The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Adult Nonfiction

Poetry Says It Better by Ellen Burstyn

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Poetry Says It Better by Ellen Burstyn
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A very personal and at the same time universal poetry collection tied together by insights from Burstyn’s life. Short introductions and afterthoughts provide context and glimpses into Burstyn’s life. This will be a great book for reluctant poetry readers and old hands open to finding new meanings.

Poetry Says It Better by Ellen Burstyn, (List Price: $26.99, HarperOne, 9780063387683, April 2026)

Reviewed by Jan, Main Street Books in Davidson, North Carolina

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When Trees Testify by Beronda L. Montgomery

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When Trees Testify by Beronda L. Montgomery
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Trees transform our exhalations into parts of themselves, embodying the breath of those who live and work near them. Montgomery’s stories and observations, organized around eight species, show us what trees can teach us about ourselves, our histories, and our society.

When Trees Testify by Beronda L. Montgomery, (List Price: $27.99, Henry Holt and Co., 9781250335166, January 2026)

Reviewed by Chris, Shelf Life Books in Richmond, Virginia

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The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

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The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
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Can a book be cozy, loving, encouraging, compassionate, AND a threat to the brutal and cutthroat consumer capitalism of our era? I present to you Robin Wall Kimmerer’s first book since her surprise mega-bestselling sleeper hit Braiding Sweetgrass. The serviceberry is a bushy, underappreciated fruit tree native to Eastern North America that Kimmerer uses as inspiration to muse broadly on “abundance and reciprocity in the natural world.” The tree embodies the values of gratitude, interconnectedness, and mutual aid. Strikingly, the serviceberry’s broad and generous distribution of its wealth ensures its own flourishing! Let’s all read this small, beautiful, and powerful little book and talk about how we can reimagine modern economic life to be a little more sane and humane!

The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer, (List Price: $20, Scribner, 9781668072240, November 2024)

Reviewed by Josh, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia

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The Feather Wars by James H. McCommons

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The Feather Wars by James H. McCommons
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At a time when species loss is many orders of magnitude greater than the natural background rate, this is an uplifting tale of how a wide range of people — ornithologists, hunters, birders, naturalists, scientists, and capitalists came together in an unlikely alliance to save wading birds and songbirds from the brink of extinction, transforming the American conservation movement in the process.

The Feather Wars by James H. McCommons, (List Price: $33, St. Martin’s Press, 9781250286895, March 2026)

Reviewed by Jim, Righton Books in St Simons Island, Georgia

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Intifadas by Edward Salem

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Intifadas by Edward Salem
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An important new collection of poetry by Edward Salem, highlighting the Palestinian experience from unique angles and styles. While understandably covering loss, violence, and love of country, land, and people, the poems are at times also funny, strange, and satirical. Salem offers a strong voice (combining tenderness and rage) and authority on a place and identity outside of my lived experience, and I feel more informed and engaged having taken my time with this collection.

Intifadas by Edward Salem, (List Price: $17.95, Sarabande Books, 9781956046694, April 2026)

Reviewed by Sarah, Old Town Books in Alexandria, Virginia

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Recognizing the Stranger by Isabella Hammad

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Recognizing the Stranger by Isabella Hammad
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To call this an essential text when it comes to explaining and educating people on the present Palestine conflict would be an understatement. Isabella Hammad’s impeccably done Recognizing the Stranger takes the issue head-on but in a much more nuanced, and possibly more effective way than most. The first half of the book is the commencement speech Hammad gave at Columbia a week before the October 7th attacks, with the last 20 pages being an afterword titled On Gaza. Hammad’s crisp, concise, and accessible writing gives any reader a better understanding of tragedy as a whole. I will be thinking about this afterword and Hammad’s voice for many, many years to come, absolutely breathtaking and essential for our time.

Recognizing the Stranger by Isabella Hammad, (List Price: $18, Grove Press, Black Cat, 9780802163929, September 2024)

Reviewed by Grace, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA

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A Flat Place by Noreen Masud

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A Flat Place by Noreen Masud
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An unforgettable memoir of a woman who grew up in Pakistan under terrible conditions and now lives in Britain; she has a way of looking at places and nature and, through talking about them, finding a way to heal and feel whole.

A Flat Place by Noreen Masud, (List Price: $19.99, Melville House, 9781685890247, June 2023)

Reviewed by Jamie, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, NC

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Water by Rumi

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Water by Rumi
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A beautiful, fresh translation of Rumi that reaches back into time and renders the emotional resonance of his poetry. 10/10, amazing translation!

Water by Rumi, (List Price: $14.95, NYRB Classics, 9781681379166, April 2025)

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

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Water by Rumi

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Water by Rumi
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Haleh Liza Fafori’s translation of 57 poems from Rumi, a poet from the 13th century. The themes are very timely, focusing on materialism versus love, spiritual, and moral growth. I think a few excepts show the depth that is available in this book…. “Criminal to let clouds hide you. Unveil your face and brighten our dim world”…. “If Love’s wine hasn’t seeped into your skull by then, go to the kitchen in Love’s house and lick the plates lovers left behind”.

Water by Rumi, (List Price: $14.95, NYRB Classics, 9781681379166, April 2025)

Reviewed by Jim, Sundog Books in Santa Rosa Beach, FL

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The Intentions of Thunder by Patricia Smith

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The Intentions of Thunder by Patricia Smith
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This collection is so incredibly expansive, not only in the range of the time period Smith is writing but also in her topics, ranging from her experience being a black woman, police brutality, the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, and growing up with Motown as an ever-present current in her life. These poems are fire, are urgent, are playful, and will stick with you long after reading.

The Intentions of Thunder by Patricia Smith, (List Price: $30, Scribner, 9781668055724, September 2025)

Reviewed by Morgan, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC

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Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage

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Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage
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British poet laureate Armitage took years to research and perfect his retelling of this millennia-old ur-poem, and it was worth the wait. Told in a driving tetrameter rhythm, his free-flowing translation may not please purists, but we are treated to both an introduction AND a translator’s note, which are as accessible and interesting as the text itself, explaining his choices and setting the work in historic context. Hypnotic heroic feats mingle with proto-bromance, featuring the earliest known account of the Great Flood, in this classic myth which is as mesmerizing today as it must have been thousands of years ago.

Gilgamesh by Simon Armitage, (List Price: $25, Liveright, 9781631496684, April 2026)

Reviewed by Doron, Octavia Books in New Orleans, LA

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Water by Rumi

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Water by Rumi
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Haleh Liza Fafori’s translation of 57 poems from Rumi, a poet from the 13th century. The themes are very timely, focusing on materialism versus love/spiritual/moral growth. I think a few excerpts show the depth that is available in this book…. “Criminal to let clouds hide you. Unveil your face and brighten our dim world”…. “If Love’s wine hasn’t seeped into your skull by then, go to the kitchen in Love’s house and lick the plates lovers left behind”.

Water by Rumi, (List Price: $14.95, NYRB Classics, 9781681379166, April 2025)

Reviewed by Jim Clemmons, Sundog Books in Santa Rosa Beach, FL

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Horses by Jake Skeets

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Horses by Jake Skeets
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Opening with the death of almost 200 horses, this collection doesn’t pull any punches. Skeets explores the beauty of living in the Navajo Nation without ignoring the grief. The tragedy is even made an active participant in the pleasures that are still found. He finds a way to reflect these things in the layout of the text and use of punctuation as well, demonstrating an impressive understanding of poetry both as a visual and oral tradition. Everything is purposeful and heartfelt. An important read for everyone, these poems are a striking meditation on the end of the world as we know it and the creation of a new one in the process.

Horses by Jake Skeets, (List Price: $18, Milkweed Editions, 9781639551521, March 2026)

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

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Anywhere Else by Rachel Knox

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Anywhere Else by Rachel Knox
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With this essay collection, Rachel Knox invites us to her reunion – a family reunion where our warmest childhood memories pass a beer to freshly unearthed secrets; a high school reunion where the fragile but brave new identity of an escapee seeks the glance of an old crush. These essays are by turns inquisitive, piercing, and funny – but you don’t have to be from Florida, or even want to go there, to be moved by this book. You just have to have a hometown and know what it feels like to leave it, only to discover it’ll never leave you.

Anywhere Else by Rachel Knox, (List Price: $28, University Press of Florida, 9780813081519, March 2026)

Reviewed by Candice, Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg, Florida

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Partially Devoured by Daniel Kraus

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Partially Devoured by Daniel Kraus
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There is nothing better than people who love movies writing about why they love movies and how those movies impacted them!!! While I don’t have a huge connection to Night of the Living Dead I was still totally taken by this book. As a cinephile and filmmaker, I’m uber impacted by films, and seeing such a raw passion and love for a film on paper is really special. Educational and passionate, this is a great recommendation to horror/sci-fi film fans!

Partially Devoured by Daniel Kraus, (List Price: $28, Counterpoint, 9781640097155, March 2026)

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

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