The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Biography & Autobiography

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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It’s Only Drowning by David Litt

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It's Only Drowning by David Litt
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I don’t know anything really about surfing, but I super loved this memoir by former Obama speechwriter David Litt. In the throes of pandemic-lockdown-induced doomscrolling, Litt found himself desperately in need of something to pull him out of his slump, and that something was surfing. Join him on his journey from foamy-riding newbie to surviving Hawaii’s infamous North Shore. Along for the ride – perhaps begrudgingly at first – is his brother-in-law, with whom Litt has next to nothing in common, except the hunt for the perfect break. The joy and mental growth that comes from learning a hard new thing – and finding common ground with someone at polar opposites – is inspiring and so very funny.

It’s Only Drowning by David Litt, (List Price: $19, Gallery Books, 9781668035368, June 2026)

Reviewed by Amanda, Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg, FL

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A Voice Like Mine by Deb Haaland

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A Voice Like Mine by Deb Haaland
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In spare but inspiring prose, Haagland recounts her life from childhood through her entry into politics and her time as the first Indigenous Secretary of the Interior. She explores the generational trauma stemming from relatives torn from their families and sent to governmental schools and what drives her to seek representation and justice for all people.

A Voice Like Mine by Deb Haaland, (List Price: $28.99, Henry Holt and Co., 9781250434227, June 2026)

Reviewed by Jan, Main Street Books in Davidson, NC

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After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal by Merlin Holland

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After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal by Merlin Holland
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An extraordinary achievement from Wilde’s only grandson! Collected in this expansive work is the legacy of Oscar Wilde. In some ways, more interesting than Matthew Sturgis’s masterful Oscar Wilde: A Life, After Oscar instead focuses on the effect the man has had on us rather than the man himself. Starting while Wilde is still alive and scandalized, Holland takes us on a journey of his grandfather’s posthumous reputation. Homophobia, hypocrisy, hubris abound here. The crackling, droll prose (inherited, perhaps) makes reading this book an utter joy. Even while my emotions rode a roller coaster of surprise, rage, and amusement.

After Oscar: The Legacy of a Scandal by Merlin Holland, (List Price: $34, Europa Editions, 9798889661764, April 2026)

Reviewed by Kelly, Fountain Bookstore in Richmond, VA

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Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon

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Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon
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Kiese Laymon writes a powerful memoir in which he immerses the reader in the individual experience of growing up Black in the Deep South. Laymon’s coming-of-age story, placed in the 80s and 90s, is layered with observations about body image and body awareness in the context of a geography intent on subjugating those who look like him. The entire book is written in second person, directed toward his mother, which has the effect of drawing the reader close to his story. He beautifully gives access to his own flaws, his family’s wisdom, and imperfections. A must-read for anyone interested in Black stories, Black people, and U.S.-American history.

Heavy: An American Memoir by Kiese Laymon, (List Price: $18, Scribner, 9781501125669, March 2019)

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

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Winter by Val McDermid

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Winter by Val McDermid
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I absolutely adored this book. Val is so vivid with her imagery that her recounting of childhood memories makes them feel like my own. You could really see her crime writer background come through in her painting of winter as noir, her romanticization of the darkness. I learned so much about Scottish culture, too! This book is an excellent choice for anyone looking for a short read to make you fall in love with winter.

Winter by Val McDermid, (List Price: $22, Atlantic Monthly Press, 9780802167811, January 2026)

Reviewed by Aidan, The Snail on the Wall in Huntsville, AL

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The Motherload by Sarah Hoover

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The Motherload by Sarah Hoover
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Tired of the picture-perfect portrayals of motherhood? The Motherload is the raw, unflinching memoir you’ve been waiting for. Sarah Hoover bravely tackles the difficult truths of pregnancy and postpartum life, including anxiety, trauma, and postpartum depression—topics often left out of the conversation. She shatters the myth of the “perfect mother” and the idea of immediate, blissful connection with your child, replacing it with a candid account of her own struggles. This book is a must-read for anyone who has ever felt like an imposter in their own life and is a powerful and necessary addition to the world of women’s literature.

The Motherload by Sarah Hoover, (List Price: $20, S&S/Simon Element, 9781668010143, April 2026)

Reviewed by Kimberly, Square Books in Oxford, MS

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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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Adult Braces by Lindy West

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Adult Braces by Lindy West
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I gobbled up this heartfelt, hilarious memoir about getting out of town and getting some perspective. I cannot wait to shove this into people’s hands. I think this whole country could use a good laugh through tears, and there is nobody more talented at facilitating that than Lindy West.

Adult Braces by Lindy West, (List Price: $29, Grand Central Publishing, 9780306831836, March 2026)

Reviewed by Chelsea, Union Avenue Books in Knoxville, Tennessee

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Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

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Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
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Between the World and Me” is an honest, raw love letter from Ta-Nehisi Coates to his fifteen-year-old son, Samori. The six-chapter letter was conceived after Coates watched his son’s heartache at the announcement that there would be no charges filed against Darren Wilson, the police officer who killed unarmed teenager Michael Brown. Coates reveals his own fears for his son and his frustrations with the world the boy is growing up in. He writes about the many senseless murders of black men; men who would still be alive if it weren’t for their black bodies. Coates tells his son, “You have every right to be you. And no one should deter you from being you. You have to be you. And you can never be afraid to be you.” Except the last sentence contradicts the world in which we live. Because Coates is afraid, both for his son and himself, but also of the world in which they live. The word body is repeated excessively in his letter. It is an insightful and persuasive argument that, first and foremost, we are a body. We are a body before any other distinguishing markers or features, and they embody a state of blackness. While this revelation isn’t new, the way Coates strings together his argument so elegantly causes one to pause and contemplate. His contrasts between human ideals and the stark realities of life rooted in racism are raw and painful. I found myself comparing this letter to Isabel Wilkerson’s masterpiece, Caste. While Coates points out the ways black bodies have been mistreated, his letter doesn’t provide the depth of contemplation and assessment that Wilkerson’s excellent work did.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, (List Price: $20, One World, 9780812983814, June 2025)

Reviewed by Nichole, Bodacious Bookstore and Cafe in Pensacola, Florida

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In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man by Tom Junod

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In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man by Tom Junod
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In the days before caustic masculinity was recognized as such, when men could be men, and women could be, well, dismissed, abused, and ignored, along with so many other choice words. Thankfully, though, the public-school systems and Universities taught us to think for ourselves, and, with the help of our mothers, sisters, and friends, we were able to see past that dark tunnel of masculinity. But our fathers were still our fathers, and we loved them regardless of their foibles as this elegant and elegiac memoir shows. Tom Junod took me back to my childhood, and I saw my father, and with an honesty I don’t have, shares with us his father warts and all.

In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man by Tom Junod, (List Price: $32, Doubleday, 9780375400391, March 2026)

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

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Traversal by Maria Popova

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Traversal by Maria Popova
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Maria Popova once again illuminates how science and poetry have reckoned with “the bewilderment of being alive” while reconnoitering truths of the body, soul, spirit, and space, all through the intertwining loves, lives, and labors of visionaries like Mary Shelley, Walt Whitman, Frederick Douglass, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, Ruth Benedict, and others. Popova writes brilliant, fluid, lively nonfiction—like floating down a river of science, poetry, history, and stars.

Traversal by Maria Popova, (List Price: $36, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 9780374616410, February 2026)

Reviewed by Megan, The Underground Bookshop in Carrollton, Georgia

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Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton

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Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
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An introspective and entertaining story of an unusual bond between a woman and a hare – and you learn a lot about hares! I enjoyed the author’s sens of wonder and curiosity and how her thoughts about nature and life changed through this experience. Quietly transformative, a joy to read!

Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton, (List Price: $27, Pantheon, 9780593701843, March 2025)

Reviewed by Cathy, Copperfish Books in Punta Gorda, Florida

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The Typewriter and the Guillotine by Mark Braude

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The Typewriter and the Guillotine by Mark Braude
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This book checks so many boxes for different reader interests. There is a true crime story in the vein of Devil in the White City, alongside a fascinating look at life in Paris in the run-up to World War II. We also get a portrait of pioneering journalist Janet Flanner, who gradually shifted from gossipy columns about expats in Paris to meatier pieces about the Nazis’ growing influence in Europe in her role as New York columnist. History and true crime readers will both appreciate this one.

The Typewriter and the Guillotine by Mark Braude, (List Price: $32.50, Grand Central Publishing, 9781538767115, January 2026)

Reviewed by Amanda, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas

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Book Buzz: Family of Spies by Christine Keuhn

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Christine Kuehn, photo credit Emily Burkhard“My dad never spoke much about his family growing up. I knew some basics. He had grown up in Hawaii. His Aunt Ruth lived in New York, and his parents had passed. So when he called me and said Aunt Ruth wants to meet you, do you want to go meet her? I was like, so excited. This was like finally a step into my father’s past. We drove to Charleston and went and met my Aunt Ruth and we walked in and she was just this sweet little old lady. We sat and had a great conversation. I was really enjoying getting to know her. And on the coffee table next to where she was sitting, I noticed this wedding picture, and I looked at it. And I’m like, Oh, are those my grandparents? And she nodded, Yes. And I was like, Can you tell me something about them? My father never speaks of them. And she just sat there and didn’t respond. [I asked] Can you tell me anything? How did they meet, when did they get married? And she cut me off and she said, You have a good life. Don’t ruin it with the past.”
  ― Christine Kuehn, Interview, WBUR.org Boston Public Radio

Family of Spies by Christine Kuehn

What booksellers are saying about Family of Spies

  • Family of Spies is mind boggling!! I kept thinking how I would feel finding out these unbelievable and frightening secrets in my family’s past… whew… it made my heart pump harder and faster. And yes, I know it’s not a thriller novel, but it definitely could be. Highly recommended.
      ― Horton’s Books & Gifts in Carrollton , Georgia | BUY

  • Family of Spies is a compulsively readable true story about the German family who spied on Pearl Harbor for the Japanese before the attack and the after effects on their descendants. Author Christine Kuehn discovers the truth about her grandfather after being contacted by a screenwriter. That call led her down a long journey to discover the hidden past of her family, eventually leading her to write this fascinating story. Family of Spies is a very accessible story for anyone and I highly recommend it!
      ― Jennifer Jones, Bookmiser, Inc. Marietta, Georgia | BUY

  • I couldn’t put this book down! What do you do when you discover that your grandparents, aunt, and uncle were Nazis? This is a fascinating story about one family’s involvement with the Nazis and how they helped bring about the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor. I have a feeling this will be THE non-fiction book of the fall.
      ― Claire McWhorter, River & Hill Books in Rome, Georgia | BUY

  • Wow! So much is packed into under 300 pages. I can’t fathom how someone uncovers the secrets of their grandparents 50 years after some of the very darkest days in the history of our country. There are so many layers to this incredible story. Family, politics, and history make you ride a wave of emotion on every page. Failed espionage and greed factor heavily into the guilt the author understandably didn’t originally want to share. Hoping this never happens again.
      ― Suzanne Lucey, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, North Carolina | BUY

About Christine Kuehn

Christine Kuehn Schiponi was cocooned in the sanctity of a quiet suburban life when a letter from a historian in 1994 pierced that bubble, sending her on a 30 year quest to discover the truth behind a horrendous family secret kept hidden for half a century. Following a career in journalism, public relations, and non-profit, Christine now lives in Maryland with her husband close to their three grown children.

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