The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Animals

The Truth About Dragons by Julie Leung

I picked up this book based purely on the gorgeous cover. The lyrical story told by the mother to the child at bedtime is just so sweet, and each page is full of beautiful detail. I really loved how the differences between the two dragons are celebrated, but their similarities are also highlighted. An enriching celebration of multicultural identity.

The Truth About Dragons by Julie Leung, (List Price: 18.99, Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 9781250820587, August 2023)

Reviewed by Chelsea Stringfield, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee

You Stole My Name by Dennis Mcgregor

Absolutely astoundingly gorgeous illustrations in this charming picture book that celebrates the natural world. A Kangaroo Rat meets a Kangaroo, a Spider Monkey greets a monkey; each of these mini poems and paintings celebrates the vibrancy and diversity of life on our planet and is a perfect gift for kids obsessed with animals.

You Stole My Name by Dennis Mcgregor, (List Price: 18.99, Blue Star Press, 9781941325988, August 2023)

Reviewed by Caleb Masters, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead

An August 2023 Read This Next! Book

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass is a middle grade mystery that celebrates the power of a good book. Evan has grown up in a town without a library and none of the adults talk about the fire that destroyed such a beloved place. A librarian, a cat, a few ghosts, and a handful of mice put in motion an unraveling of a collective puzzle that may make you gasp! Highly recommend.

The Lost Library by Rebecca Stead, (List Price: 17.99, Feiwel & Friends, 9781250838810, August 2023)

Reviewed by Rachel Watkins, Avid Bookshop in Athens, Georgia

A First Guide to Dogs: Understanding Your Very Best Friend by John Bradshaw

This is a fantastic book to give to a young reader who’s about to get their first dog! This book follows a day in the life of a terrier named Rusty, explaining how dogs live in the World of Smells, how dogs like to greet each other, how they communicate with us, and why they don’t like to be left alone. It’s very cute and fun to read and packed with important information!

A First Guide to Dogs: Understanding Your Very Best Friend by John Bradshaw, (List Price: 7.99, Penguin Workshop, 9780593521830, June 2023)

Reviewed by Kate Storhoff, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Bruce and the Legend of Soggy Hollow by Ryan T. Higgins

I literally jumped up and down when we received this! Bruce’s friends don’t know why he doesn’t want to celebrate Halloween. But they get him to give out candy and have fun in only the way that Grumpy Bears can have. The Bruce books are a favorite. This time for a grumpy, hilarious Halloween picture book that will keep you in stitches. Bruce’s friends don’t know why he doesn’t want to celebrate Halloween. But they get him to give out candy and have fun in only the way that Grumpy Bears can have. The Bruce books are a favorite

Bruce and the Legend of Soggy Hollow by Ryan T. Higgins, (List Price: 18.99, Disney Hyperion, 9781368059589, July 2023)

Reviewed by Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina

Spotlight on: Open Throat by Henry Hoke

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Henry Hoke, photo credit Myles Pettengill

I call my cat Hecate, as sort of a – it’s formed a separate identity for me, you know, from the actual lion. But Hecate feels this community in this space, these people who are living adjacent to each other in tents and, you know, sharing food, taking care of each other. Calling it town is like this is the first encounter of, like, people in place and people forming a small civilization on the cat’s terms. It’s outside of the horror of a freeway that it’s crossed and the violent past it’s had with its own kind when its father sort of, you know, rejects it and hunts it.. ― Henry Hoke, Interview, NPR

Open Throat by Henry Hoke

What booksellers are saying about Open Throat

  • I do not need much convincing to read a book whose narrator is a queer mountain lion, and neither should you. This firecracker of a novel is a tale of a big cat living under the Hollywood sign; where witnessing gay hookups, therapist debriefings, and vent sessions about the social scene of “ellay” are normal occurrences. When a fire breaks out in the hills he calls his home, the mountain lion is forced to move closer to civilization. Our unconventional protagonist successfully and skillfully delves into themes of gender, familial issues, and loneliness in this flawless, fever-dream novella.
      ― Grace Sullivan from Fountain Books in Richmond, VA | Buy from Fountain Bookstore

  • As a bookseller, it’s pretty rare to say “I’ve never read anything like this before”, but in the case of Open Throat, it’s 100% true. I absolutely inhaled this beautiful, darkly funny, propulsive prowler of a book. Told from the POV of a mountain lion in pseudo-verse and using language acquired from the hikers under the thicket where it lives, near the Hollywood sign, this story made me think hard about how we treat the animals – wild and domestic- in and around our cities. Love love love!.
      ― Rachel Knox from Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg, FL | Buy from Tombolo Books

  • Savage and gentle, the protagonist of OPEN THROAT sees the best of us—but mostly the worst. At only 156 pages, this short but powerful novel packs in a captivating meditation on queerness, climate disaster, and looks at just how little humans tend to care for their fellow man. I loved the nameless, ambiguously gendered, lonely mountain lion whose world we looked through. One of the most thoughtful and unique books I’ve had the pleasure of reading.   
      ― Gaby Iori from Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews in Chapel Hill, NC | Buy from Epilogue Books Chocolate Brews

About Henry Hoke

Henry Hoke is an editor at The Offing and a writer whose work has appeared in No Tokens, Triangle House Review, Electric Literature, and the flash noir anthology Tiny Crimes. He co-created the performance series Enter>text in Los Angeles, and has taught at CalArts and the UVA Young Writers Workshop. He lives in New York City.

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Snug as a Bug? by Karl Newson

A hilarious read that had me giggling with every page!

Poor bug has quite the day dodging one creature after another. Just when you think bug is safe- WHAM they find themselves in another pickle.

The repeating phrase and rhyming words are sure to make this a fun read aloud for children of all ages. It is sure to be a story time favorite.

Snug as a bug indeed!

Snug as a Bug? by Karl Newson, (List Price: 18.99, Happy Yak, 9780711274860, June 2023)

Reviewed by Michelle Weiler, Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina

Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper

Better Living Through Birding is a memoir that is very much about birds… but it’s also about so much more. Cooper was thrust into the media spotlight via a viral video in which he was subject to racial threats in Central Park from a dog walker… and he discusses this incident in detail. However, he also discusses growing up gay & black in NYC in the 70’s & 80’s, how comic books and nature saved his life, and how activism against social injustice runs in the family. From Harvard to writing for Marvel Comics & Star Trek to following elusive birds in the most remote places in the world, this memoir is honest, emotionally stirring, and heartfelt. It made me want to go for a nature walk immediately after I finished it.

Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper, (List Price: $28, Random House, 9780593242384, June 2023)

Reviewed by Stuart McCommon, Novel. in Memphis, Tennessee

Slow Down and Be Here Now by Laura Brand

Frog tongues, dandelion puffs, snowflakes, All wonders of the world. This charming giftable nature guide/storybook encourages readers to slow down and enjoy all the amazing things in the natural world.

Slow Down and Be Here Now by Laura Brand, (List Price: 22.99, Magic Cat, 9781419765971, March 2023)

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

The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers

This is the story of Johannes, a wild dog who lives in the park. He runs his round because he is the Eyes for the keeper of the Equilibrium. He decides one day to gain a greater purpose and free his friends the bison. Though for children, I think this story would be enjoyed by anyone who has ever run and felt faster than the sun. Johannes is absolutely endearing, arrogant, feral, and free. Above all else, he’s free and wonderful. I found myself elated with every triumph and breathless with every close call. I loved it and was in tears by the beauty of the writing at the end. I absolutely cannot wait to recommend this to everyone I know. "To be alive is to go forth. So we go forth." Don’t let Johannes slip by you! He’s faster than light, so it might be hard.

The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers, (List Price: $18.99, Knopf Books for Young Readers, 9781524764203, May 2023)

Reviewed by Katlin Kerrison, Story On the Square in McDonough, Georgia

Simon and the Better Bone by Corey R. Tabor

Just like Tabor’s wonderful Mel Fell, his newest picture book Simon and the Better Bone is a delight that plays with the very format of a book itself. A whimsical retelling of an Aesop fable, Simon gets into an argument with his reflection and soon learns where jealousy can lead. Vibrantly illustrated and simply told, Simon and the Better Bone is a perfect read-a-loud book!

Simon and the Better Bone by Corey R. Tabor, (List Price: 19.99, Balzer + Bray, 9780063275553, May 2023)

Reviewed by Caleb Masters, Bookmarks in Winston-Salem, North Carolina

The Wise Hours by Miriam Darlington

Owls, for all their popularity in myths and Harry Potter movies, are elusive and difficult to observe in the wild. But the wild, the reality is what Darlington is seeking and what she brings to this thoughtful account. Her careful descriptions of eight species are deepened by reflections on how much humanity loses when we lose true awareness of the wild. A call for more care of the natural world, protection of spaces needed by our fellow creatures, and a willingness to live with uncertainty, this book offers heart and soul as well as natural history.

The Wise Hours by Miriam Darlington, (List Price: $27.95, Tin House Books, 9781953534835, February 2023)

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

Snow Horses by Patricia MacLachlan

In the morning, the trumpets will play and the sun will rise and the new year will dawn. Tonight, however, the rhythmic crunch of the horse hooves on falling snow makes the world a magical place. Absolutely stunning illustrations and a sweet story will surely make this one a new holiday favorite for many families.

Snow Horses by Patricia MacLachlan (List Price: $18.99, Margaret K. McElderry Books, 9781534473553, November 2022)

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

The Wolf Suit by Sid Sharp

The Wolf Suit is an absolutely charming picture book about anxiety through the eyes of a sheep in wolf’s clothing.

The Wolf Suit by Sid Sharp, (List Price: $19.99, Annick Press, 9781773217208, October 2022)

Reviewed by Michelle Cavalier, Cavalier House Books in Denham Springs, Louisiana

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