The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Adult Fiction

Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun

Public Access Afterworld is a sprawling modern epic, perfect for internet weirdos and TV lovers. This novel is the perfect center between Schoenbrun’s other works, I Saw the TV Glow and We’re All Going to the World’s Fair. Even though it’s 600 pages, I flew through this book. I’m recommending it to everyone I know.

Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun, (List Price: $33, Hogarth, 9780593978382, October 2026)

Reviewed by Em, Bookmiser in Marietta, GA

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Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun

Schoenbrun’s first novel infinitely expands the world we’ve glimpsed through their films: We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, I Saw the TV Glow, and most recently Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Public Access Afterworld is an epic for the digital age; an absolute tome of speculative fiction with a wandering timeline (Oppenheimer makes an appearance), a cast of unreliable narrators, a trans final girl/Chosen One, and a sense of humor against all odds. Buckle up, losers! We’re going to the TV dimension.

Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun, (List Price: $33, Hogarth, 9780593978382, October 2026)

Reviewed by Ryan, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC

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Ply by Hernan Diaz

Set in a future that feels quite plausible, or in an alternative reality, Ply feels both close and very real to me. Diaz has a way with words that makes you see everything plainly in front of you. The prose is beautiful and lulls you throughout the book, like our protagonist at the beginning of this story. I think this book shows humanity at its core: the beauty and the destructive power of ourselves, the unavoidability of freedom alongside the need for structure. Absolutely gorgeous! It shook my soul the way only true art can.

Ply by Hernan Diaz, (List Price: $32, Riverhead Books, 9780593719541, September 2026)

Reviewed by Erika, Righton Books in St Simons Island, GA

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Book Buzz: Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus

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Bonnie Garmus, photo courtesy the author“I think we’re all born with potential, and while it takes thousands of hours of practice to turn that potential into something real, making that kind of commitment is what life is all about. That’s one of the reasons Gen A.I. bothers me so much. There is no effort, no practice, no learning, no growth.”

  ― Bonnie Garmus, Interview, New York Times

Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus

What booksellers are saying about Peck & Peck

  • Who writes a fabulous novel centered around poetry? Bonnie Garmus does! This is another captivating original story of a family-owned publishing company that puts out a quarterly issue of poetry. Hold on to your hat when you’re reading this one!
      ― Beth, The Country Bookshop, Southern Pines, North Carolina | BUY

  • I was leery about this one. Lessons in Chemistry, which I loved, is a very hard act to follow and I was hoping Peck & Peck didn’t try to hard to tread the same path. My fears were completely unfounded. This is magic of a completely different kind and I loved it so much. The setting—1982 New York at the offices of an elite and eccentric poetry magazine—provided the most relaxing mental vacation for me as a former English major from a bygone analog era. While it shares a few similarities with Lessons in Chemistry (exceptional dog? Check.) I found it to be a completely different reading experience that I won’t soon forget.
      ― Kat, Novel., Memphis, Tennessee | BUY

  • A delightful story revolving around the importance of poetry and poets. As in Lessons in Chemistry, Garmus’ cast of characters includes a wise and heroic dog. This novel is not as tightly written as her first and without the more serious themes of Lessons in Chemistry but it is a fun witty novel.
    ― Jean, Thornwell Books, Morganton, North Carolina | BUY

  • Bonnie Garmus’s follow-up to Lessons in Chemistry is an absolute joy to read. Lifelong poetry lover Batter Gray is thrilled to land a job at the distinguished poetry journal Peck & Peck – but neither the job nor the company turns out to be quite what he was expecting. What follows is part coming-of-age story, part mystery, part tongue-in-check exploration of the value of poetry in a commercial world – and ultimately a love song to art, in all its forms, for art’s sake. Oh, and it features a dog every bit a match to Lessons in Chemistry’s Six-Thirty. I loved it!
    ― Jude, Square Books, Oxford, Mississippi | BUY

About Bonnie Garmus

Bonnie Garmus is a coffee-dependent American novelist. Her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, was a Good Morning America Book Club Pick, a Goodreads Choice Best Book of the Year, spent nearly two years on the New York Times bestseller list and was named by Times readers as one of the top 100 books of the 21st century. Translated into over forty languages, Lessons in Chemistry was honored with sixteen international literary awards and made into an Apple TV limited series. Peck & Peck is her second novel.

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Daphnis and Chloe by Colin McAdam

A dark fable underlined by a glowing current, this slim novel is an incantation, a reminder of the human story we all already know in our bones. Sketched anew in stark contrast against the ocean, the land, and the car mechanic shop, this is a story of parentage, destined lovers, brutal bikers, and the underbelly of a city. Doesn’t daylight show us the contours of darkness itself, asks McAdam? In the words of the author: “It might not look like love, but it was.” Anyone with a romantic bone in their body will be enchanted by McAdam’s prose and the way this dark story will slide into your heart: sturdy, reliable, true in the old way.

Daphnis and Chloe by Colin McAdam, (List Price: $18.95, Biblioasis, 9781771967235, October 2026)

Reviewed by Julia, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, AR

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The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

This sweeping historical novel, set in 1930s Mississippi during the Great Depression and Prohibition, has the perfect title…what a calamity of circumstances for each of the female characters! You’ll be immersed in the plot of this both humorous and heartbreaking novel while also etching each of these women on your heart. It turns out that hard times can push ordinary people to take outrageous risks and I loved seeing how these women used all of the resources available to them, including their intelligence, wit, and hard work, to change their fate. I will be thinking about this book and these characters for a long time!

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, (List Price: $35, Spiegel & Grau, 9781954118812, May 2026)

Reviewed by Kandi, Wordsworth Books in Little Rock, Arkansas, MS

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Brawler by Lauren Groff

An arresting collection of stories that meditates on different forms of power and how humans wield it against one another. The characters, settings, and time periods are diverse, but every story—and one full length novella—depicts a fundamental struggle between our better natures and the hard realities of life. These stories operate with an incredible economy of words, making the depth and forceful nature of the characters’ emotions all the more impressive. There’s not a single one I didn’t enjoy, and some that I had already read elsewhere, but “To Sunland” stood out to me because it’s based on a real place with a complicated history that’s still standing in my hometown, where the author currently resides. I can already tell that this will be one of my top reads of the year.

Brawler by Lauren Groff, (List Price: $29, Riverhead Books, 9780593418420, February 2026)

Reviewed by Morgan, Auburn Oil Co. Booksellers in Auburn, Alabama

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Book Buzz: Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson

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Ríoghnach Robinson, photo credit Mikhail Lipyansky Photography“Bad Words didn’t have a single moment of inspiration! It sort of congealed over many years in book publishing, and I shaped it around a lot of elements I find fun to write and think about. I love a frightening critic character, and I love two characters in diametric opposition being forced to reevaluate each other. I also think it’s an underdiscussed and bonkers fact that the quiet agreement of professional criticism is that, someday, you will become the sworn enemy of somebody in your very small artistic industry, because you can’t like every book.”

  ― Ríoghnach Robinson, Interview, She Reads

Bad Words by Ríoghnach Robinson

What booksellers are saying about Bad Words

  • Smart. Well-written. Couldn’t put it down. Well-developed characters who are multi-dimensional. This is a fantastic take on a romance. For readers of romance, books about books, anyone who loves a look inside the publishing industry. Poses so many interesting questions about the book industry and what readers want from it, what writers want too.
      ― Christina The Snail on the Wall, Huntsville, Alabama | BUY

  • Beautifully written and gut-wrenchingly messy, with so much to say about the art of criticism, the publishing industry, and—of course—love. This is my favorite book I’ve read so far this year, and I can’t wait to share it with other readers!
      ― Bronte, The Bookshop, Nashville, Tennessee | BUY

  • I am so completely floored by this book. It’s the kind of book that, for me, makes me remember why I love reading so much. I would look up from a chapter and see the world in brighter colors.
    ― Writers Block Bookstore, Winter Park, FLorida | BUY

  • I can feel it in my bones, this book is going to be big. And it deserves to be. Bad Words is a startling, propulsive look at why we create, why we critique, and the deeply tenuous landscape of publishing, all told through the perspectives of a feuding author and book critic.
    ― Taylor, Baldwin & Co., New Orleans, Louisiana | BUY

About Ríoghnach Robinson

Ríoghnach (pronounced ree-uh-nock) Robinson is the author of six YA novels published under the pen name Riley Redgate, most recently Come Home to My Heart. Her books have been published on four continents, optioned for film and TV, and named to best-of-the-year lists by ALA, Kirkus Reviews, and the New York Public Library. She is also the writer of the WEBTOON Originals series Angel of Death and has written for The Onion, America’s Finest News Source. Bad Words is her adult debut. You can find her on Instagram at @rileyredgate and @rioghnachrobinson.

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Last First Kiss by Julian Winters

A swoony romance with a perfect touch of self acceptance!

Last First Kiss by Julian Winters, (List Price: $19, St. Martin’s Griffin, 9781250326263, January 2026)

Reviewed by Cameron, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC

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Last First Kiss by Julian Winters

Julian Winters writes another romance that is as funny as it is tender and sweet. I really enjoyed I Think They Love You, so I was really excited to read this, and it did not disappoint. With all of the same heart as the first book, we dive right back into this family that is, while nosy and opinionated, loving in their own way. Jordan and Jaime are a couple you will have you yelling at the pages sometimes, but only because you are rooting for them so hard. A second chance romance with more heat than the first book, this is a great read to enjoy as the weather warms up too.

Last First Kiss by Julian Winters, (List Price: $19, St. Martin’s Griffin, 9781250326263, January 20267)

Reviewed by Brianna, Epilogue: Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Last First Kiss by Julian Winters

Once again, Julian Winters gets right to the heart of learning to love and be loved exactly as you are. I also love seeing such beautiful demisexual representation on page in a romance novel and appreciate the care with which Julian wrote Jordan’s journey with his sexuality. This story was an absolute delight and I can’t wait to recommend it to everyone that I can!

Last First Kiss by Julian, (List Price: $19, St. Martin’s Griffin, 9781250326263, January 2026)

Reviewed by Jonlyn Scrogham, A Novel Romance in Louisville, KY

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The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

In Kathryn Stockett’s latest, The Calamity Club, set in the early 1930s in Oxford, Mississippi, we follow the lives of several women and one young girl as they hope, dream, and work to build a better life and future for themselves from the scraps of the Depression. Birdie comes to town to borrow money from her sister, Frances, who recently married a rich boy but didn’t invite her family to the wedding. Frances is busy climbing the social ladder and doesn’t want anyone to know that her family is poor. Charlie moves to town for a job but disappears one evening, leaving her young daughter, Meg, alone. Meg is then forced into a new chapter of her life at the local orphanage, where the Chairwoman despises her and the wealthy white ladies of Oxford volunteer, including Frances. When Birdie is asked to help with the bookkeeping, she meets Meg and becomes involved in helping her get adopted. Then Charlie returns to town, looking for Meg and with a story to tell. When Frances’s new family, the Tartts, face severe financial hardship, the women join together on a money-making scheme, hoping that it will solve all their problems. But it may or may not work out the way they think. An entertaining story about the hardships and difficulties women faced as they tried to work and achieve some level of financial and personal freedom during the Depression.

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, (List Price: $35, Spiegel & Grau, 9781954118812, May 2026)

Reviewed by Mary, The Little Bookshop in Midlothian, VA

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The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett

A new novel by Kathryn Stockett? Set in the town where I live (Oxford, MS)? About a group of independent, underestimated women? Yes, please! This big-hearted, often funny novel about a group of down-on-their-luck women who come up with an audacious plan to turn their lives around absolutely swept me off my feet. Despite its heft – over 600 pages – I raced through it in a matter of days. It would be a calamity to miss out on this wonderful novel.

The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett, (List Price: $35, Spiegel & Grau, 9781954118812, May 2026)

Reviewed by Jude, Square Books in Oxford, MS

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Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris

Connect with your inner wildflower in this richly textured, inspirational new novel by Terah Shelton Harris. The novel’s vivid imagery will transport you to a hidden refuge where flowers and people grow wild. Drawing on the healing power of nature, Harris explores how strength and hope can bloom even after intense tragedy. Leigh Wilde is a survivor. Running from her tragic past, she finds herself an escaped fugitive on a flower farm in rural Gee’s Bend, Alabama. On the farm, she meets others who, like her, are survivors of past trauma. As she gradually learns to trust those around her and, most importantly, herself, she realizes that to live, she must do more than merely survive. Like the Cahaba Lily that blooms fearlessly along the riverbank, Leigh too begins to flourish despite the fears that have held her back. Yet as the secrets of her past rush in to reclaim her, what will it take to stay true to herself? Freedom may be as simple as letting go. Leigh’s story will break your heart and rebuild it petal by fragrant petal. At the end, Leigh’s love reveals the most radiant flower. Like the gift of a rare lily, this is a novel you will cherish.

Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris, (List Price: $29.99, Sourcebooks Landmark, 9781464229220, February 2026)

Reviewed by Laura, Bookmiser in Marietta, GA

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Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris

“But living is a run-on sentence never ending, a collection of experiences that strengthen you along the way…Even under the worst conditions, flowers will bloom where they are planted…Joy is simple, and it comes back if you let it”. My heart breaks for Leigh….but at the same time it as on fire to read her story a watch her bloom. A wildflower, a survivor! Wow I’m just in awe of her and her resilience even in fear she pushed to find and hold on to this new life an opportunity. She found peace and made peace with the troubles of her past.

Where the Wildflowers Grow by Terah Shelton Harris, (List Price: $29.99, Sourcebooks Landmark, 9781464229220, February 2026)

Reviewed by Morgan, The Book Worm in Powder Springs, GA

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