Current Newsletter: Super-short Reviews!

Bookstores with reviews in this week's newsletter:

• Jennifer Courtney-Bartel, Malaprop’s in Asheville, North Carolina
• Jamie Fiocco, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• Adah Fitzgerald, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina
• Kelley Dykes, Main Street Reads in Summerville, South Carolina
• Stephanie St. John, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia
• Seth Tucker, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky
• Caitlyn Vanorder, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• Rachel Brewer, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky
• Amanda Grell, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas
• Andrea Richardson, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia
• Meagan Smith, Righton Books in St Simons Island, Georgia
• Kassie Weeks, Oxford Exchange in Tampa, Florida
• Suzanne Carnes, Underground Book in Carrollton, Georgia
• Brianna Lloyd, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia
• Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser in Marietta, Georgia
• Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina
• Lana Repic, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia
• Ginger Kautz, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina

Book Buzz Feature: Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman
To be honest, every book [I write] has different origins. I remember reading a lot about recruitment videos for Al Qaeda. TikTok and Facebook were being used as recruitment tools for terrorist cells. It was rare, but there was a lot of pearl-clutching when some young suburban white woman was radicalized. To me, that was so fascinating, because on some level, regardless of where these radicalizations came from, there was always a moment where the common refrain from family members was that they weren’t like themselves anymore. They were possessed. It’s like a sinkhole. It’s easy for an outside observer to see it, but if you’re caught in that rabbit hole, it’s terrifying, because you’re just not aware of it.

It makes me think “what’s going to be MY rabbit hole?”

― Clay McLeod Chapman, Interview, Macabre Daily

Decide For Yourself Banned Book Feature:
Iron Widow (Book 1) by Xiran Jay Zhao
In a world where the remains of civilization are menaced by enormous, spirit-powered monsters, boys with large spirit-force can become the pilots of the Chrysalises, giant machines that provide humanity’s only defense and the hope to retake the lost provinces. Girls with strong spirit-force can become concubine pilots: the second pilot necessary to power up the Chrysalises, but destined to be used up and die in battle. Wu Zetian’s older sister was sent to be a concubine pilot but when she died outside of battle no pay-out was given to the family. Now the family is sending Wu Zetian, but she’s not planning to go out by herself: she’s going to kill the pilot responsible for her sister’s death first. As Wu Zetian maneuvers through the machinations behind the scenes in both the military and the civilian media, she questions all the country’s received knowledge about the strength and value of women relative to men – and aims herself at a bigger opponent than one single pilot.
― Ginger Kautz, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina

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