna Clarke |
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Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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Soil : The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille T. Dungy Adult Nonfiction, African American & Black, Ecosystems & Habitats, Nature Observed with a poet’s eye, deeply concerned with social justice, history, community, and the natural world, Camille Dungy’s Soil recounts the process of creating a pollinator garden in her Colorado yard, circling around her history and the history of the plants, animals and politics of the West. “I dig up a lot of awful history when I kneel in my garden,” she writes. “But, my god, a lot of beauty grows out of this soil as well.” This is a smart, beautiful, wide-ranging book that will draw you in and change how you look at the world around you. Reviewed by Robin Wood, Books & Books @ The Studios in Key West, Florida |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Spotlight on: George, A Magpie Memoir by Frieda Hughes
I had this huge bird-shaped hole in my life. I had my painting and my poetry, but my third marriage was crumbling and all the attention I had paid to George really had nowhere else to go. I also had this vast aviary I had built, so I set about determinedly trying to find occupants for it. You can go and buy a bird but that wasn’t what I wanted to do. The birds had to be unwanted and they had to need care – birds that could not otherwise fly free. ―Frieda Hughes, Interview, The Guardian What booksellers are saying about George, A Magpie Memoir 
About Frieda Hughes Born in London in 1960, Frieda Hughes, the daughter of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath, is an established painter and poet. She has written several children’s books, eight collections of poetry, articles for magazines and newspapers, and was The Times (London) poetry columnist. As a painter, Frieda regularly exhibits in London and has a permanent exhibition at her private gallery in Wales, where she resides with fourteen owls, two rescue huskies, an ancient Maltese terrier, five chinchillas, a ferret called Socks, a royal python, and her motorbikes. |
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Brave the Wild River by Melissa L. Sevigny Adult Nonfiction, Biography & Autobiography, Women What kind of scientist risks the little known rapids of a raging river to document plant life? The first scientists to boat down the Grand Canyon were no daredevils but two intrepid and determined women. Still their tale is full enough of drama and a motley crew of characters to make a great read. More than just a quirky bit of environmental history, their work still resonates today. Sevigny brilliantly captures their experiences as well as the political and social history of the Colorado River. A great read for anyone interested in women in science, natural history, or the American West Reviewed by Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina |
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The Nature Book by Tom Comitta Adaptations & Pastiche, Adult Fiction, Classics, Fiction, Literary, Nature & the Environment A deftly experimental book that seeks to portray a world sans humans, Nature Book borrows from a history of rich, descriptive prose to reconstruct the cycles of days, seasons, and migrations as they continue quiet and unobserved, separate from human society. And yet, human description and literary convention make up the entirety of this story! This beautifully avant garde novel from an organic and unfettered nonbinary perspective is an awe-inducing teleportation into a beautiful cosmos and a rapidly changing climate as captured throughout the history of literature. Great for reading piecemeal or overwhelmingly all at once. Reviewed by Amanda Depperschmidt, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia |
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At the Edge of the Woods by Kathryn Bromwich Adult Fiction, Domestic, Family Life, Feminist, Fiction, Gothic, Historical, Horror, Italy, Literary, Marriage & Divorce, Nature The Environment, Small Town & Rural, Thrillers, World Literature Out of necessity, Laura has chosen to live a simpler, yet, courageous life in a secluded, rustic cabin in the woods on the outskirts of an Italian village. Necessity turns into a reorganization of priorities, which I wholly admire, as Laura shares her thoughts with the reader on living with nature, interacting with others, and what it means to survive. Beautiful. Reviewed by Jill Naylor, Novel. in Memphis, Tennessee |
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The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers Action & Adventure, Animals, Children, Dogs, Friendship, Juvenile Fiction This is the story of Johannes, a wild dog who lives in the park. He runs his round because he is the Eyes for the keeper of the Equilibrium. He decides one day to gain a greater purpose and free his friends the bison. Though for children, I think this story would be enjoyed by anyone who has ever run and felt faster than the sun. Johannes is absolutely endearing, arrogant, feral, and free. Above all else, he’s free and wonderful. I found myself elated with every triumph and breathless with every close call. I loved it and was in tears by the beauty of the writing at the end. I absolutely cannot wait to recommend this to everyone I know. "To be alive is to go forth. So we go forth." Don’t let Johannes slip by you! He’s faster than light, so it might be hard. Reviewed by Katlin Kerrison, Story On the Square in McDonough, Georgia |
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Parting Thought “She read books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live” |
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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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