The books Southern indie booksellers are recommending to readers everywhere!

Cultural Botany

When Trees Testify by Beronda L. Montgomery

I studied trees for my senior project in undergrad, and I remember the looks I would get when I tried to explain how magical these living beings are. My work explored plant autonomy and the ways humans interpret nature’s agency, but When Trees Testify deepens that understanding in ways I could have never imagined. The book’s poetic assertion that the breath of loved ones can remain alive through scientific processes is an astounding observation. It redefines the boundaries between the human and the natural. It reminds us that our actions are linked to the lives of the ecosystems we shape. When Trees Testify presents trees not as passive organisms, but as active participants—beings with resilience and a shared history.

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

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

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Foreign Fruit: A Personal History of the Orange by Katie Goh

The very ordinariness of oranges hides a complex history, a tool of colonialism spanning the globe and leaving a trail of losses and some gains. Goh thoughtfully interweaves her own complex family history into that of oranges, creating a compelling hybrid of science, history, and memoir. Her blend is much more satisfying than the juice in supermarket stores.

Foreign Fruit: A Personal History of the Orange by Katie Goh, (List Price: $27.99, Tin House, 9781963108231, May 2025)

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

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