The week of October 26, 2025
The books Southern indie booksellers want you to read next.
The Southern Bookseller Review online generally puts new reviews from bookstores into one of two categories: Read This Now! is for the books that booksellers are, well, reading right now: any genre, any format, any publication date. Read This Next! is the category SBR reserves for books that have just been published and are getting exceptionally enthusiastic buzz from Southern indie booksellers. These are books that may be new to SBR readers, and local booksellers are putting into their hands with that one comment that makes every avid booklover perk up and take notice: “You’ve got to read this!“
Read This Next! changes every month. See the October list before it disappears!
Happy reading!
Featuring reviews of:
- Boom Town by Nic Stone, reviewed by Jess Bryant, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Female Fantasy by Iman Hariri-Kia, by Tayllor Johns, M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina
- Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia Butler by Susana M. Morris, reviewed by Doron Klemer, Octavia Books in New Orleans, Louisiana
- The Secret Life of a Cemetery: The Wild Nature and Enchanting Lore of Pere Chase by Benoît Gallot, reviewed by Sarah Goldstein, Old Town Books in Alexandria, Virginia
- Witchkiller by Ashlee Latimer, reviewed by Tori Finklea, Union Avenue Books in Knoxville, Tennessee
- Cat Nap by Brian Lies reviewed by Jamie Kovacs, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story created by Nikole Hannah-Jones, by Jamie Fiocco, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami, reviewed by Doron Klemer, Octavia Books in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Bookseller Buzz: Last Chance Live! by Helena Haywoode Henry, reviewed by Andrea Richardson, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia, Ashton Ahart, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina, Sarah Cottrell, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky