Underground Books

The Artist and the Feast by Lucy Steeds

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The Artist and the Feast by Lucy Steeds
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This story bursts with light, color, and the sensuality of art, food, and intimacy. In 1920s Provence, a renowned but bitter artist called Tata paints in recluse, alone except for Ettie, the niece he has raised. She longs to paint too, but is forbidden by the controlling Tata and subjugated to serve as his assistant. Joseph, a young journalist, comes to stay to write about Tata. As the summer heats up, a desire blooms between Joseph and Ettie that they must hide from Tata. Suspense builds, secrets are revealed, and everything is put at risk for art, food, love, and ambition. Simply wonderful.

The Artist and the Feast by Lucy Steeds, (List Price: $27.99, Union Square & Co., 9781454960522, May 2025)

Reviewed by Patience Allan-Glick, Hills & Hamlets Bookshop in Carrollton, Georgia

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Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney

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Jane Austen's Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney
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Your favorite author’s favorite authors are here rediscovered, read, and collected by America’s favorite rare bookseller, Rebecca Romney! For centuries, we’ve hailed Jane Austen as the sole woman literary genius of her era…so why have we been spurning her favorite books by fellow women writers for nearly as long? Romney invites readers on a thrillingly feminist literary adventure as she searches for the books Jane Austen had on her shelf, the women who wrote them, and how they disappeared from the literary canon. Along the way, Romney offers her guidance as a rare bookseller, and, as a reader and collector herself, shares her delight in discovering new favorite authors, new depths to Austen’s novels, and desirable editions of both, ultimately showing, as she builds a bookshelf of her own, how you can develop your own distinct collection too.

Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney, (List Price: $29.99, S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books, 9781982190248, February 2025)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay Chapman

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Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay Chapman
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FAX news is brainwashing our nation. Noah Fairchild no longer recognizes his parents. Literally. Did he really just unhinge his dad’s jaw by shoving the remote control down his throat sideways? “The Great Reawakening” has invaded far-right news and social media in the most terrifying way possible as family turns on family, neighbor on neighbor. Part apocalyptic but mostly slap-you-in-the-face metaphorical, this book is 1000% my jam! If I am looking for grotesque, shocking, controversial, skin-crawling imagery, then I have to look no further than the modern horror master, Clay McLeod Chapman.

Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay Chapman, (List Price: $24.99, Quirk Books, 9781683693956, January 2025)

Reviewed by Suzanne Carnes, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik

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Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik
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“Art, my God, Joan, I’m embarrassed to mention it in front of you, you know, but you mentioned burning babies in locked cars, so I can mention Art.” Eve Babitz to Joan Didion, 1972. In this blazing memoir, one feels like they’re out for drinks discussing ’70s Hollywood sleaze, female chauvinist pigs, and Charles Manson with your wildly messy and entertaining friend. Anolik’s powerful storytelling and adept reporting remind one of Eve Babitz, the “secret genius of L.A.” Oscillating between moments of unbelievable grief, Didion-esque cold distance, and the hot it-girl urge to push it all away, this memoir is a testament to artists, their craft, and the lovers’ spat between two of the greatest Californian writers of our time.

Didion and Babitz by Lili Anolik, (List Price: $29.99, Scribner, 9781668065488, November 2024)

Reviewed by Joshua Lambie, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Darkly by Marisha Pessl

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Darkly by Marisha Pessl
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5 STARS!! This YA mystery thriller is an unforgettable adventure with a fast-paced plot, buried secrets, hidden symbols, and intriguing puzzles. After winning a chance to intern at Darkly, a game-making empire, Dia and six other teens from all across America land in England and are taken to an abandoned island where they are thrown into a twisted game called Valkyrie that has never before been released to find the game’s presumed first victim, a teen boy. There were so many unexpected twists, and the shocking ending leaves you wanting more.

Darkly by Marisha Pessl, (List Price: $19.99, Delacorte Press, 9780593706558, November 2024)

Reviewed by Sandra Pinkney, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow

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The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow
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Everyone deals with problems differently. Fifteen-year-old Bella chooses alcohol to solve hers. Her home life sucks, she gets dumped by her boyfriend, and she is spiraling. After a terrifying blackout and a trip to rehab, she slowly takes the steps of rebuilding her shattered life. This is a heartbreaking story of a girl who has hit rock bottom and must make the choice of life or death.

The Glass Girl by Kathleen Glasgow, (List Price: $21.99, Delacorte Press, 9780525708087, October 2024)

Reviewed by Suzanne Carnes, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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The Universe in Verse by Maria Popova

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The Universe in Verse by Maria Popova
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Fifteen short essays on science and nature, intended to inspire a sense of awe and wonder, are each paired with the work of a brilliant poet and a beautiful illustration. Popova’s extraordinary collection is a poignant, beautiful little gift book perfect for reminding us of how strange and wild it is that we get to exist and perceive this most mysterious universe at all!”

The Universe in Verse by Maria Popova, (List Price: $22, Storey Publishing, LLC, 9781635868838, October 2024)

Reviewed by Josh Niesse, Underground Books in , Georgia

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Snake Oil by Kelsey Rae Dimberg

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Snake Oil by Kelsey Rae Dimberg
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Snake Oil is a dark literary thriller about Radical, a wellness company centered around holistic remedies. Dirty secrets about the company start coming out as Rhoda, the CEO, begins to lose her iron-tight grip on her precious company, causing loyalties to be tested and murder to occur. Snake Oil is gripping and nail-biting, showing the horrendous truth about the wellness world and the ugly underbelly of running a cutthroat business.

Snake Oil by Kelsey Rae Dimberg, (List Price: $30, Mariner Books, 9780062867957, September 2024)

Reviewed by Anna Anabseh, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Bog Myrtle by Sid Sharp

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Bog Myrtle by Sid Sharp
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Two sisters, friendly oddball Beatrice and fiercely unhappy Magnolia, seek something special from the forbidden forest, come face to face with its magic silk-spinning monster, Bog Myrtle, and learn about environmentalism, labor rights, and anti-capitalism along the way, in this creepily-cute and razor-sharp fable that has all the old-school deadly morality of the Brothers Grimm. A challenging (in both content and vocabulary), dark, yet adorable picture book for fans of Jon Klassen’s The Skull.

Bog Myrtle by Sid Sharp, (List Price: $19.99, Annick Press, 9781773218922, October 2024)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir

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The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir
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A fast-paced and terrifying tale of a woman who loses control over her body. Is her uncontrollable sleepwalking caused by an undiagnosed medical problem? A mental illness left untreated? The ghost of her drowned sister? Read it and find out.

The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir, (List Price: $19.99, Tor Nightfire, 9781250322043, September 2024)

Reviewed by Joshua Lambie, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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The White Guy Dies First by Terry J. Benton-Walker

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The White Guy Dies First by Terry J. Benton-Walker
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A cathartic, hair-raising, gruesome, and sometimes delightfully campy collection of horror stories by authors of color. Featuring a slasher prom committee, a Wendigo curse, a sapphic demon slayer, and a post-apocalyptic water world, this YA collection of stories is wildly bloody and entertaining.

The White Guy Dies First by Terry J. Benton-Walker, (List Price: $20.99, Tor Teen, 9781250861269, July 2024)

Reviewed by Joshua Lambie, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Smothermoss by Alisa Alering

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Smothermoss by Alisa Alering
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A hauntingly eerie tale about two sisters, Shelia and Angie, set in the 1980s Appalachia. When two hikers turn up brutally murdered, Shelia and Angie get roped into hunting the killer. The imagery in this novel is raw and creepy. I haven’t looked at rabbits the same since finishing this book. Angie draws creepy tarot cards with images you would see in your worst nightmare. This is a weird novel but a fun one, trust me!

Smothermoss by Alisa Alering, (List Price: $17.95, Tin House Books, 9781959030584, July 2024)

Reviewed by Anna Anabseh, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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Reading the Room by Paul Yamazaki

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Reading the Room by Paul Yamazaki
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This pocket-size book takes just an hour or two to read, structurally spans a day and a night, but holds half a century’s wisdom about bookselling. Paul Yamazaki has been the principal book buyer at Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s iconic City Lights bookstore in San Francisco for 50 years. This brief but complex and consequential collection of interviews with a venerable bookseller of color who’s experienced so much is a gift to all who love bookstores.

Reading the Room by Paul Yamazaki, (List Price: $13.95, Ode Books, 9781958846698, May 2024)

Reviewed by Megan Bell, Underground Books in Carrollton , Georgia

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The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

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The Husbands by Holly Gramazio
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A wonderful romp of a debut novel. Lauren’s search for “the right man” becomes hilarious drama when she discovers her attic has the magical ability to spit out one “husband” after another for her to “try on.” She sends one man after another back up the attic stairs, hoping the next one will be that “perfect man.” Every page is both fun and funny and the suspense for how she’ll finalize things will keep you reading.

The Husbands by Holly Gramazio, (List Price: $29, Doubleday, 9780385550611, April 2024)

Reviewed by Patience Allan-Glick, Underground Books and Hills & Hamlets Bookshop in Carrollton, Georgia

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James by Percival Everett

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James by Percival Everett
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A young boy and an enslaved man escape together and travel the river together on a raft. Sound familiar? This book lovingly reimagines Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn from the view of Jim, who in this version becomes James as he and Huck get a second chance at life. Thought-provoking, full of adventure, and thoroughly original!

James by Percival Everett, (List Price: $28, Doubleday, 9780385550369, March 2024)

Reviewed by Patience Allan-Glick, Hills & Hamlets Bookshop in Carrollton, Georgia

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