Bookseller reviews of books on the bestseller list this week
The poetry of Billy Collins never disappoints! A must read this holiday season. Even though I’m a cat person, I couldn’t put this book down. Readers will savor each and every poem along with the dog illustrations by Pamela Sztybel. A joyful read about man’s best friend.
Dog Show: Poems by Billy Collins, (List Price: $20, Random House, 9780593979419, November 2025)
Reviewed by Sheri Bancroft, novel. in Memphis, Tennessee
I’m now on the last 100 pages, and I find myself slowing down because I do not want it to end and dogearing nearly every other page because the writing is so astounding. The characters, the worlds they inhabit in Vermont, New York, and India, and the cultural and family dynamics are written with such depth and humanity. Kiran Desai has created another masterpiece!
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai, (List Price: $32, Hogarth, 9780307700155, September 2025)
Reviewed by Alsace Walentine, Tombolo Books in St Petersburg, Florida
If you love a good “fake dating” story, you’ll be completely swept away by this charming new romance. Dani and Alec were inseparable as kids, but when Dani returns to her Minnesota hometown, she finds the nerdy boy she remembers has been replaced by the town’s hockey star. When they are forced to pretend to be a couple, their complicated charade leads to some truly swoon-worthy moments. This book perfectly captures the awkwardness and excitement of first love, proving that even in a town where hockey is king, a little romance can still take center ice.
Fake Skating by Lynn Painter, (List Price: $21.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9781665921268, September 2025)
Reviewed by Kimberly Todd, Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi
The Southern Indie Bestseller List, as brought to you by IndieBound and SIBA, for the week ending Sunday, December 14, 2025. Based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance and IndieBound. For an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.org.
HARDCOVER FICTION
1. The Correspondent
Virginia Evans, Crown, $28, 9780593798430
2. Heart the Lover
Lily King, Grove Press, $28, 9780802165176
3. The Widow
John Grisham, Doubleday, $32, 9780385548984
4. Flesh
David Szalay, Scribner, $28.99, 9781982122799
5. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Kiran Desai, Hogarth, $32, 9780307700155
6. The Black Wolf
Louise Penny, Minotaur Books, $30, 9781250328175
7. What We Can Know
Ian McEwan, Knopf, $30, 9780593804728
8. Dog Show: Poems
Billy Collins, Pamela Sztybel (Illus.), Random House, $20, 9780593979419
9. Brimstone (Deluxe Limited Edition)
Callie Hart, Forever, $33, 9781538774229
10. The Secret of Secrets
Dan Brown, Doubleday, $38, 9780385546898
11. James
Percival Everett, Doubleday, $28, 9780385550369
12. My Friends
Fredrik Backman, Atria Books, $29.99, 9781982112820
13. Twice
Mitch Albom, Harper, $26.99, 9780062406682
14. House of Day, House of Night
Olga Tokarczuk, Riverhead Books, $28, 9780593716380
15. The Strength of the Few
James Islington, S&S/Saga Press, $34, 9781982141233
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. 1929: Inside the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History—and How It Shattered a Nation
Andrew Ross Sorkin, Viking, $35, 9780593296967
2. The Look
Michelle Obama, Crown, $50, 9780593800706
3. Always Remember: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and the Storm
Charlie Mackesy, Penguin Life, $27, 9780593994825
4. The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can't Stop Talking About
Mel Robbins, Sawyer Robbins, Hay House LLC, $29.99, 9781401971366
5. The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
Robin Wall Kimmerer, John Burgoyne (Illus.), Scribner, $20, 9781668072240
6. The Greatest Sentence Ever Written
Walter Isaacson, Simon & Schuster, $20, 9781982181314
7. Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love
Samin Nosrat, Random House, $45, 9781984857781
8. Something from Nothing: A Cookbook
Alison Roman, Clarkson Potter, $37.99, 9781984826411
9. Living in the Present with John Prine
Tom Piazza, W. W. Norton & Company, $27.99, 9781324050858
10. Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds
John Fugelsang, Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, $29.99, 9781668066898
11. Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection
John Green, Crash Course Books, $28, 9780525556572
12. A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck
Sophie Elmhirst, Riverhead Books, $28, 9780593854280
13. The Uncool: A Memoir
Cameron Crowe, Avid Reader Press/Simon & Schuster, $35, 9781668059432
14. How to Test Negative for Stupid: And Why Washington Never Will
John Kennedy, Broadside Books, $29.99, 9780063428164
15. Raising Hare: A Memoir
Chloe Dalton, Pantheon, $27, 9780593701843
TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION
1. Theo of Golden
Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20, 9781668236512
2. The God of the Woods
Liz Moore, Riverhead Books, $19, 9780593418925
3. Remarkably Bright Creatures
Shelby Van Pelt, Ecco, $19.99, 9780063204164
4. Hamnet
Maggie O'Farrell, Vintage, $19, 9781984898876
5. The Housemaid
Freida McFadden, Grand Central, $18.99, 9781538742570
6. The Frozen River
Ariel Lawhon, Vintage, $18, 9780593312070
7. Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir, Ballantine, $22, 9780593135228
8. Demon Copperhead
Barbara Kingsolver, Harper Perennial, $21.99, 9780063251984
9. Isola
Allegra Goodman, Dial Press Trade Paperback, $19, 9780593730102
10. The Best American Short Stories 2025
Celeste Ng, Nicole A. Lamy (Eds.), Mariner Books, $18.99, 9780063399808
11. The City and Its Uncertain Walls
Haruki Murakami, Vintage, $19, 9780593687840
12. The Thursday Murder Club
Richard Osman, Penguin, $18, 9781984880987
13. On the Calculation of Volume (Book I)
Solvej Balle, Barbara J. Haveland (Transl.), New Directions, $15.95, 9780811237253
14. The Princess Bride Deluxe Limited Edition
William Goldman, Harper Perennial, $22, 9780063458154
15. The Midnight Library
Matt Haig, Penguin, $18, 9780525559498
TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION
1. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $22, 9781571313560
2. Fight Oligarchy
Senator Bernie Sanders, Crown, $14.99, 9798217089161
3. The 2026 Old Farmer's Almanac
Old Farmer's Almanac, Old Farmer's Almanac, $10.95, 9781961793682
4. The Best American Essays 2025
Jia Tolentino, Kim Dana Kupperman (Eds.), Mariner Books, $18.99, 9780063351592
5. The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession
Michael Finkel, Vintage, $18, 9781984898456
6. Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts
Oliver Burkeman, Picador, $19, 9781250397676
7. All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me
Patrick Bringley, Simon & Schuster, $18.99, 9781982163310
8. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
David Grann, Vintage, $21, 9780307742490
9. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
Timothy Snyder, Crown, $14, 9780804190114
10. The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2025
Susan Orlean, Jaime Green (Eds.), Mariner Books, $18.99, 9780063414211
11. How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen
David Brooks, Random House Trade Paperbacks, $20, 9780593230077
12. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., Penguin, $19, 9780143127741
13. Native Nations: A Millennium in North America
Kathleen DuVal, Random House Trade Paperbacks, $25, 9780525511052
14. Book and Dagger: How Scholars and Librarians Became the Unlikely Spies of World War II
Elyse Graham, Ecco, $19.99, 9780063280854
15. Stories from Ole Miss Baseball
Chase Parham, Jeff Roberson, Nautilus Publishing, $45, 9781949455618
MASS MARKET
1. The Long Walk
Stephen King, Pocket, $11.99, 9781668052013
2. The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger, Little, Brown, $9.99, 9780316769488
3. 1984
George Orwell, Signet, $10.99, 9780451524935
4. Slaughterhouse-Five
Kurt Vonnegut, Dell, $9.99, 9780440180296
5. Lord of the Flies
William Golding, Penguin, $12, 9780399501487
6. The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank, Bantam, $8.99, 9780553577129
7. Children of Dune
Frank Herbert, Ace, $9.99, 9780441104024
8. Dune
Frank Herbert, Ace, $10.99, 9780593640340
9. The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, $10.99, 9780756404741
10. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Douglas Adams, Del Rey, $9.99, 9780345391803
CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED
1. The Christmas Sweater
Jan Brett, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780593533918
2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Dr. Seuss, Random House Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780593434383
3. Santa's First Christmas
Mac Barnett, Sydney Smith (Illus.), Viking Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780593524978
4. If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone
Gideon Sterer, Emily Hughes (Illus.), Clarion Books, $19.99, 9780063375222
5. A Dance with Santa Claus
Sandra Boynton, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780316593694
6. Goodnight Moon
Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), Harper, $10.99, 9780694003617
7. If We Were Dogs
Sophie Blackall, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780316581721
8. The Bakery Dragon
Devin Elle Kurtz, Knopf Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780593710968
9. Knight Owl's Little Christmas
Christopher Denise, Christy Ottaviano Books, $8.99, 9780316587501
10. Steam Train, Dream Train: Next Stop, Christmas!
Sherri Duskey Rinker, AG Ford (Illus.), Chronicle Books, $18.99, 9781797227030
CHILDREN'S INTEREST
1. Impossible Creatures
Katherine Rundell, Ashley Mackenzie (Illus.), Yearling, $11.99, 9780593809891
2. The Poisoned King (Impossible Creatures #2)
Katherine Rundell, Ashley Mackenzie (Illus.), Knopf Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780593809907
3. Pocket Bear
Katherine Applegate, Feiwel & Friends, $17.99, 9781250904362
4. Charlotte's Web
E. B. White, HarperCollins, $10.99, 9780064400558
5. Fake Skating
Lynn Painter, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $21.99, 9781665921268
6. From the World of Percy Jackson: The Court of the Dead: A Nico di Angelo Adventure
Rick Riordan, Mark Oshiro, Disney Hyperion, $21.99, 9781368109116
7. The Last Dragon on Mars (Dragonships #1)
Scott Reintgen, Aladdin, $9.99, 9781665946520
8. Growing Home
Beth Ferry, Terry Fan (Illus.), Eric Fan (Illus.), Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $17.99, 9781665942485
9. Scarlet Morning
ND Stevenson, Quill Tree Books, $19.99, 9780063210349
10. The Eyes and the Impossible
Dave Eggers, Shawn Harris (Illus.), Yearling, $14.99, 9781524764234
CHILDREN'S SERIES TITLES
1. Dog Man: Big Jim Believes
Dav Pilkey, Graphix, $15.99, 9781546176183
2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper
Jeff Kinney, Amulet Books, $15.99, 9781419782695
3. The Wild Robot
Peter Brown, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $9.99, 9780316581097
4. Sunrise on the Reaping (A Hunger Games Novel)
Suzanne Collins, Scholastic Press, $27.99, 9781546171461
5. Dog Man
Dav Pilkey, Graphix, $12.99, 9781338741032
6. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, #1)
Rick Riordan, Disney Hyperion, $10.99, 9781368051477
7. InvestiGators: Case Files
John Patrick Green, Steve Behling, Chris Fenoglio (Illus.), First Second, $12.99, 9781250223227
8. Darkstalker: A Graphic Novel (Wings of Fire: Legends Graphic Novel)
Tui T. Sutherland, Jake Parker (Illus.), Graphix, $14.99, 9781339001296
9. Sunrise on the Reaping: Collector's Gift Edition (The Hunger Games)
Suzanne Collins, Scholastic Press, $32.99, 9798225019280
10. Dog Man: The Scarlet Shedder
Dav Pilkey, Graphix, $14.99, 9781338896435