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Enjoy these four must-read books from our friends at Bookish, Fort Smith, Arkansas’s only independently-owned bookstore. Shop hours: Monday 11am-4pm, Tuesday - Friday 10am-6pm and Saturday 10am-4pm. Need curbside delivery? Call 479.434.2917 or email orders@bookishfs.com.
The Wife Upstairs
Valentine
March Recommendations courtesy Sara Putman, Bookish
by Rachel Hawkins
Fat Chance, Charlie Vega
This retelling of Jane Eyre is told through the eyes of Bea, Jane, and of course, Eddie Rochester. Hawkins replaces the Victorian mansion with an upscale neighborhood outside of Birmingham, and Jane finds herself at the mercy of Bea’s handsome widower. Little does she know that the secrets kept by privileged society go above and beyond what the rest of us could imagine. Twisty and southern, Hawkins pays tribute to one of the weirdest love stories in classic literature with wit and sass.
Charlie Vega is a lot of things. Smar t. Funny. Ar tistic. Ambitious. Fat. Charlie is awkward, over thinking and tries to do her best to love herself. She's confident in her writing skills but second guesses every interaction with potential boyfriends. She tries to follow the body loving movement but struggles with her mom's projection of the "right weight." The characters are well-rounded and the story moves along without meaningless or unrealistic drama. It’s good fun for anyone who enjoys YA!
by Crystal Maldonado
by Elizabeth Wetmore
The New Rules of Aging Well
This isn’t the first time I’ve recommended this book, and it won’t be the last. Set in Odessa, Texas in the 1970s, it opens with the brutal assault of a young Mexican girl. What ensues is a tapestry of weathered but wonderful female characters who choose to suppor t one another, protect each other, and find solace in the hardness of their lives. Wetmore’s use of storytelling to connect these women to our current world is nothing shor t of genius. Valentine was one of our favorite books of 2020 and now it is out in paperback.
While it doesn’t necessarily offer new information, Lipman and Claro do a wonderful job explaining the science and the “why” behind it; furthermore, they help reframe the act of aging so that we can think about it more positively. For instance, aging is a luxury, and it’s important to recognize all the ways our bodies serve us. What can we do to help our bodies be the best they can be? Food, exercise, lifestyle, and mindset are all covered in this concise but important read for anyone over the age of forty.
DOSOUTHMAGAZINE.COM
by Danielle Claro & Frank Lipman
