Read This Next! February Titles
RTNX Bookseller Resources:
Edelweiss Collection | Flyer | Flyer Graphic
What SIBA Booksellers have to say:
And Now, Back to You by B.K. Borison
A lovely book about learning to trust yourself even when you're told not to. I couldn't help but believe in the relationship and root for them, and I really appreciated that no part of this book could have been solved with one simple adult conversation. Mostly because they were having adult conversations the whole time.
–Jess, Kiss and Tale Romance Bookshop in Atlanta, Georgia
Brawler: Stories by Lauren Groff
If we can't add a new subgenre JUST for Lauren Groff's signature style -- lushly grim and invigoratingly desolate -- maybe I'd best acknowledge the teeny new chamber in my book lovin' heart that Matrix, The Vaster Wilds, and now Brawler have come to inhabit. I didn't think I could handle bleak, but in her capable hands? "Under the Wave" is the best short story I've ever read. Within two paragraphs of beginning "The Wind" (and hence the collection), I was *there* and terrified. I haven't even read the last two stories yet. Stay tuned.
– Kat, Novel in Memphis, Tennessee
Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman
A chilling, darkly humorous, sci-fi thriller with a sharp real-world edge had me turning the pages nonstop. On the newly colonized planet New Sonora, farmer Oliver is fighting to protect his family’s land and legacy...With his fearless sister Lulu, clever farm robots, and a growing resistance, Oliver fights back against invaders who paid top dollar to hunt them; smart, tense, and uncomfortably relevant. I highly recommend!
– Sandra, Hills & Hamlets Bookshop in Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia
Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson
I’m honestly still processing. I went in knowing nothing about this part of history, and Sadeqa just… opened my eyes. This story will sit with you long after you’re done and even send you down a rabbit hole to further research this time in history...This is how you write historical fiction.
– Morgan, The Book Worm in Powder Springs, Georgia
Murder Bimbo by Rebecca Novack
Murder Bimbo gave me just what I needed - a messy, unreliable narrator, a political-ish point of view that's long on wit and style, and a Rashomon-style form that propelled the plot through to its final resting place (maybe?). Everyone is comparing it to Gone Girl, but I think it's more One Battle After Another if Perfidia was in charge. Hell yea, brother.
– Rachel, Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg, Florida
Current Read This Next! books and what SIBA booksellers have to say about them can always be found at The Southern Bookseller Review.
About Read This Next!
Based on our booksellers' conviction that you can never have too many good books, Read This Next! is a list of books coming out next month that booksellers are especially excited about. Read This Next! Kids is a bimonthly list of forthcoming Children's and Young Adult Books receiving Southern indie bookseller love. Each list includes resources for booksellers, including an Edelweiss collection, downloadable flyer, and sharable graphic. All the included books are featured in The Southern Bookseller Review newsletter, and promoted as "Weekend Reads" on SIBA's social media channels, along with the bookstore which wrote the review.