THE BOOKS YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE TALKING ABOUT

Submitted this week on Edelweiss+ using the "send to SIBA" option. Thanks to Avid Bookshop, Fiction Addiction, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, McIntyres Books, Page 158 Books, Square Books, The Story Shop, and Union Avenue Bookshop.

9780525521228 Clock Dance 7/10/2018
"Willa Drake isn't just a character in a book. She becomes a friend you root for, someone you'd like to hug."

9780316516204 The Wrong Heaven 7/17/2018
"unbelievably funny and charmingly bizarre."

9780316176637 Transcription 9/25/2018
"Kate Atkinson is a genius"

9780999193518 Bald Knobber 10/2/2018
" I've always been struck by the way he manages to capture modernity in all its awkward quietness."

9780062424242 The Other Side of Lost 8/7/2018
"A 'Wild' for a younger audience."

More bookseller reviews

If your store does not have an Edelweiss+ account and needs help setting one up, contact Linda-Marie

Bridging the Divide and the Open Discussion Project with Sarah Goddin and Chris Finan on Wed, 5/23, at 2PM via Zoom!
 
Join Sarah Goddin of Quail Ridge Books as she discusses her store’s success with their “Bridging the Divide” book club. The club's goal is to foster dialog and better understanding between people with different political viewpoints and to provide a safe space for civil discourse on controversial or divisive topics. Chris Finan of The National Coalition Against Censorship will discuss The Open Discussion Project, which seeks to create a new kind of reading group that will bring people of opposing views into dialogue about the issues that divide us. Booksellers will have an opportunity to ask questions of Sarah and Chris, to explore how this programming could serve their stores and communities. Please RSVP lindamarie@sibaweb.com to sign up to attend.

Sarah Goddin is general manager of Quail Ridge Books, a 9000 square foot store in Raleigh, NC. She has been a bookseller for 40 years, starting with Waldenbooks in 1978, then opening and running her own store, Wellington's Books, in Cary, for 10 years, finally landing at Quail Ridge Books in 1996. Sarah has served on various ABA committees such as  the Booksellers Advisory Council, Education and Abacus task forces, and as chair of the Spring 2017 Indies Introduce adult book selection committee.

Chris Finan is executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, an alliance of 56 national non-profits, including the American Booksellers Association.  He has defended the First Amendment rights of booksellers for many years and most recently led American Booksellers for Free Expression.  He is the author of From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act: A History of the Fight for Free Speech in America.  His new book is Drunks: An American History, which will be released in paperback on June 5. 

THE BOOKS YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE TALKING ABOUT

Submitted this week on Edelweiss+ using the "send to SIBA" option. Thanks to Avid Bookshop, Book No Further, Bookmarks, Bookmiser, The Country Bookshop, Fountain Bookstore, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, Page 158 Books, Parnassus Books, The Story Stop, and Union Avenue Bookshop.

9780802128256 Convenience Store Woman 6/12/2018
"The power of this novel is not in a sweeping landscape or journey, but in its intimacy, humor, and empathy with this very human, knowable woman."

9780062400734 Don't You Ever 7/3/2018
"Bishop walks readers through the surprise, the mystery, the joy and ultimately the heartbreak of finding and losing an all-but-unknown brother."

9780316392358 Calypso 5/29/2018
"Of course there are still times that I spit coffee all over myself because I made the mistake of drinking while reading."

9780062795250 What If It's Us 10/9/2018
"I grinned through reading most of this book. It's SO cute, but not in that super awful, sappy way...in a perfectly wonderful, hopeful, fantastic romantic way."

9780823440559 Dreamers 9/4/2018
"A story of a woman who had her life changed when she entered the public library for the first time. Beautiful, simple and brilliantly done"

9781524738235 Royals 5/1/2018
"I devoured this book in one day! The humor, romance and royal treatment was just what I needed to get my reading mojo back."

9780399574221 The Line That Held Us 8/14/2018
" From the first page to the last, the story will grip you and not let go like a Dwayne Brewer bear hug."

9781501192555 An Ocean of Minutes 7/10/2018
"I can't wait to hand this to our customers who want something just a tad off the beaten path."

9781501169038 The Map of Salt and Stars 5/1/2018
"A beautifully written look at what it means to come of age in the middle of a war, as well as the power of stories and how they shape us."

9780525520375 There There 6/5/2018
"I will be shoving this book into as many hands as I can."

More bookseller reviews

If your store does not have an Edelweiss+ account and need help setting one up, contact Linda-Marie

Welcome to SIBA’s Galleys & Giveaways—our alert of review copies and resources available to booksellers. To help you harvest a great crop of Southern literature, SIBA and participating publishers are giving away the galleys and other materials below to southern indie booksellers on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you are interested simply email the publisher to request a copy. Supplies are limited, so act quickly!

Liked what you read? Let everyone know!

• Nominatefor the next season of SIBA's Okra Picks!
• Nominatefor the next Southern Book Prize!
• Sendnicki@sibaweb.comyour review for the Lady Banks newsletter
• Submitto IndieNext
• Reviewon Edelweiss+ (be sure to click the "SIBA" option in the review box)

N.B. These are review copies only, and not for resale.

Eat. Sleep. Read. Southern.

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Kickflip Boys: A Memoir of Freedom, Rebellion, and the Chaos of Fatherhood, by Neal Thompson
Ecco / 5/15/18 / $27.99 / Hardcover / 9780062394347 

"Thompson captures the ache, fizz, yearning and frustration of being the father of adolescent boys." —Michael Chabon

"What a riveting, touching, and painful read!" —Maria Semple

"Fun, moving, raw, and relatable." —Tony Hawk

What makes a good father good, and what makes him feel like a fraud? Does less-is-more parenting inspire independence and strength, or does it encourage defiance and trouble? Kickflip Boys is the story of a father's struggle to understand his willful skateboarder sons, challengers of authority and convention, to accept his unconventional role as a vulnerable "skate dad," and to confront his fears that their out-of-bounds lifestyle will lead them too far afield.

With searing honesty, Neal Thompson traces his sons' progression through all the stages of skateboarding: splurging on skate shoes and boards, skipping classes and defying teachers, run-ins with security guards and cops, painting graffiti, drinking and smoking, and more. As the story veers from funny to treacherous and back, from skateparks to the streets, Thompson must confront his complicity and fallibility. He also reflects on his own adventures with skateboards, drugs, danger, and defiance. 

A "heartfelt and blunt" (Publishers Weekly) story of thrill-seeking teens, of hope and love, freedom and failure, Kickflip Boys reveals a sport and a community that have become a refuge for boys who resist mainstream expectations as they seek their own path. Ultimately, it's a deeply moving survival story of a loving modern American family, of acceptance, forgiveness, and letting go.

"I was immensely moved by Kickflip Boys ... a profoundly honest book and a true achievement." —Dani Shapiro

"The voice is brave, funny and fiercely honest." —Peter Heller 

To request a review copy: Martin.Wilson@harpercollins.com

Make your mark at #SIBA18!
A call for Bookstore Branded Bookmarks and Swag

The theme of this year's Discovery Show is "Mark Your Mark," with an emphasis on the many ways bookstores can brand themselves and become icons in their own communities and in the industry. To that end, SIBA is going to feature bookstore-branded merchandise in an exhibit at the show, and we'd like to incorporate your store-branded bookmarks into show materials.

So here's what we'd like to have from stores:

1) Store Bookmarks. These will be featured in the show directory in other show materials. Stores can provide either electronic files or actually send the printed bookmarks, or both. Electronic files should be sent to nicki@sibaweb.com. Any pdf or high resolution image format is fine. Print materials should be sent to:

Make Your Mark at SIBA
c/o Nicki Leone
718 Hughes Rd.
Hampstead, NC 28443

2) Store Swag. SIBA will have a display of store-branded merchandise in the Exhibit hall during the show, so now is the time to let your store shine. If you are interested in having your store swag featured contact Linda-Marie at lindamarie@sibaweb.com. Bookmarks, coffee mugs, tote bags, t-shirts, bags of coffee, buttons, magnets, aprons, tea towels. . .the sky's the limit.

THE BOOKS YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE TALKING ABOUT

Submitted this week on Edelweiss+ using the "send to SIBA" option. Thanks to Avid Bookshop, Bookmiser, Fiction Addiction, Fountain Bookstore, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, McIntyre's Books, Page & Palette, Quail Ridge Books, and The Story Shop.

9781635830187 The Girl and the Grove 5/8/2018
"the most heartwarming read of the year!"

9781594634925 The Art of Gathering 5/15/2018
"A fabulous and unusual take on the art of gathering -- whether for business or for purely social reasons."

9781492656623 Furyborn 5/22/2018
"full of my favorite kind of character- strong, stubborn, and super-flawed."

9780316392389 Calypso 5/29/2018
"Reading these new stories was like catching up with an old friend."

9780525521228 Clock Dance 7/10/2018
"readable comfort food that reminds us it is not only possible to make a new way in life, but it's never too late."

9781524733377 The Price You Pay 7/10/2018
"A smart, brash carnival ride with no brakes"

9781984822475 Instantly Southern 11/6/2018
"I can tell you I will be living off this book once it comes out. Delicious! "

More bookseller reviews

If your store does not have an Edelweiss+ account and need help setting one up, contact Linda-Marie

SIBA booksellers who attended Maribeth Pelly’s webinar “How to Prepare a Press Kit for your Store” are now working on creating or retooling their store press kits in advance of trips to Book Expo. Pelly, the event planner for Booktowne (NJ) and a professional marketing consultant,  live-critiqued eight press kits from small and large stores with different approaches to their events programming. Pelly noted SIBA-member stores tend to focus on their story and place in their community, which is very positive. However, she emphasized the importance of including an up-to-date grid, something lacking in most press kits critiqued, showing numbers for attendees, venue seating, and books sold at successful author events. Pelly’s Easy Press Kit Checklist and Press Kit Template are now available in SIBA’s Peer Brain Trust under “Working with Publishers.” Pelly’s next webinar with SIBA is How to Pitch Your Store to Publicists on Thursday, May 24 at 2PM. Attendees will learn how to have productive conversations with publishers at Book Expo’s Speed Dating, and to stay on publishers’ radar all year long. Please sign up to join us!

A recording of Pelly’s Press Kit webinar will be available soon. Booksellers who attended shared the following:

“It helped me de-clutter and focus on what is essential...It was very helpful to take notes and listen to her responses and critiques; her criticisms of all of the different press kits were the best part as she allowed her honest reactions and thought processes to come through rather than just leaving us to rely on her tip sheet...We're putting direct input from the webinar onto the page!” --John Cavalier, Owner of Cavalier House Books

“Having our newly minted press release critiqued by Maribeth was affirming. She thoroughly explained the rationale behind the advice she gave us for changes and helped me see how well we were and weren't communicating our strengths. Maribeth offers fresh eyes combined with real focus on the appropriate goals for each element of a press kit.” --Adah Fitzgerald, Owner of Main Street Books

“I enjoyed seeing what everyone else does and seeing the examples...I am planning on attending the next one and think it will be a great build on the previous material. I did make a quick reference numbers sheet which was something we were lacking. I have since shared with publicists and reps so hopefully will see some traction from that!”

--Jamie Rogers Southern, Operations Director of Bookmarks

“Avid definitely benefited from having our press kit reviewed by Maribeth. It was great to hear what we were doing right, and things we could improve upon. It was definitely worth my time to attend the webinar.” --Rachel Watkins, Communications Director of Avid Bookshop 

 

"The press kit webinar was so helpful. We learned so much and hope to implement what we learned very soon. The most helpful part was just being able to wrap our minds around what a press kit actually is, and what that consists of. The examples were phenomenal. Walking through what publishers look for and other things that give you a leg up when talking with publishers was an eye opener in the best way. We're still babies at this, so we really appreciate the time and effort y'all put in to this presentation." --Lauren Brown, Assistant Manager of The Story Shop

 

"I got a whole lot out of it.  I will be designing the [press kit] solely off what I have learned and it helped us out a whole lot.  I am so glad I got to be a part of it."--Jamille Christman, Marketing Director of of Eagle Eye Book Shop

 

 

 

OKRA PICKS NEWSLETTER

Sign up deadline is May 1

"Makes me want to read so many books you review. Better than Bookpage! Love my local bookseller!" -- a Midtown Reader customer on their Okra Picks Newsletter

Inspired by the success of the Shelf Awareness for Readers concept, the Okra Picks Newsletter is exactly what it sounds like -- a newsletter featuring the current season's Okra Picks, branded to your store and sent to your store's customers, with links back to your website for purchase.

See a sample here

Sign up here

THE BOOKS YOUR COLLEAGUES ARE TALKING ABOUT

Submitted this week on Edelweiss+ using the "send to SIBA" option. Thanks to Avid Bookshop, Books & Books, The Country Book Shop, Fiction Addiction, Fountain Bookstore, Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, Novel., Parnassus, Quail Ridge Books, and The Story Shop.

**Don't forget to sign up for the upcoming webinar on Edelweiss next week!:

B3! WEBINAR: GET YOUR EDELWEISS ON!

April 25 at 2PM: Getting your Staff on Edelweiss  with Jill Hendrix. Join Jill Hendrix of Fiction Addiction to learn how to use Edelweiss for reviews, requesting ARCs, author event proposals, etc., plus instruction on creating tags and filters to share with staff. Edelweiss is a wealth of information on the books your customers want.  And it is a wonderful way to get your store on the radar of many publishers.  Plus SIBA has her own share button where booksellers can let us know which books they love.  Earn B3! credit by attending the webinar and using Edelweiss to let us know about your fave titles.  RSVP with lindamarie@sibaweb.com.

 

9780374158378 The Electric Woman 5/1/2018
" Her memoir of her time on the road for a season as a performer in the last traveling sideshow is more than a documentary of a freak show. It is the story of a daughter coming to terms with the woman her mother was."

9780316556347 Circe 4/10/2018
"I think I now have a crush on Daedalus."

9780763693558 Alma and How She Got Her Name 4/10/2018
"a great introduction to family history or just a lovely way to dive into the deep stories behind everyday things ( like a child's name!)."

9780143133124 The Ruin 7/3/2018
"The complex plot, the seamless intertwining of stories and the dogged determination of Cormac to find the truth takes this superb crime novel on a great journey through Ireland, and on a roller coaster ride of suspense."

9781594634925 The Art of Gathering 5/15/2018
"This book is great for the business leader, the casual dinner party host, or the person who dreams of having deeper connections with the community around them."

9780525520139 Cherry 8/14/2018
" A sparse, unflinching look at war, addiction, crime, and desperation that -- impossibly -- also happens to be hopelessly romantic and caustically funny. "

9780735221314 A Terrible Country 7/10/2018
"part immersive travel guide, part cultural commentary (on both Russia and the US), and part coming of age/family novel with socialist revolutionaries and hockey. I loved it."

9780735231702 The Creature of the Pines 4/10/2018
"Constantly laughing out loud, with wonderful and colorful characters, it makes for a great read aloud. Pick it up as soon as you can, especially if you have elementary and middle grade boys!"

More bookseller reviews

If your store does not have an Edelweiss+ account and need help setting one up, contact Linda-Marie

Read This Next! Looking forward to a spring filled with great books!

With the onset of spring comes a whole new kind of recommended reading from Southern Indie Booksellers: Read This Next! Published seasonally, Read This Next! is a collection of new and forthcoming books that Southern Indie Booksellers are particularly excited about, representing the wide and varied range of indie bookseller tastes: Fiction, nonfiction, fantasy, free verse! 

Information and resources for for Booksellers

Read This Next online

Read This, Books with Street Cred

Shelf Talkers | Flyer

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Read These Next:

Tangerine by Christine Mangan
Ecco Press | 9780062686664 | April 2018

"Take nothing for granted in this debut that is more than the sum of its influences." — Olga Onal, Bookmiser, Marietta, GA

 

The Oracle Year by Charles Soule
Harper Perennial | 9780062686633 | April 2018

"A beautiful study on the interconnected nature of life on planet Earth and a thoughtful funny look at human foibles, especially those of the young." — Kelly Justice, Fountain Bookstore, Richmond, VA

 

 

The Perfume Burned His Eyes by Michael Imperioli
Akashic Books | 9781617756207 | April 2018

"If you walk away from having read this book without feeling the deepest of empathy for teenagers and your own teenage self, you're just a stone, man." — Kelly Justice, Fountain Bookstore, Richmond, VA

 

 

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
Saga Press | 9781481497497 | April 2018

"I found myself sending entire pages to my friends" — Amber Brown, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC

 

 

The Female Persuasion by Meg Wolitzer
Riverhead Books | 9781594488405 | April 2018

"I never could have anticipated this book, and now I can't imagine a world without it" — Megan Bell, Underground Books, Carrollton, GA

 

 

Not Here by Hieu Minh Nguyen
Coffee House Press | 9781566895095 | April 2018

". . . a brutally beautiful collection of poems that considers home, queerness, Vietnamese American identity, whiteness, trauma. It is imbued with a hungry wit, seeking belonging, seeking existence, seeking survival." — Elizabeth Willis, Avid Bookshop, Athens, GA

 

 

Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
Wednesday Books | 9781250168450 | April 2018

". . . above all, this is a novel about humanity and heart— and how it is in our nature, first, to love and accept our fellow man given only space and time." — Chrstina Russell, Books and Books, Coral Gables, FL

 

 

Love and Ruin by Paula McClain
Ballantine Books | 9781101967386 | May 2018

"This story captures the nuances of the relationship between Ernest Hemingway and his third wife, Martha Gellhorn . . . Beautifully written, we are given a intimate look at what brought them together and then what tore them apart." — Stephanie Crowe, Page and Palette, Fairhope, AL

 

 

The Map of Salt and Stars by Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar
Touchstone Books | 9781501169038 | May 2018

"There are parts that will make your heart stop and parts that will make it beat again." — Broche Fabian, Quail Ridge Books, Raleigh, NC

 

 

The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner
Scribner Book Company | 9781476756554 | May 2018
"Love the Kushner-esque devotion to grit, concrete, motors, and steely, sexy women."  — Melanie McNair, Malaprop's Bookstore/Café, Asheville, NC

 

 

 

Furyborn by Claire Legrand
Sourcebooks | 9781492656623 | May 2018

"Wow! Grabs you from the opening scene in the book. Twists, turns, characters, action, world building, cool magic system, suspense, friendship, romance, costumes, threats, you name it."— Erin O'Neil, Page 158 Books, Wake Forest, NC

 

 

How Hard Can It Be?  by Allison Pearson
St. Martin's Press | 9781250086082 | June 2018

"Her descriptions of her symptoms are hilarious, leaving me gasping with laughter, and at one point, "snort/laughing" wine through my nose."  — Damita Nocton, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, NC

 

 

The Cardboard Kingdom by Chad Sell
Alfred A. Knopf | 9781524719371 | June 2018

"My 8-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son fight over who gets to read this book every day." — Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction, Greenville, SC

 

 

There There by Tommy Orange
Knopf Publishing Group | 9780525520375 | June 2018

"A magnificent and thunderous debut - Tommy Orange has announced himself as a powerful new voice in American letters." — Steve Iwanski, Turnrow Books, Greenwood, MS

 

 

Who Is Vera Kelly? by Rosalie Knecht
Tin House Books | 9781947793019 | June 2018

"Finally, a female spy who's not a Mata Hari knock-off!" — Pete Mock, McIntyre's Books, Fearrington, NC

 

 

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Viking | 9780735223523 | June 2018

"The kind of book you make time for, the kind you cancel plans and turn your phone off for." — Tyler Goodson, Avid Bookshop, Athens, GA

 

 

Find more books to Read Next! at AuthorsRoundtheSouth.com/read-this