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The week of October 7, 2025 What do Southern booksellers think about László Krasznahorkai? 
The Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded last week to the Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, an odds on favorite according to the people who keep track of these things. Krasznahorkai has been a recipient of the National Book Award and the Man Booker International Prize. His work is compared to Nikolai Gogol. The Nobel committee praised "his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.” His books are published in translation via New Directions Publishing. And Southern booksellers? What do they think of Krasznahorkai’s work? "Twenty pages into the main story, however, I was swept away by an incredibly ardent undertow" writes Ian McCord (Avid Bookshop, Georgia) of Baron Wenckheim’s Homecoming. "I loved the way this one made my brain feel—an alert sort of hypnosis, reminded me of some Calvino and Borges." says Kristen Iskandrian (Thank You Books, Alabama) about the poetically titled A Mountain to the North, a Lake to the South, Paths to the West, a River to the East. And Charlie Marks (Fountain Bookstore, Virginia) says about Herscht 07769 — the author’s latest to be translated into English — that it is "an absolutely stunning achievement in fiction. In one meandering, cascading, kaleidoscopic sentence across four hundred pages, Krasznahorkai paints a compelling portrait of the banality, beauty, heartbreak, and absurdity of the current era." And because it usually takes about thirty seconds after the Nobel Prize for Literature is announced for all copies of the recipient’s work to sell out, remember that Krasznahorkai’s novels are also available from your favorite indie bookstore and Bookshop.org as ebooks. |
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Read This Now! Recommended by Southern indies… |
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The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera 20th Century, Adult Fiction, Fiction, Hispanic & Latino, Historical, Magical Realism This is a heart-wrenching story that will bring you to tears. Graciela and Consuelo are two Indigenous sisters who were taken from their homes to serve under a dictator. When genocide strikes their community, they flee in an effort to make new lives for themselves. Both believing each other to be dead, fate brings them back together years later. This story feels like a fresh wound, and waiting for time to let it heal. This story explores the dark colonial past of a nation while still exploring hope, love, and the importance of family in the end. Reviewed by Gabriela Warner, Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
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Herscht 07769 by László Krasznahorkai Absurdist, Adult Fiction, Fiction, Hungary, Nature & Environment, Nobel 2025, World Literature An absolutely stunning achievement in fiction. In one meandering, cascading, kaleidoscopic sentence across four hundred pages, Krasznahorkai paints a compelling portrait of the banality, beauty, heartbreak, and absurdity of the current era. We follow Florian Herscht, a gentle giant who works at a graffiti removal service, as he embarks on a one-sided correspondence with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to warn her about the impending end of the world through a reversal of the Big Bang. Meanwhile, he is roped by his boss (a neo-Nazi and inveterate Bach fan) into hunting down a graffiti artist who has been defacing all of the monuments to Johann Sebastian Bach in the city with pictures of wolves. Then real wolves show up, and things go off the rails. Herscht 07769 is weird and sad and truly one of a kind. It invades your mind and spirals outward, demolishing your sense of self and embedding you in the hopelessness and powerlessness of modern life. Reviewed by Charlie Marks, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia |
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In a Distant Valley by Shannon Bowring Adult Fiction, Family Life, Fiction, Siblings 
An October Read This Next! Title I inhaled this book! I have loved all of the Dalton series books, and the end to the series did not disappoint. Spending time with the same characters and getting in the heads of the other minor characters from previous books gives you a giant hug that gets you through the day. Shannon has a way in her writing that makes you feel like you are a part of the story. She makes the place in Maine seem like its own character. I am going to miss Tru, Bev, Nate, Rose, and all the town folk who make this story so vivid. The line "With each mouthful of champagne, Trudy feels lighter and fuller at the same time" Is just an example of the beauty of her writing. There is so much more to love in her newest book, and I can’t wait to see what she does next! Amazing Reviewed by Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina |
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Vampires at Sea by Lindsay Merbaum Adult Fiction, Fiction, Horror, Humorous, Literary, Paranormal, Romance, Vampires What happens when your lover burns your immortal beloved’s art? You go on vacation to rekindle the flame (and hunt, obviously). Join Rebekah and Hugh as they navigate the emotional depths of a queer cruise and realize that they aren’t the only ones hunting. Merbaum’s storytelling perfectly captures the essence of ‘We’re on Vacation’ mode. Full of humor, glamour, and orgies, Vampires at Sea will expose the longevity of being an immortal in love. Reviewed by Jenny Gilroy, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia |
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The Monsters We Make by Rachel Corbett Adult Nonfiction, Murder, True Crime Drawing a line from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to the "Intelligence-Led Policing" scandal in Pasco County, Florida, Corbett lays out a compelling case against the use of criminal profiling. Her argument: In an attempt to understand what makes someone capable of violent crime, we’ve all too often created criminals instead. This book is great for general true crime readers, but goes a step further by prodding readers to consider what the true causes of crime might be, and how that can inform crime prevention initiatives of the future. Reviewed by Becca Naylor, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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Bookseller Buzz |
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Bog Queen by Anna North 
I first saw a bog body in the British Museum, and I just thought, How amazing. This is a real person who lived and breathed 1000s of years ago, and I can still see him, and we can learn so much about him and his life, from his body and from studying him. And his people buried him in this place where I think they knew that he would be preserved, and I can imagine them, you know, hoping that maybe we would understand them. One day, I visited the bog where he was found. I really learned so much from that landscape, which today is quite degraded from its former state, but it’s still breathtaking to see, and there are spots of real biodiversity that could come back if protected properly. So I really got obsessed with bogs themselves and with the moss that creates the bogs, and the way it can operate as a colony, not as a single organism. And I really wanted in this book to talk about the non human world. I think that people tend to think that we always drive events on the earth, but there are many other organisms here that have huge impact on us, in our lives, and I really wanted to share that too. Bog Queen by Anna North 
Anna North is the author of the instant New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick Outlawed, America Pacifica, and Lambda Literary Award–winner The Life and Death of Sophie Stark. She is a senior correspondent at Vox. She lives in Brooklyn. |
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Fake Skating by Lynn Painter Romance, Romantic Comedy, Young Adult Fiction If you love a good "fake dating" story, you’ll be completely swept away by this charming new romance. Dani and Alec were inseparable as kids, but when Dani returns to her Minnesota hometown, she finds the nerdy boy she remembers has been replaced by the town’s hockey star. When they are forced to pretend to be a couple, their complicated charade leads to some truly swoon-worthy moments. This book perfectly captures the awkwardness and excitement of first love, proving that even in a town where hockey is king, a little romance can still take center ice. Reviewed by Kimberly Todd, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi |
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Seven Ways Through the Woods by Jenn Reese Children, Fantasy, Juvenile Fiction This one is all the things I love in a kid’s story — adventure, magic, daring, and wonder. Seven Ways Through the Woods offers the reader just that, seven ways to get through the woods…but perhaps that’s not the point…to get through the woods. Maybe the point is to linger, explore, and marvel. Reviewed by Morgan DePerno, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
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The Knives: A Criminal Book by Ed Brubaker Comics & Graphic Novels, Crime & Mystery, Fiction, Noir, Spies & Espionage Brubaker and Phillips, the best crime/noir team in comics, return with another stellar graphic novel in their acclaimed Criminal series. Do you need to read the previous 11 (all great) books in this series first? No! Interweaving tales of crime, regret, and failure collide, pulp fiction-style, in gritty, personal, and shocking tales unfold, the most interesting of which parallels a bit of the Hollywood runaround Brubaker himself experienced as a creator pushing against the system. As always, The Best! Reviewed by Seth Tucker, Carmichael’s Bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky |
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Decide for Yourself Books that appear on PEN America’s list of challenged books. |
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The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur Asia, Banned Books, Crime, Historical, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Own Voices, Thrillers & Suspense, Young Adult If you are looking for a perfectly eerie and thrilling young adult mystery, then look no further. The Forest of Stolen Girls follows Hwani, a young woman in 15th-century Korea who has returned home to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her detective father. Her return coincides with the vanishing of 13 young women into the dense woods nearby, and Hwani’s search for her father soon becomes entangled with old grudges, festering secrets, and the sinister threat of a killer lurking in the forest. This book is spooky, suspenseful, and atmospheric, and I cannot recommend it enough. Reviewed by Rebecca Speas, One More Page Books in Arlington, Virginia |
Southern Bestsellers What’s popular this week with Southern Readers. |
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107 Days by Kamala Harris Adult Nonfiction, Bestsellers, Biography & Autobiography, History, Memoirs, Political, United States Kamala Harris’s memoir, highlighting her experience through the shortest presidential campaign in history, left me with just about every emotion. Each chapter being a daily countdown to the election, made this a very fast-paced read and will keep your attention. It is also a very conversational memoir, which I found rather helpful when diving into heavier topics. Reviewed by Kenzie Karoly, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, Georgia |
[ See the full bestseller list ] |
Parting Thought “The truth isn’t always beauty, but the hunger for it is.” |
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Publisher:
The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance /
siba@sibaweb.com |
SIBA | 51 Pleasant Ridge Drive | Asheville, NC 28805
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