The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

African American & Black

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Yaa Gyasi reinvents the notion of historical fiction in this haunting, sweeping tale of enslavement, colonialism, power, greed, despair, determination, and hope. I was captivated from page one! She brings to life the human cost of surviving the larger, often brutal, forces driving history through the gripping, visceral story of one extended family. Three hundred years of history come to life: from Ghana to Harlem and more as we follow their fates across continents and through time. A very moving book.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, (List Price: $16.95, Vintage, 9781101971062, May 2017)

Reviewed by Liz Feeney, E. Shaver, bookseller in Savannah, Georgia

Above Ground by Clint Smith

Clint Smith’s latest collection of poems is so good. I love how he intersperses poems about his first child with poems about the state of America as a whole. His voice is soft and sharp at the same time, and works so well in both settings.

Above Ground by Clint Smith, (List Price: 27, Little, Brown and Company, 9780316543033, March 2023)

Reviewed by Daniel Jordan, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas

Chaos Theory by Nic Stone

Shelbi has resisted making friends at her new school since she’s had bad experiences in the past. But when she witnesses Andy at a low point, she can’t help but reach out to let him know she knows what it’s like. And like that, despite Shelbi’s best efforts, a friendship is born. But both Shelbi and Andy have demons, Shelbi’s in the form of bipolar disorder that has impacted relationships in her past, and Andy’s in the form of alcoholism that started after his sister died. This is a moving story of two teens, both together and individually, as Shelbi learns the maybe she can rely on other people, and Andy learns to prioritize himself and his mental health.

Chaos Theory by Nic Stone, (List Price: 18.99, Crown Books for Young Readers, 9780593307700, February 2023)

Reviewed by Melissa Oates, Fiction Addiction in Greenville, South Carolina

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby

All The Sinners Bleed is crime fiction at its best. Cosby has created a genre all his own with this and his first two novels that I’d call “Virginia noir.” And I’m totally here for it. This one follows a small-town sheriff (with an FBI background) that’s chasing a serial killer that has an obsession with religious iconography and targeting very specific victims. This police procedural that sets a new standard for thrillers and it also highlights the overt/covert social tensions that are prevalent in rural communities.

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby, (List Price: 27.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250831910, June 2023)

Reviewed by Stuart McCommon, Novel. in Memphis, Tennessee

Okra Stew by Natalie Daise

You can almost smell the salt marsh in this stunning homage to Gullah culture, father-son love, and Okra. With art reminiscent of Lois Ehlert or Faith Ringold this one is a must for all young southern foodies.

Okra Stew by Natalie Daise, (List Price: 19.99, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 9781250849663, October 2023)

Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

What a good book! Beautifully written and so forcefully told this is a story of the power of corporations over people and governments. And the setting! So alien from what we’re used too but at the same time recognizable from our own small town battles with corporate malfeasance. A very thought provoking book that will be great for book clubs and one that reminded me of how I reacted to Homeland Elegies by Ayad Akhtar.

How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue, (List Price: $28, Random House, 9780593132425, March 2021)

Reviewed by Pete Mock, McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina

Spotlight on: Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead

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Colson Whitehead , photo credit Chris Close/Penguin Random House

“I think, you know, I was coming of age in the late ’70s and consuming TV and movies, and that was, like, you know, plenty of time for the revolutionary fervor of Black national thought of the late ’60s, early ’70s to trickle into, you know, pop culture…So it’s through pop culture, and obviously, the history of the Black Panther Party was not being taught in my high school. I think – I assume most high schools. And now it’s, you know, I think, illegal to teach Black history in certain states and cities. So it wasn’t till college I, you know, got sort of more grounding on some of the real arguments and what different aspects of the Civil Rights Movement actually meant and what they did.” ― Colson Whitehead, Interview NPR Fresh Air

Crook Manifesto
 by Colson Whitehead

What booksellers are saying about Crook Manifesto

  • Whitehead continues his epic series started in Harlem Shuffle with Crook Manifesto exploring the hot mess that is 1970s Harlem. After being square for years, Ray Carney gets back in the game while trying to get Jackson 5 concert tickets for his daughter. This book is even more fun than the first with a cast of characters including fire-obsessed criminals, crooked politicians, dirty cops, and the cast and crew of a Blaxploitation film. Highly recommend.
      ― Rachel Watkins from Avid Bookshop in Athens, GA | Buy from Avid Bookshop

  • Take a trip to 1971, when times were turbulent. Ray Carney is in the black market with stolen furniture. That is until he turns to the straight and narrow. He will not make that mistake again he says. Well his precious daughter needs tickets to the Jackson 5 and what is a dad to do? This darkly funny tale searching for the meaning of family, is remarkable. Colton is just a phenomenal author.
      ― Suzanne Lucey from Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, NC | Buy from Page 158 Books

  • Ray Carney, the protagonist of Harlem Shuffle, is the perfect vehicle for Colson Whitehead’s masterful storytelling, and I’m thrilled that he’s back, in Crook Manifesto’s 1970s New York City. The author has created a sharp, endearing, and morally complicated character, but the city itself, in its decaying glory, is also a star here.
      ― Anne Peck from Righton Books in St Simons Island, GA | Buy from Righton Books

About Colson Whitehead

Colson Whitehead is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of eleven works of fiction and nonfiction, and is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, for The Nickel Boys and The Underground Railroad, which also won the National Book Award. A recipient of MacArthur and Guggenheim fellowships, he lives in New York City.

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The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

An August 2023 Read This Next! Book

In Pottstown, PA in 1972 a skeleton is found at the bottom of a old well. McBride takes us back more than four decades to tell the story of a community of Black and Jewish characters in the Chicken Hill neighborhood, along with the white characters who run the town (and march in the annual KKK parades.) It’s hard to think of a more compassionate writer than McBride. This story is captivating, funny, exciting and absolutely wonderful.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, (List Price: $28, Riverhead Books, 9780593422946, August 2023)

Reviewed by Christine Lavigna, Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in Asheville, North Carolina

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

In the end, and in the beginning, all we really have are our stories. In Ghost Boys, Jerome’s story, Sarah’s story, Grandma’s and Kim’s and Emmett’s stories are all one: The story that only the living can make the world better. This story, their story will haunt the reader long long long past the final page. Sure to be a winner this award season, Ghost Boys is an absolute must-read.

Ghost Boys by Jewel Parker Rhodes, (List Price: 7.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316262262, September 2019)

Reviewed by Angie Tally, The Country Bookshop in Southern Pines, North Carolina

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi

WOW! Everyone should read this book. No matter what you think you know, you probably don’t know enough. Clear and accessible non-history book with history in it. As a former teacher, I wish more content was available in this well-thought-out and clear package. There isn’t room to get bored or lost for readers. There are built-in moments to breathe, reflect, and even chuckle. a great strategy for tough material. No matter what lens you view America through, this book will have an impact on your focus. It’s not enough to not be racist, be actively anti-racist.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds & Ibram X. Kendi, (List Price: 18.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316453691, March 2020)

Reviewed by Susan Williams, M. Judson, Booksellers in Greenville, South Carolina

And Then He Sang a Lullaby by Ani Kayode

And Then He Sang a Lullaby is a powerful debut that follows the story of Segun and August, two college students in Nigeria who yearn for love and connection. Readers will be deeply moved by this brave and beautiful tale of two men who can’t help but deny their attraction despite the risks to themselves and each other.

And Then He Sang a Lullaby by Ani Kayode, (List Price: 27, Roxane Gay Books, 9780802160751, June 2023)

Reviewed by Beth Seufer Buss, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay

Ross Gay is an ambassador of pure joy—not the sugar-coated, roll-your-eyes kind of happiness, but the subversive, wink-and-nod kind of delectation. Whether he is comparing clusters of harvested sweet potatoes to snuggled bunnies or finding beauty at his aunt’s funeral, Gay’s eye for the oft-overlooked wonders of life is unrivaled, and his conversational, familiar delivery is perfection. Each tiny essay in this beautiful book digresses again and again, which, no surprise, makes it all the more delightful. Do we need a book of more delights? Yes, yes, yes. This book is a ray of sunshine, a juicy peach, a warm hug, a sunflower growing out of a crack in the sidewalk.

The Book of (More) Delights by Ross Gay, (List Price: $28, Algonquin Books, 9781643753096, September 2023)

Reviewed by Hannah DeCamp, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby

A June 2023 Read This Next! Title

Mr. Cosby has upped the ante once again! Instead of down at the heel ne’er do wells searching for something better he has segued to a sheriff fighting the ills permeating the air of his small town. Bad air that wasn’t know until a school shooting that opens up a veritable Pandora’s box of evil and depravity. Written in his inimitable style, strong yet compassionate, he gets deep into the heart and soul of his characters and makes them come alive like no one else writing today.

All Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby, (List Price: 27.99, Flatiron Books, 9781250831910, June 2023)

Reviewed by Pete Mock, McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro, North Carolina

Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille T. Dungy

Observed with a poet’s eye, deeply concerned with social justice, history, community, and the natural world, Camille Dungy’s Soil recounts the process of creating a pollinator garden in her Colorado yard, circling around her history and the history of the plants, animals and politics of the West. “I dig up a lot of awful history when I kneel in my garden,” she writes. “But, my god, a lot of beauty grows out of this soil as well.”

This is a smart, beautiful, wide-ranging book that will draw you in and change how you look at the world around you.

Soil : The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille T. Dungy, (List Price: 28.99, Simon & Schuster, 9781982195304, May 2023)

Reviewed by Robin Wood, Books & Books @ The Studios in Key West, Florida

Spotlight on: Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst

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Tembe Denton-Hurst, photo credit Emma Trimm

I went from believing I was an undisciplined person to writing every single morning before work for an hour and eventually finishing a manuscript. I had to start telling a different story about myself because it took some level of consistency and commitment to be able to achieve that. It was also incredibly vulnerable. There was no magazine to hide behind that people already loved and trusted. It was just me and my words. ―Tembe Denton-Hurst, Interview, Morning Person

Homebodies by Tembe Denton-Hurst

What booksellers are saying about Homebodies

  • A searing yet quiet novel that succeeds as a commentary on the racism ingrained within media content, as a relationship drama, and as a story of protagonist Mickey’s path to self-discovery and self-respect. Mickey is a completely believable and sympathetic character whose depression and every insecurity Denton-Hurst represented convincingly. And Lex and Mickey’s relationship troubles were handled so maturely and with such detail, I never really knew whose side to take, which is just what I wanted. A very full novel, but one that executes its various intentions very well.
      ― Sam Edge from Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, NC | Buy from Epilogue Books

  • Homebodies is a fresh, relatable debut about Mickey, a writer whose glamorous position at a media outlet is taken from her with little warning, prompting her to express her feelings about racism in the industry on Twitter–to little response. In the wake of her “failure”, Mickey struggles to keep up with her life in New York, feeling like a burden to her partner and a disappointment to her community. Seeking a break, Mickey returns home to Maryland to recalibrate and ends up questioning the life she’s created for herself, especially after running into an old flame. Funny, vibrant, and real!
      ―Julia Lewis from Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA | Buy from Fountain Bookstore

  • Tremendous! Mickey’s coming-of-age story is equal parts career decisions and relationship choices. She’s a Black woman in the publishing industry, a writer, who is also a queer woman. Mickey’s story will truly speak to those two populations but will be so relatable to many. And she touches on body image things. You’ll nod along, get teary-eyed, and oh … not to be forgotten, prepare to be heavily entertained with the intimate details! She checks all the boxes of a great book. I’m an official fan of Tembe!
      ―Andrea Jasmin from Main Street Books in Davidson, NC | Buy from Main Street Books

  • I absolutely loved this book! The attention to detail was immaculate. I loved the raw and touching emotion that Tembe Denton-Hurst portrayed. I was rooting for Mickey the entire time through her ups and downs. Denton-Hurst is a beautiful writer and cannot wait for more!
      ―Brooke Parrish from Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, NC | Buy from Page 158 Books

  • This debut novel is AMAZING and I want to put it on everyone’s radar. Tembe Denton-Hurst is a young talent to watch. A smart and incisive examination of being a young Black woman in the workplace, but also a story of returning home, growing apart from childhood friends, and family expectations and first loves. It is so clever and self-aware and I enjoyed every page.
      ―Kate Storhoff from Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, NC | Buy from Bookmarks

About Tembe Denton-Hurst

Tembe Denton-Hurst is a staff writer at New York magazine’s The Strategist and has written for Nylon magazine, them, and Elle. When she’s not writing, Tembe can be found on her couch in Queens, New York, where she lives with her partner and their two cats, Stella and Dakota.

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