The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Adult Nonfiction

The Ick Files by Ari Cagan

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The Ick Files by Ari Cagan
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*bones creaking* Back in my day, we called The Ick a “turn off”, but honestly, getting the icky feeling from someone’s weird habit nails it. It doesn’t have to be a major red flag; it’s just a feeling in your gut, usually early on, that this relationship is a non-starter. The Icktionary gathers a bunch of people’s confessions of what gave them the ick, some of them hilarious, some completely relatable, some gross, and even some that had me feeling the ick from the poster (Look, Jimmy, running out of toilet paper and using Christmas napkins as an emergency backup option isn’t crazy). This is the perfect book to read al oud with friends and share your own icks.

The Ick Files by Ari Cagan, (List Price: $22, S&S/Simon Element, 9781668245972, September 20261)

Reviewed by Kate, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA

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The Wind Beneath the Stone by David Keohan

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The Wind Beneath the Stone by David Keohan
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Imagine sitting in an Irish pub being regaled with the story of how a lost Irish tradition was revived. The flow of this memoir is very much like such a conversation. Keohan’s enthusiasm shines through as he shares his journey discovering lost lifting stones and encourages towns to embrace their history and a new generation to test their mettle lifting stones at least high enough for wind to blow under. The result is an engaging tale of discovery, camaraderie, and a singular passion.

The Wind Beneath the Stone by David Keohan, (List Price: $28, Chelsea Green, 9781645024897, September 20261)

Reviewed by Jan, Main Street Books in Davidson, NC

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They Stole a City by Lauren Collins

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They Stole a City by Lauren Collins
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As a child born and educated in Wilmington, North Carolina, who—like so many others—knew nothing of this massacre until adulthood, I am always grateful to see new scholarship on this topic. The author’s care in tying history to present conditions for descendants of the massacre makes this a particularly noteworthy document. Even the Philly Deli makes an appearance. Excellent work, which gives me hope more will eventually come to light in my lifetime.

They Stole a City by Lauren Collins, (List Price: $32, Penguin Press, 9781984878816, July 2026)

Reviewed by Alissa, South Main Book Company in Salisbury, NC

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Depraved by Daisy Dixon

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Depraved by Daisy Dixon
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An accessible, thorough analysis of the history of depraved art, this engaging book seeks to highlight the nuance between immorality, obscenity, and malevolence in art. Can art cause violence, or does it just stoke already volatile conditions? Dixon pays close attention to the way charges of depravity have been levied against the art of minority cultures throughout history to paint them as inferior. The book also offers a new perspective on “separating art from the artist”. Spoiler: often, you can’t! A fun, intelligent read, full of examples from classical art but also including music, film, and video games.

Depraved by Daisy Dixon, (List Price: $32, Viking, 9798217061846, August 2026)

Reviewed by Julia, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA

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Dinner with King Tut by Sam Kean

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Dinner with King Tut by Sam Kean
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Fascinating, enlightening, educational, and one of the best history books I’ve ever read. I love that Sam Kean interwove a fictional day-in-the-life story through all of his experiments, investigations, interviews, and travel information. In order to truly understand ancient peoples and cultures, Kean gets down and dirty with figuring out the HOWs and the WHYs throughout history. For archaeology enthusiasts, for history lovers, and for those who want to feel connected to those who paved the way many, many years ago.

Dinner with King Tut by Sam Kean, (List Price: $22.99, Back Bay Books, 9780316496537, May 2026)

Reviewed by Hannah, M. Judson Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina

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A Resistance History of the United States by Tad Stoermer

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A Resistance History of the United States by Tad Stoermer
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This book was excellent! It tied together a lot of complex themes and concepts that affect successful resistance in a very comprehensive yet understandable way by analyzing nine different moments of rebellion and/or resistance in the history of the United States from before the American Revolution up to the Reconstruction Era, and walks the reader through the flaws, strengths, successes, and outcomes of each one. Certainly a must-read for anyone frustrated with the state of our nation, or for anyone looking for some context as to how we ended up where we are now!

A Resistance History of the United States by Tad Stoermer, (List Price: $19.95, Steerforth, 9781586424367, June 2026)

Reviewed by Iris, E. Shaver, Booksellers in Savannah, Georgia

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How We Disappear by Thomas S. Mullaney

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How We Disappear by Thomas S. Mullaney
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While reading How We Disappear, I saw a post that said, “You don’t need to wash your water bottle or your bed sheets or anything. Everything will eventually become clean because of a great big fire.” In a weird and funny way, it connects to one of the book’s main ideas: everything we make, use, and value will eventually disappear. The book blends technology, history, biology, photography, and archival science with personal reflections about the author’s late father. By “archiving” his father’s life through the objects left in his bedroom, the author explores how memories are preserved and how they are fragile pieces of (mis)information. It encouraged me to think about what people leave behind and whether our attempts to preserve ourselves actually work.

How We Disappear by Thomas S. Mullaney, (List Price: $26.99, W. W. Norton & Company, 9781324020783, June 2026)

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

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The Lost Voices of Pompeii by Dr. Jess Venner

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The Lost Voices of Pompeii by Dr. Jess Venner
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The Lost Voices of Pompeii is time travel at its finest. Expertly researched and artfully written, Dr. Venner places you directly inside a living, breathing Pompeii. It’s intimately human yet wholeheartedly driven by fact. Honestly, the way I’ve been describing this book to my friends (none of whom were spared) isn’t nearly as eloquent…. “It’s like you’re an invisible hitchhiker, piggy-back riding around Pompeii in 79 CE.” Still, I stand by this evaluation. Knowing Dr. Venner’s particular expertise in ancient gardening, I expected her to include vibrantly detailed descriptions of the gardens and the city layout. However, I was not expecting the mouth-watering culinary moments. (I had to put this book down at one point, because I was stuck on a plane and growing far too hungry). In all seriousness, I am so thrilled to have picked up The Lost Voices of Pompeii. It is fun, informative, and an incredibly special read.

The Lost Voices of Pompeii by Dr. Jess Venner, (List Price: $30, William Morrow, 9780063460614, May 2026)

Reviewed by Caroline, Garden District Book Shop in New Orleans, Louisiana

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All That’s Unseen by Emilee Hackney

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All That's Unseen by Emilee Hackney
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I absolutely loved this memoir. Hackney digs into the real grit of her upbringing with a loving thoughtfulness no outsider could ever hope to capture. As someone with a similar background, I think this kind of honest reckoning is necessary for us to ever move forward.

All That’s Unseen by Emilee Hackney, (List Price: $32, Penguin Press, 9780593831403, July 2026)

Reviewed by Brooke, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, NC

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All That’s Unseen by Emilee Hackney

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All That's Unseen by Emilee Hackney
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Emilee Hackney’s Appalachian memoir begins as a primer on the Pentecostal religion she is raised within in Tazewell, VA, a small mining town in the heart of coal country USA. Soon though, she begins to question everything she knows when her (older) fiancé Sam, a self-proclaimed man of god, turns out to be a groomer and pedophile. Emilee looks for answers from church and community, but her search turns into something bigger when she applies and is accepted to Harvard after two years of community college. Once ensconced in its Ivy League halls, she realizes just how isolating an upbringing she had and how current politics have used her beloved Appalachia to their advantage. Very well written, timely, and compelling, All That’s Unseen helps explain why America’s most rural areas have been hurt again and again by a government they support unceasingly.

All That’s Unseen by Emilee Hackney, (List Price: $32, Penguin Press, 9780593831403, July 2026)

Reviewed by Jamie, Duck’s Cottage Coffee & Books in Duck, NC

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Our Knives Will Save Us by Nephi Craig

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Our Knives Will Save Us by Nephi Craig
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Nephi Craig’s memoir takes the reader deep into his life, exploring substance abuse, the passion for cooking, and the power of food. Craig’s dedication to sharing the history of Indigenous food with restaurants around the world and his choice to return home to serve the community on his reservation make this such a compelling read. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy food memoirs but also stories of decolonization and healing.

Our Knives Will Save Us by Nephi Craig, (List Price: $32, Penguin Press, 9780593831908, July 2026)

Reviewed by Beth, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC

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Dad, Love, Me by Matthew Quick

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Dad, Love, Me by Matthew Quick
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It turns out everything Matthew Quick has written up to this point- all nine best-selling novels- have been prequels to this memoir; a book that should be considered his masterpiece, defining much of his work thus far. Powerful, painful, heart-wrenching, and heart-lifting, Matthew bravely lays bare his heart, soul, and most of all his relationship with his difficult father. Throughout this ‘letter’ to his Dad, the reader watches over and over the inexplicable trauma one man inflicts upon his son and sees the many ways in which it would mold him. Sobriety and analysis team up to help him break the cycle and as Alzheimer’s strips his father of so much, Matthew returns to walk this last journey by his side with love and dignity. If we could all forgive as Matthew has forgiven his father, Michael, the world would be an entirely different place.

Dad, Love, Me by Matthew Quick, (List Price: $30, Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster, 9781668091753, July 2026)

Reviewed by Jamie, Duck’s Cottage Coffee & Books in Duck, NC

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Stranded in the Future by Robyn Hitchcock

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Stranded in the Future by Robyn Hitchcock
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Reading Stranded in the Future is like being dropped into a casual conversation with the long-time rocker, surrealist, and memoirist Robyn Hitchcock. With shades of Monty Python, but also the Marx Brothers and especially Fry & Laurie’s love of wordplay, this is an exquisitely English self-referential memoir. Hitchcock sure has a way with words (“His singing voice was light blue”), and while it took me a minute to get used to the sardonic, whimsical style, I was soon luxuriating in evocative, descriptive gems such as: “We are greeted by the classic Smoke Age pub gig odours: stale beer, stale tobacco, stale urine, and fresh disinfectant…” or that punk: “galvanizes what, until last year, has been a fairly cosy generation of kids, grazing peacefully in the mid-1970s, sitting cross-legged on the floor at concerts. But not any more: now they have to stand and spit…” A slice of 60s/70s rock and roll life, especially enjoyable with a Soft Boys playlist playing in the background.

Stranded in the Future by Robyn Hitchcock, (List Price: $24.95, Akashic Books, Ltd., 9781636142999, July 2026)

Reviewed by Doron, Octavia Books in New Orleans, LA

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Grandma Joy and Me by Brad Ryan

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Grandma Joy and Me by Brad Ryan
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“What was your childhood like? You never talk about it.” Brad asked his grandmother to tell him about her life….how many of us wish we had someone to listen to us or that we had asked questions before loved ones died? With the astonishing beauty of the sixty-three national parks containing all the flowers and plants and wild creatures, readers will sit in the back seat and hear all the joys and tumult of this family’s life. The author and grandson Brad Ryan is a veterinarian who lives with the agony of his solitary life and the pain he carries from his childhood. Grandma Joy is not a woman who shares feelings and loves, but in her 90 years has experienced many of life’s tragedies. Reading this book forces readers to see all the resplendence and majesty of the parks while trodding up countless steps for viewing and sleeping and snoring on an air mattress in a tent. All will long remember the journeys of Brad and Grandma Joy and think about completing them with a 90-year-old relative. It is quite the adventure.

Grandma Joy and Me by Brad Ryan, (List Price: $29, Simon & Schuster, 9781668099261, June 2026)

Reviewed by Nancy, Bookmiser in Marietta, GA

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AMMAZZA! by Hillary Sterling

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AMMAZZA! by Hillary Sterling
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“From the live-fire kitchen of Ci Siamo comes Ammazza!, the definitive guide to the soulful, high-impact cooking that made Chef Hillary Sterling a New York icon. Blending her Brooklyn Jewish roots with elite Italian technique, Sterling delivers a masterclass in seasonal flavor. With over 100 recipes—from rustic pastas to surprising global feasts—this is more than a cookbook; it’s an invitation to cook with confidence, curiosity, and a healthy dose of smoke. In Rome, Ammazza! means ‘Wow.’ In your kitchen, it means ‘I’m definitely having a third bowl of pasta, and no, I don’t want to hear about your keto diet.'”

AMMAZZA! by Hillary Sterling, (List Price: $40, Scribner, 9781668068717, May 2026)

Reviewed by Mevelyn, Square Books in Oxford, MS

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