Current Newsletter: Celebrate Indie Spirit on Independent Bookstore Day (and Week)

Bookstores with reviews in this week's newsletter:

• Julia Lewis, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia
• Brent Bunnell, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina
• Doron Klemer, Octavia Books in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Claire McWhorter, River & Hill Books in Rome, Georgia
• Laura Cotten, Thank You Books in Birmingham, Alabama
• Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• Anna Taleysnik-Mehta, Old Town Books in Alexandria, Virginia
• Lisa Yee Swope, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
• Mikey LaFave, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia
• Rae Ann Parker, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee
• Julie Jarema, Hub City Bookshop in Spartanburg, South Carolina
• Catherine Pabalate, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
• Jonathan Hawpe, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky
• Emily Lessig, The Violet Fox Bookshop in Virginia Beach, Virginia

Book Buzz Feature: Ordinary Time by Annie B. Jones
It’s easy to root for people who make the same choices you do. I think the metaphor I use in the book is it’s harder to be the person standing on the shore when you thought you were going to be the person on the boat or on the plane. I thought I was going to be the leaver, and instead I had to be the one who threw the goodbye parties. And I’m grateful for that. It taught me some really important lessons about being happy for people, even when the choices they make are different from your own. And you really have to be content in your contentedness in order to root for and support the people who leave. And I do think it’s important that you do that, because the conclusion I have reached in my almost 40 years is we all will do both. We are not all going to stay all the time and we’re not all going to leave all the time. It’s both. And so, I currently sit in a seat of staying, but I also have left beloved institutions. I have left relationships. And so, that’s the other side is, I hope I’m learning lessons from my friends who have left. They have something to teach me too.

―  Annie B. Jones, Interview, Emily Freeman | The Next Right Thing Podcast

Decide For Yourself Banned Book Feature:
Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
Gender Queer is Maia Kobabe’s autobiography about eir journey to identifying as nonbinary and asexual, and coming out to eir family and society. I devoured this book in one sitting. Usually, I struggle with graphic novels because my brain has a hard time processing images and words at the same time, but this was so seamless and gorgeously put together that I flew through it with no trouble at all! I laughed, I teared up, and most of all, I learned. As a heterosexual, cis-gender person, I can never fully understand what it’s like to identify as anyone else. But Kobabe’s memoir is so honest and vulnerable that I feel I’ve come that much closer to understanding. Gender Queer deals with so many issues that every young person goes through in life, no matter how they identify. Things like dealing with body hair that shows up during puberty, figuring out who you are and what you want in your friendships and relationships, how to say no in uncomfortable situations, self-acceptance, and how to express yourself. But it also deals with topics that we need to talk about more – like gender dysphoria, coming out, and using proper pronouns. It’s an essential read for everyone – whether you’re looking for beautiful representation or a path to learn more about our nonbinary and asexual friends. Gender Queer is an award-winning book for a reason! I can’t recommend this book highly enough..
―Emily Lessig, The Violet Fox Bookshop in Virginia Beach, Virginia

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