Current Newsletter: From book club to bookstore: Meet Underbrush Books.

Bookstores with reviews in this week's newsletter:

• Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina
• Laura Taylor, Oxford Exchange in Tampa, Florida
• Emma Aprile, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky
• Maggie Robe, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Kristin Kehl, Midtown Reader in Tallahassee, Florida
• Courtney Ulrich Smith, Underbrush Books in Rogers, Arkansas
• Pete Mock, McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina
• LeeAnna Callon, Blue Cypress Books in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Jude Burke-Lewis, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
• Sandra Pinkney, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia
• Jessica Nock, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina
• Jordan April, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Lucile Perkins-Wagel, Blinking Owl Books in Fort Myers, Florida

Book Buzz Feature: The Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagan
I think that was the scariest thing for me going into fiction was, I have relied my entire career on conversations, on reporting, to understand what made a person tick and what made them do the things they had done. And also to be able to collect the details that made a book. I think, because I had done that for 15 or 20 years, I was really worried that I would not have the skill set, or the muscles would have atrophied to be able to build a character out of whole cloth, rather than relying on observing someone else. So that was really scary for me.

But I realized that a lot of the observations one makes as a journalist, that skill set of being able to observe things and knowing which details are most interesting and relevant, serves you really well in fiction as well, because that is the same muscles. If I’m going to write a profile on somebody my job as a journalist is noticing the details and conveying the things that separate that person from the one next to them. And that is very similar to what you’re trying to do when you’re building a character. So in the end, I feel like this thing, I was really scared about because I “don’t build characters in non fiction,” it is a similar skill set that you are using, which is noticing the details that make a place and a person differentiated from just any place or person.
― Kate Fagan, Interview, Friendly City Books

Decide For Yourself Banned Book Feature:
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
McCurdy’s story is bold and heartbreaking and beautiful. Her journey is deeply distressing in the way that only true stories can be, and told in a voice that is raw, wry, and incredibly honest. Through this memoir, McCurdy tells us that we can find our way through the darkness, even if we stumble and fall and think we never ever can find a place of peace and wellness – and I am so thankful to her for it.
― Lucile Perkins-Wagel, Blinking Owl Books in Fort Myers, Florida

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