The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Adult Nonfiction

Fieldwork : A Forager’s Memoir by Iliana Regan

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Fieldwork : A Forager’s Memoir by Iliana Regan
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Fieldwork is an exploration into the author’s passion for the natural world and her chosen place in it. She delves into the beginning of her love for food and foraging as a child growing up on a homestead and she expands upon it in the unsteady present as a chef/restaurant owner during a global pandemic. In doing so, she views topics such as her addictions, sexuality, and personal growth through the lens of how her family history and the forests are beautifully intertwined. This memoir is heartfelt, honest, and perfectly written.

Fieldwork : A Forager’s Memoir by Iliana Regan, (List Price: $27.00, Agate Midway, 9781572843189, December 2022)

Reviewed by Stuart McCommon, Novel in Memphis, Tennessee

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The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

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The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
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The Creative Act: A Way of Being is a thoughtful exploration of life, how we live, how we think, how we are influence and obviously, how we create. Organized in very readable small chunks- this book is something to appeal to people wanting to shop in the religious section, personal growth as well as arts and music. Profound insights into how we exist are revealed throughout the book wordsmith into attractively consumable bites. By the end of the book, the reader will be inspired and possibly changed forever. This is a book for all ages but also is a book that will be the absolute best graduation gift of 2023.

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin, (List Price: $32, Penguin Press, 9780593652886, January 2023)

Reviewed by Kimberly Daniels, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

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Bring It On by Kase Wickman

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Bring It On by Kase Wickman
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What a fun revisit to a new cinema classic! Wickman covers everything from the creation to the release of this early-aughts star-studded film. I love the behind-the-scenes stories of hijinks on set and how each character came to be. Big nostalgic feels here and I am loving it.

Bring It On by Kase Wickman, (List Price: $29.99, Chicago Review Press, 9781641607087, December 2022)

Reviewed by Andrea Richardson, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin

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I loved Curtis Chin’s memoir, Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant. Chin grew up in 1980s Detroit with the center of his world being his family’s restaurant, Chung’s Cantonese Cuisine. One of six children and the son of immigrants, Chin’s tight-knit family and community weathered social injustice, racism, and violence by providing a welcoming environment, delicious food, and open arms. Chin shares his struggles to figure out his sexuality, his feelings of being lost in a large family, and wanted to please his elders in touching and funny stories that show his earnest and kind heart. Highly recommend and also great as an audiobook from Libro.fm as the author narrates.

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin, (List Price: 30, Little, Brown and Company, 9780316507653, 2023-10-17)

Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

Buy Link: https://avidbookshop.com/book/

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I Saw Death Coming by Kidada E. Williams

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I Saw Death Coming by Kidada E. Williams
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In school, we learned that the period of Reconstruction was a failure. In her book, Williams provides the reasons for that failure. With brutal personal testimonies from the Klan hearings of the 1870s and interviews documented by the Works Progress Administration, Williams illustrates the terror of nighttime raids and the trauma that resulted. Following the experiences of several Black families across the South, Williams reveals the extent of the injustices they endured, being robbed of land, family members, livelihoods, community, and their mental and physical health. Williams’ first-person accounts of Post-Civil War America provide a necessary component of our nation’s history, a history every citizen should know.

I Saw Death Coming by Kidada E. Williams, (List Price: 30, Bloomsbury Publishing, 9781635576634, January 2023)

Reviewed by Lera Shawver, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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Drinking Games by Sarah Levy

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Drinking Games by Sarah Levy
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A January 2023 Read This Next! Title

I loved Sarah’s very frank and honest recounting of her relationship with alcohol. Her self-aware and candid writing will be a much-needed voice for many who are re-considering the way we look at drinking as a culture. It is also a fantastic memoir about making hard changes for a better life.

Drinking Games by Sarah Levy (List Price: $28.99, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250280589, January 2023)

Reviewed by Laura Taylor, Oxford Exchange in Tampa, Florida

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Weightless by Evette Dionne

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Weightless by Evette Dionne
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Thank you, Evette Dionne, for being honest, funny, and straight-up real about what it’s like to be not ‘thin’ in today’s world! From doctor visits to being obsessed with reality TV about weight loss, I felt relief knowing I wasn’t alone. Her memoir takes you through her journey with agoraphobia, motherhood, online dating, and living her life to her fullest after being diagnosed with heart failure in her late twenties. I can’t wait for more people to read it!

Weightless by Evette Dionne(List Price: $26.99, Ecco, 9780063076365, December 2022)

Reviewed by Juliana Reyes, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

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The Matter of Everything by Suzie Sheehy

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The Matter of Everything by Suzie Sheehy
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Look no further for a detailed overview of the carnival that is the history of natural philosophy, physics! Suzie Sheehy does a great job sending readers into the world of personality and interpersonal relationships behind some of science’s most important discoveries. As a casual reader, I found at its center a variety of tales of endurance, innovation, and resourcefulness. In “The Matter of Everything” you will find that revelations can start with just a piece of glass and an unquenchable curiosity. This is a must-read for anyone looking to dip their toes into one of the most complex topics of human history: the search for understanding the deep mechanics of our own world.

The Matter of Everything by Suzie Sheehy (List Price: $30, Knopf, 9780525658757, January 2023)

Reviewed by Amanda Depperschmidt, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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A Giant Win by Tom Coughlin

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A Giant Win by Tom Coughlin
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I am a football fan who happens to adore the New York Giants and the Manning QBs. I have always appreciated Tom Coughlin as a coach and as a person. How can you not admire a man who got frostbite coaching a game and had no idea? Clearly, the book was a must-read for me, and it did not disappoint. The dissection of his first Giants Super Bowl win I believe is a diary any football fan will relish. The little things that every coach will emphasize are explained in meticulous detail. His path to coaching and his stops along the way are well documented, his emotions are poured out onto the page, and he does not spare himself. What shines through on every page is his love for his family, his faith, and the players he coached. They may not have been friends, but they were his football family. The book is a quick read, you feel like you are sitting in the room with a friend talking about their life and career. One of the most engaging football biographies I have read.

A Giant Win by Tom Coughlin (List Price: $30, Grand Central Publishing, 9781538724644, December 2022)

Reviewed by Jackie Willey, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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Whorephobia by Lizzie Borden

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Whorephobia by Lizzie Borden
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A gorgeously done collection of all things stripping and sex work told by those who know it best. With stories told by 20-some contributors to this essay collection, the lessons and experiences recounted in this span decades. Focused first on the strip clubs that populated New York City in the late 80s and 90s, the switch to more modern accounts is refreshing and makes this a current and fantastically well-done anthology on pro-sex work.

Whorephobia by Lizzie Borden (List Price: $21.95, Seven Stories Press, 9781644212271, December 2022)

Reviewed by Grace Sullivan, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, Virginia

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Grocery Shopping with My Mother by Kevin Powell

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Grocery Shopping with My Mother by Kevin Powell
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This will inspire sobbing and a phone call to your mama. Deeply accessible, beautiful work.

Grocery Shopping with My Mother by Kevin Powell (List Price: $24, Soft Skull, 9781593767433, December 2022)

Reviewed by Aimee Keeble, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler

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How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler
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A 2022 December Read This Next! Title

Wholly original, astonishingly informative, and powerfully written. Imbler describes marine life with reverence and compelling detail, and deftly intertwines the lives of the sea creatures with stories of their own experiences with gender, queerness, and identity.

How Far the Light Reaches by Sabrina Imbler (List Price: $27, Little, Brown and Company, 9780316540537, December 2022)

Reviewed by Sarah Arnold, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee

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Waxing On by Ralph Macchio

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Waxing On by Ralph Macchio
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Whether you are a fan of the original 1984 Karate Kid or the 2018 Cobra Kai on Netflix, you will be well versed in this pop culture classic. Ralph Macchio takes you behind the scenes of both the original film and the new series in this new book. You will discover the magic of filmography, and dedication of the actors and directors that created some of the most iconic scenes in cinematic history. But the phenomena that is Karate Kid did not stop with the film, Ralph goes on the describe how his experience of the film and the fans that he interacts with have shaped and changed his life over the years, and helped create Cobra Kai. Waxing On is a nostalgic journey into a pop culture phenomenon that is so relevant to the human condition that it has thrived and adapted to the test of time in ways that makes it as relevant today as it did in 1984.

Waxing On by Ralph Macchio (List Price: $28, Dutton, 9780593185834, October 2022)

Reviewed by Gretchen Shuler, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

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Deadly Triangle by Susan Goldenberg

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Deadly Triangle by Susan Goldenberg
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An in-depth look at a true crime story I’d never heard before. Each chapter is a isolated chunk of the narrative- the players histories, the actual crime, the after. While this isolated nature can lead to repeating facts, it makes this book perfect book for people who want to pick up and read a single chapter at a time.

Deadly Triangle by Susan Goldenberg (List Price: $19.99, Dundurn Press, 9781459750302, November 2022)

Reviewed by Lauren Kohnle, M Judson booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina

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Spine Poems by Annette Dauphin Simon

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Spine Poems by Annette Dauphin Simon
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I love that the concept of this book seems so simple, but author and creator Annette Dauphin Simon turned it into something complex and spectacular. What fun it is to have these facts and quotes accompany the poems, especially with the beautifully composed photos. Spine Poems is funny, delightful, informative, and even touching at times. I can’t wait to put this book into the hands of every book lover I know!

Spine Poems by Annette Dauphin Simon (List Price: $27.99, Harper Design, 9780063208223, September 2022)

Reviewed by Johanna Albrecht, McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina

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