Bookseller reviews of books on the bestseller list this week
This book is a celebration of creativity when the narrator imagines what life would be like as a dog. It’s a delightful romp as well as a display of acceptance of other ideas.
If We Were Dogs by Sophie Blackall, (List Price: $18.99, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 9780316581721, September 2025)
Reviewed by Rae Ann Parker, Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee
This incredible book connects hundreds of dots, centering the murder of Emmett Till in a stream of events, characters and circumstances going all the way back into prehistory. Wright Thompson grew up in the same Mississippi township as Till’s relatives and Till’s murderers, and he is quick to point out how all the local families, white and black alike, have been connected throughout history. Thompson approaches his topic with the eye of an insider while bringing in all the research one would expect of a journalist. One of his central themes is that the tragedy didn’t have to go down like it did—there were inflection points throughout history that could have sent events in a different direction altogether. Thompson does a masterful job of showing how, one social and economic event at a time, the Mississippi Delta came to be ruled by an insular bunch of poor, desperate, white terrorists, who by their actions destroyed the very place and way of life that they were trying so hard to cling to. The tragedy and the irony that are the hallmarks of the Delta’s history drip from every page. Till’s murder, in Thompson’s you-are-there retelling, wasn’t the result of an incident in a store, but rather a product of a cascade of events and circumstances that left Mississippi with a powerless but violence-prone white population who were desperate to subjugate their Black neighbors as a means of making sure they themselves weren’t at the bottom of the social order. I’m in awe of this book. Vivid storytelling, thorough research and interviews, beautiful prose, insights and turns of phrase that I wanted to share with whoever was nearby—a must-read.
The Barn by Wright Thompson, (List Price: $22, Penguin Press, 9780593299845, September 2025)
Reviewed by Amanda Grell, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas
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
The Southern Indie Bestseller List, as brought to you by IndieBound and SIBA, for the week ending Sunday, January 4, 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.
The Southern Indie Bestsellers List, as brought to you by IndieBound and SIBA, for
the week ended Sunday, January 4, 2026. 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. What We Can Know
Ian McEwan, Knopf, $30, 9780593804728
4. The Secret of Secrets
Dan Brown, Doubleday, $38, 9780385546898
5. James
Percival Everett, Doubleday, $28, 9780385550369
6. Twice
Mitch Albom, Harper, $26.99, 9780062406682
7. The Widow
John Grisham, Doubleday, $32, 9780385548984
8. Flesh
David Szalay, Scribner, $28.99, 9781982122799
9. Buckeye
Patrick Ryan, Random House, $30, 9780593595039
10. Alchemised
SenLinYu, Del Rey, $35, 9780593972700
11. Wild Dark Shore
Charlotte McConaghy, Flatiron Books, $28.99, 9781250827951
12. The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Kiran Desai, Hogarth, $32, 9780307700155
13. My Friends
Fredrik Backman, Atria Books, $29.99, 9781982112820
14. Katabasis
R. F. Kuang, Harper Voyager, $32, 9780063446243
15. Small Things Like These
Claire Keegan, Grove Press, $20, 9780802158741
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 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
3. Family of Spies: A World War II Story of Nazi Espionage, Betrayal, and the Secret History Behind Pearl Harbor
Christine Kuehn, Celadon Books, $29.99, 9781250344465
4. Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection
John Green, Crash Course Books, $28, 9780525556572
5. The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald
John U. Bacon, Liveright, $35, 9781324094647
6. Always Remember: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse and the Storm
Charlie Mackesy, Penguin Life, $27, 9780593994825
7. The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life
Suleika Jaouad, Random House, $30, 9780593734636
8. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
Omar El Akkad, Knopf, $28, 9780593804148
9. The Greatest Sentence Ever Written
Walter Isaacson, Simon & Schuster, $20, 9781982181314
10. The Look
Michelle Obama, Crown, $50, 9780593800706
11. A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck
Sophie Elmhirst, Riverhead Books, $28, 9780593854280
12. 107 Days
Kamala Harris, Simon & Schuster, $30, 9781668211656
13. Something from Nothing: A Cookbook
Alison Roman, Clarkson Potter, $37.99, 9781984826411
14. Bread of Angels: A Memoir
Patti Smith, Random House, $30, 9781101875124
15. Poems & Prayers
Matthew McConaughey, Crown, $29, 9781984862105
TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION
1. Theo of Golden
Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20, 9781668236512
2. Hamnet
Maggie O'Farrell, Vintage, $19, 9781984898876
3. The God of the Woods
Liz Moore, Riverhead Books, $19, 9780593418925
4. Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir, Ballantine, $22, 9780593135228
5. Dungeon Crawler Carl
Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20, 9780593820254
6. The Housemaid
Freida McFadden, Grand Central, $18.99, 9781538742570
7. Remarkably Bright Creatures
Shelby Van Pelt, Ecco, $19.99, 9780063204164
8. Heated Rivalry
Rachel Reid, Carina Press, $18.99, 9781335534637
9. The Frozen River
Ariel Lawhon, Vintage, $18, 9780593312070
10. Martyr!
Kaveh Akbar, Vintage, $18, 9780593685778
11. The Princess Bride Deluxe Limited Edition
William Goldman, Harper Perennial, $22, 9780063458154
12. Game Changer
Rachel Reid, Carina Press, $18.99, 9781335534620
13. I Who Have Never Known Men
Jacqueline Harpman, Transit Books, $16.95, 9781945492600
14. Isola
Allegra Goodman, Dial Press Trade Paperback, $19, 9780593730102
15. Demon Copperhead
Barbara Kingsolver, Harper Perennial, $21.99, 9780063251984
TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION
1. The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession
Michael Finkel, Vintage, $18, 9781984898456
2. On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century
Timothy Snyder, Crown, $14, 9780804190114
3. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
David Grann, Vintage, $21, 9780307742490
4. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Milkweed Editions, $22, 9781571313560
5. All About Love: New Visions
bell hooks, William Morrow Paperbacks, $16.99, 9780060959470
6. Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection
Charles Duhigg, Random House Trade Paperbacks, $20, 9780593243923
7. The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
Bessel van der Kolk, M.D., Penguin, $19, 9780143127741
8. The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness
Morgan Housel, Harriman House, $19.99, 9780857197689
9. Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
James Nestor, Riverhead Books, $20, 9780735213623
10. The Artist's Way: 30th Anniversary Edition
Julia Cameron, TarcherPerigee, $24, 9780143129257
11. The Atomic Habits Workbook: Official Companion to the #1 Worldwide Bestseller
James Clear, Avery, $26, 9798217180509
12. The Backyard Bird Chronicles
Amy Tan, Knopf, $36, 9780593536131
13. All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me
Patrick Bringley, Simon & Schuster, $18.99, 9781982163310
14. Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta
Richard Grant, Simon & Schuster, $19, 9781476709642
15. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
David Grann, Vintage, $18, 9780593470831
MASS MARKET
1. 1984
George Orwell, Signet, $12, 9780451524935
2. Animal Farm
George Orwell, Signet, $12, 9780451526342
3. Mistborn: The Final Empire
Brandon Sanderson, Tor, $10.99, 9781250318541
4. Jurassic Park
Michael Crichton, Ballantine, $10.99, 9780345538987
5. The Fellowship of the Ring: The Lord of the Rings: Part One
J.R.R. Tolkien, Del Rey, $8.99, 9780593500484
6. The Name of the Wind
Patrick Rothfuss, DAW, $10.99, 9780756404741
7. Mythology
Edith Hamilton, Grand Central, $10.99, 9780446574754
8. The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger, Little, Brown, $9.99, 9780316769488
9. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou, Ballantine, $9.99, 9780345514400
10. The Diary of a Young Girl
Anne Frank, Bantam, $8.99, 9780553577129
CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED
1. For the Fans! (KPop Demon Hunters): Official Storybook (Little Golden Book)
Golden Books, $6.99, 9798217233977
2. Where the Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak, Harper, $21.99, 9780060254926
3. Goodnight Moon
Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), Harper, $10.99, 9780694003617
4. A Snow Day for Amos McGee
Philip C. Stead, Erin E. Stead (Illus.), Roaring Brook Press, $19.99, 9781250324733
5. If We Were Dogs
Sophie Blackall, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780316581721
6. Smooches!
Sandra Boynton, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $7.99, 9780316574686
7. Buffalo Fluffalo and Puffalo (A Buffalo Fluffalo Story)
Bess Kalb, Erin Kraan (Illus.), Random House Studio, $18.99, 9780593810309
8. If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone
Gideon Sterer, Emily Hughes (Illus.), Clarion Books, $19.99, 9780063375222
9. How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Dr. Seuss, Random House Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780593434383
10. The Humble Pie
Jory John, Pete Oswald (Illus.), HarperCollins, $19.99, 9780063469730
CHILDREN'S INTEREST
1. The Poisoned King (Impossible Creatures #2)
Katherine Rundell, Ashley Mackenzie (Illus.), Knopf Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9780593809907
2. A Wrinkle in Time
Madeleine L'Engle, Square Fish, $8.99, 9781250153272
3. Impossible Creatures
Katherine Rundell, Ashley Mackenzie (Illus.), Yearling, $11.99, 9780593809891
4. Nothing Like the Movies
Lynn Painter, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $13.99, 9781665947145
5. Fake Skating
Lynn Painter, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $21.99, 9781665921268
6. War Games
Alan Gratz, Scholastic Press, $18.99, 9781338736106
7. The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World
Jonathan Haidt, Catherine Price, Cynthia Yuan Cheng (Illus.), Rocky Pond Books, $14.99, 9798217111916
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Special Edition)
Stephen Chbosky, Simon Pulse, $15.99, 9781665982412
9. 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
10. Troubling Tonsils! (Jasper Rabbit's Creepy Tales!)
Aaron Reynolds, Peter Brown (Illus.), Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $13.99, 9781665961080
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, Harry N. Abrams, $15.99, 9781419782695
3. Talons of Power: A Graphic Novel (Wings of Fire Graphic Novel, #9)
Tui T. Sutherland, Mike Holmes (Illus.), Graphix, $14.99, 9781339001265
4. Spy School Blackout
Stuart Gibbs, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9781665956512
5. Darkstalker: A Graphic Novel (Wings of Fire: Legends Graphic Novel)
Tui T. Sutherland, Jake Parker (Illus.), Graphix, $14.99, 9781339001296
6. Crowntide (The Lightlark Saga Book, 4)
Alex Aster, Harry N. Abrams, $24.99, 9781419785719
7. Warriors Graphic Novel: The Prophecies Begin, #3
Erin Hunter, Natalie Riess (Illus.), Sara Goetter (Illus.), HarperAlley, $15.99, 9780063203938
8. Sunrise on the Reaping (A Hunger Games Novel)
Suzanne Collins, Scholastic Press, $27.99, 9781546171461
9. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, #1)
Rick Riordan, Disney Hyperion, $10.99, 9781368051477
10. Big Nate: No Harm Done!
Lincoln Peirce, Andrews McMeel Publishing, $12.99, 9798881602413