The Bookseller's Son

By: Bob Seay

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

“I don’t mind their legacy,” Jeremiah said. “I just wish I had been given a choice about my part of it.”
Ethan nodded toward the sleeping child. “What legacy are you choosing for him?”

Jeremiah Malone grew up stocking shelves in his parents’ small-town Arkansas bookstore—a place famous for its banned books display and infamous for annoying local censors. His parents made a name for themselves as free speech activists, even if it sometimes meant Jeremiah just wanted to blend in, or at least not end up on the evening news.

When his parents retire and a fresh wave of censorship sweeps through town, Jeremiah faces a choice: pick up where his parents left off, or try to lead a quieter life that doesn’t involve angry meetings or suspicious glances at the grocery store. But as threats mount and the stakes get personal, Jeremiah finds that staying quiet has its own consequences. Especially when Millicent Spate, Clear Spring’s most enthusiastic book-banner, decides to make him and his store her personal project.

The story is set in the 1970s, but it’s hardly ancient history. In 2023–2024 alone, schools saw over 10,000 book bans—a 200% increase from the year before. Apparently, everything old is new again.

The Bookseller’s Son is about family legacy, the cost of silence, and what it really takes to speak up—even if you’d rather just be left alone in the back room with a good book. Read it while you still can.