The Indie Next List, drawn from bookseller-recommended favorite handsells, epitomizes the heart and soul of passionate bookselling. Independent booksellers are and have always been discoverers of the next big thing, the next great read, the next bestseller, and the next undiscovered gem.
08/30/2010
Bitter in the Mouth
"The 'growing up in the south' story is a genre in itself, but in the hands of Monique Truong it is fresh and unique. To be sure, there are the required eccentric relatives, the best friend and the first love, but Linda has a few characteristics that make her a genuine outsider. First, she is Asian, and, second, she has a synesthesia that causes her to experience spoken words as a taste. It is a distracting and sometimes painful experience that she slowly learns to accept, but it always makes her feel different. Written in a way to allow the reader to understand the synesthesia -- some conversations are recorded with the accompanying tastes behind the words -- this book is both tender and laugh out loud funny." -- Ann Carlson, Harborwalk Books, Georgetown, SC
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08/31/2010
The Life You've Imagined
"Are you living the life you've imagined? This is a universal and timeless question that can be difficult to answer, but Riggle's second novel examines this particular inquiry with humor, insight, and empathy. The reader follows the paths of Cami, Anna, and Amy as they evaluate their relationships with family, friends, and significant others, their career choices, and their hopes and dreams for the future. This will make a great book club selection." -- Roni K Devlin, Literary Life Bookstore & More, Inc., Grand Rapids, MI
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07/31/2010
The Eden Hunter
"This is an astonishingly beautiful novel, with descriptions both poetic and powerful and an attentive, subtle rendering of many a human heart and mind. A little-known chapter of American history concerning runaway slaves in Florida is made viscerally palpable through Horack's telling. We follow the character of Kau, an African pygmy fleeing his bondage. Kau's long odyssey to a place where his heart can finally find peace makes for a gripping story." -- Marie du Vaure, Vroman's Bookstore, Pasadena, CA
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09/06/2010
The Wishing Trees
"Ian and his 10-year-old daughter Mattie set out on a memory tour of the Asian countries in which Ian and Kate, Ian's late wife and Mattie's mother, had met. Ian and Kate had planned to take this trip on their 15th anniversary. In her final days, Kate wrote a note to each of them for every country on their trip, and as Ian and Mattie open them, they discover her love and wishes for them. Mattie draws a picture in each country and ties it to a 'wishing tree' for Kate to 'see.' This is a sensitive and poignant family story." -- Sally Van Wert, MacDonald Book Shop, Estes Park, CO
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08/31/2010
Come Again No More
"In this second volume of a planned trilogy which began with Sun Going Down, Todd expertly captures a time in American history when two disasters occurred simultaneously: the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. The strained family relations and daily challenges of rural life reminded me of stories in my own family's history. While the story belongs to Eli and his granddaughter Emaline, some of the supporting characters are among the best I've ever read. I'm hooked on the Paint family, and anxiously await the next book." -- Bob Boyd, Steve's Books & Magazines, Tulsa, OK
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08/30/2010
Maybe This Time
"I loved this book! I thought it was the perfect blend of humor, romance, and ghost story -- an overall enjoyable read from cover to cover. It's the story of a woman who thought she knew what she wanted and who she was and then realized she really had no clue. And who doesn't love a happy ending?!" -- Michelle Burcky, Cover to Cover Bookstore, Arlington, TN
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09/06/2010
The Widower's Tale
"Julia Glass follows classic tradition, proving once again that family is the original source of comedy, tragedy, and frustration. Her newest novel is a meditation on love, both filial and romantic, and how hopelessly ridiculous we all become if we don't make the effort to temper our passions with reason or our actions with accountability." -- Emily Crowe, Odyssey Bookshop, South Hadley, MA
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09/06/2010
C
"Finishing this novel was like waking from a long curious dream. Serge Carrefax's family is wealthy, prolific, and eccentric, and Serge drifts through life as though viewing it from a great height. McCarthy's writing is both brilliantly inventive and, at the same time, familiarly classic." -- Grant Novak, The Vermont Book Shop, Middlebury, VT
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08/03/2010
Finders Keepers
"In Finders Keepers, Craig Childs examines the incredibly thorny issues of archaeology, looting, collecting, and the larger question: Who owns the past? With his trademark honesty and well-researched knowledge of the subject, Childs vividly shows us that there are no right answers and that moral ambiguity rules. Another brilliant and thought-provoking book from one of the West's greatest living writers." -- Joe Foster, Maria's Bookshop, Durango, CO
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08/31/2010
Young Michelangelo
"He was possibly the world's greatest artist, certainly its greatest sculptor, but John Spike gives us a nuanced human view of Michelangelo on his path to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The reader meets a man dealing with financial problems, family pressures, artistic feuds, all set within the turbulent world of the Medici, the Borgias, and Savonarola. This is Michelangelo of reality, not myth." -- Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books, Ann Arbor, MI
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