On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now.

Poet and performance artist Andrea Gibson gained social media fame in recent years with their fierce and vulnerable spoken word videos.

Kara Balcerzak, owner of Bonfire Bookstore & Yarnery in Woodstock, Virginia, first encountered Gibson’s poetry when they were the opening act at an indie music concert and held a large audience spellbound with their words. Gibson died in July at age 49 of ovarian cancer.

Balcerzak recommends watching Gibson’s videos and reading their poetry collections, which she says also stand alone on the page.

She particularly recommends Gibson’s most recent book, “You Better Be Lightning,” published in 2021, which she calls an “ode to beauty.”

Balcerzak, who lived in the Twin Cities for 13 years and earned an MFA in creative writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato, before opening her Virginia bookstore, describes the collection:

“The book does tackle some really tough themes, like depression, abuse, chronic illness, the struggles of LGBTQ people and suicide. But I feel like saying that gives a wrong impression for the book, because it is actually filled with so much love and wonder and awe and joy.

“The speaker in this book goes on this journey from being depressed to falling in love with life, from being closed off to people and to the beauty around them, to being vulnerable, and they invite readers to go along on that journey with them. And there are also surprising moments of humor that literally made me laugh out loud.

“I would recommend this book to anyone who's ever struggled with depression. But beyond that, I think this is a book that I would give to anyone who could use a little infusion of beauty and love and optimism in their life. And I would argue that that's all of us.”

On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now.

PJ Moon of The Raven Bookstore in Lawrence, Kan., recommends a summer read with elements that will appeal to both adults and children.

“Bat Kid” is a recently republished classic manga by Inoue Kazuo, translated by Ryan Holmberg. This is a two-parter: the full 1940’s Japanese manga about a kid who wants to play baseball, followed by an essay by Holmberg that delves into the history of baseball in Japan, and more.

Moon calls “Bat Kid” a classic baseball manga, about a boy who’s new to the sport, whose parents would rather have him home studying. Its drawing style will remind American audiences of older comic strips, like Dennis the Menace.

“What’s really cool about this book in particular is the cartoonist Inoue Kazuo — he would pencil a lot of puzzles, and some of those are in here as well, like crosswords, riddles and brain teasers,” said Moon.

The essay, meanwhile, goes into depth about baseball in Japan during and immediately after WWII, as well as a history of children’s manga at that time.

“It’s such a vibrant package. If you’re at all interested in the history of baseball, especially in Japan, even if you’re not into manga, I think that you would get a lot out of the essay.”

On The Thread’s Ask a Bookseller series, we talk to independent booksellers all over the country to find out what books they’re most excited about right now.

If you’re looking for an outdoor adventure novel about friendship and wonder and — why not? a cryptid — Ellyn Grimm of Dog-Eared Books in Ames, Iowa, has the book for you. She recommends Giano Cromley's novel “American Mythology,” out this week.

Here’s Grimm’s synopsis of a book she calls “heartwarming and a bit creepy:”

“’American Mythology’ is about two friends, Jute and Vergil, from a town in Basic, Mont., and together, they form the Basic Bigfoot Society. Every year, the two of them go on a Bigfoot expedition, hoping to find Bigfoot or find evidence. And this is rooted in a childhood encounter that Jute had, supposedly with Bigfoot. And after that, his father was never the same and and not in a good way.

“This year, it’s going to be a little bit different for them, because Vergil is holding onto a secret that he needs to share. They’re also being joined by Vergil’s college-aged daughter, a professor with somewhat dubious motivations and a documentarian.

“I’m always down for some good Bigfoot content, but this offers so much more, because it’s really a story about friendship; Jude and Virgil have carried each other through some really tough times in their lives. It‘s about the worthiness of pursuing wonder in the world, and the importance of preserving the spaces where wonder can thrive.”