The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Science & Technology

Racebook by Tochi Onyebuchi

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Racebook by Tochi Onyebuchi
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I’m SMASHING that “like” button on Racebook, Onyebuchi’s foray into essay collection, all centered around the hot button topic of the internet. Onyebuchi talks about Xbox live chats, the edgy-older-siblingness of Sonic the Hedgehog (sorry y’all; my allegiance lies with Shadow), and Facebook content moderation, all to the end of deciphering just what role the internet plays in the last thirty years of cultural history. Most striking about this collection is the refreshing way that Onyebuchi does not unilaterally dismiss the internet, instead acknowledging the good that the web has offered us. I love essay collections that don’t have easy answers, and this one sure doesn’t have one, but it left me thinking deeply about my own interfacing between my “self” and my “internet self” in a way that has shaped my fall already. If you, too, have distinct memories of choosing the perfect MCR lyric for your AIM away message, or teaching yourself HTML to code a glittery monstrosity of a Geocities, Neopets, or Myspace page, this collection will speak to your soul. And even if you don’t have those nostalgia glasses, still take a dip – I promise you’ll find something new here anyway.

Racebook by Tochi Onyebuchi, (List Price: $27, Roxane Gay Books, 9780802166258, October 2025)

Reviewed by Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

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Sharks Don’t Sink by Jasmin Graham

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Sharks Don't Sink by Jasmin Graham
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Such an entertaining and important memoir. Not only does Jasmin pack the book with super interesting shark facts, she also talks about important issues – racism, sexism, workplace and educational abuse, marine conservation, and mental health. The ways in which she describes her experiences (good and bad) and how they sometimes relate to sharks, is so poetic.

Sharks Don’t Sink by Jasmin Graham, (List Price: $18, Vintage, 9780593685273, July 2025)

Reviewed by Stephanie StJohn, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
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I read this book years ago and still think about it all the time. For years, no one in the medical community cared where HeLa cells came from. I find it fascinating that one person (Skloot) being curious enough and determined enough can lead to such a powerful story being uncovered. Henrietta Lacks’s story matters.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, (List Price: $18.99, Crown, 9781400052189, March 2011)

Reviewed by Krista Roach, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

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Sharks Don’t Sink by Jasmin Graham

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Sharks Don't Sink by Jasmin Graham
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Jasmin Graham’s story is one of hardship, struggle, triumph, and most importantly, power. Each chapter introduced a new notion. A new understanding. A new feeling. And after finishing this book, I was left with such hope that I couldn’t help but smile. The energy Graham brings to her field of shark science is something that traditional academia has been sorely lacking. And they will continue to miss out on this Rogue Scientist as she stands in defiance of the status quo.

Sharks Don’t Sink by Jasmin Graham, (List Price: $28, Pantheon, 9780593685259, July 2024)

Reviewed by Jamie Kovacs, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Sharks Don’t Sink by Jasmin Graham

, , ,
Sharks Don't Sink by Jasmin Graham
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Such an entertaining and important memoir. Not only does Jasmin pack the book with super interesting shark facts, she also talks about important issues – racism, sexism, workplace and educational abuse, marine conservation, and mental health. The ways in which she describes her experiences (good and bad) and how they sometimes relate to sharks, is so poetic.

Sharks Don’t Sink by Jasmin Graham, (List Price: $28, Pantheon, 9780593685259, July 2024)

Reviewed by Stephanie St. John, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

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The Elements of Marie Curie by Dava Sobel

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The Elements of Marie Curie by Dava Sobel
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The Elements of Marie Curie is one of the best biographies I’ve ever read. It’s not just a deeply personal look at Curie’s life. By tying the elements that were part of her work to her family and staff, we’re introduced to the many women she supported in the sciences, especially her daughter. Radium’s dangers have made it lose its allure. But publicizing Curie’s fostering of women in the lab will give her reputation a renewed glow.

The Elements of Marie Curie by Dava Sobel, (List Price: $30, Atlantic Monthly Press, 9780802163820, 2024-10-08)

Reviewed by Rosemary Pugliese, Malaprop’s in Asheville, North Carolina

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Spotlight On: Sharks Don’t Sink by Jasmin Graham

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Jasmin Graham, photo credit Sonia Szczesna

My family spent a lot of time in the waters of Myrtle Beach. I loved science, and was curious about the ocean beyond a food source, and I would ask my family questions that they couldn’t always answer. So my parents sent me to MarineQuest, a five-day, sleep-away science camp. Once I realized that I could do this as a career—get paid to play in the ocean with fish everyday—I applied to all the marine biology schools.

― Jasmin Graham, Interview, Sarasota Magazine

Sharks Don't Sink by Jasmin Graham

What booksellers are saying about Sharks Don’t Sink

  • A cautionary tale with a sense of hope, Graham’s memoir details her struggles with academia and her successes as a mentor to a new generation of scientists. Her stories of the pressures of being black and female in a male dominated field echo those of other recent memoirs. Her response was to co-found an advocacy group and create learning opportunities. Told with humor and clarity, this is a good addition to women in science shelves.
      ― Jan Blodgett, Main Street Books, Davidson, North Carolina | BUY

  • Jasmin Graham’s story is one of hardship, struggle, triumph, and most importantly, power. Each chapter introduced a new notion. A new understanding. A new feeling. And after finishing this book, I was left with such hope that I couldn’t help but smile. The energy Graham brings to her field of shark science is something that traditional academia has been sorely lacking. And they will continue to miss out on this Rogue Scientist as she stands in defiance of the status quo.
      ― Jamie Kovacs, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, North Carolina | BUY

  • A fascinating and relatable memoir about life as a shark scientist. Really great at making the science accessible and connecting her life story to the work.
      ― Nicole Tortoriello, Old Town Books, Alexandria, Virginia | BUY

About Jasmin Graham

Jasmin Graham is a marine biologist in the field of elasmobranch ecology and evolution, currently specializing in smalltooth sawfish and hammerhead sharks. She is the co-founder of Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS), an organization providing support for women of color in the field of shark biology and ecology, in order to foster greater diversity in marine science. She is a recipient of the WWF Conservation Leadership Award, the Safina Launchpad Center Fellowship, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

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Sharks Don’t Sink by Jasmin Graham

, ,
Sharks Don't Sink by Jasmin Graham
buy this book

Buy from your local indie.
Get the audiobook

Jasmin Graham’s story is one of hardship, struggle, triumph, and, most importantly, power. Each chapter introduced a new notion. A new understanding. A new feeling. And after finishing this book, I was left with such hope that I couldn’t help but smile. The energy Graham brings to her field of shark science is something that traditional academia has been sorely lacking. And they will continue to miss out on this Rogue Scientist as she stands in defiance of the status quo.

Sharks Don’t Sink by Jasmin Graham, (List Price: $28, Pantheon, 9780593685259, July 2024)

Reviewed by Jamie Kovacs, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Sharks Don’t Sink by Jasmin Graham Read More »

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