Bookseller reviews of books on the bestseller list this week
Can a book be cozy, loving, encouraging, compassionate, AND a threat to the brutal and cutthroat consumer capitalism of our era? I present to you Robin Wall Kimmerer’s first book since her surprise mega-bestselling sleeper hit Braiding Sweetgrass. The serviceberry is a bushy, underappreciated fruit tree native to Eastern North America that Kimmerer uses as inspiration to muse broadly on “abundance and reciprocity in the natural world.” The tree embodies the values of gratitude, interconnectedness, and mutual aid. Strikingly, the serviceberry’s broad and generous distribution of its wealth ensures its own flourishing! Let’s all read this small, beautiful, and powerful little book and talk about how we can reimagine modern economic life to be a little more sane and humane!
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer, (List Price: $20, Scribner, 9781668072240, November 2024)
Reviewed by Josh, Underground Books in Carrollton, Georgia
In a time where influencers are more prominent now than ever, you will love this novel that goes behind the scenes of a tradwife named Natalie who finds herself thrust from her Instagramable life into an alternate timeline (pun intended) where she does not fully recognize her family or any aspect of her farmlife. Her carefully curated life is uprooted very suddenly, and you will #lol at Natalie’s plight. This debut novel has a lot of heart, humor, and social commentary, and I expect it to be big. Don’t miss out!
Yesteryear by Caro, (List Price: $30, Knopf, 9780593804216, April 2026)
Reviewed by Annastasia Williams, The Bottom in Knoxville, TN
JFC. If we can’t add a new subgenre JUST for Lauren Groff’s signature style — lushly grim and invigoratingly desolate — maybe I’d best acknowledge the teeny new chamber in my book lovin’ heart that Matrix, The Vaster Wilds and now Brawler have come to inhabit. I didn’t think I could handle bleak, but in her capable hands? “Under the Wave” is the best short story I’ve ever read. Within two paragraphs of beginning “The Wind” (and hence the collection), I was *there* and terrified. I haven’t even read the last two stories yet. Stay tuned.
Brawler by Lauren Groff, (List Price: $29, Riverhead Books, 9780593418420, February 2026)
Reviewed by Kat, novel. in Memphis, Tennessee
The Southern Indie Bestseller List, as brought to you by IndieBound and SIBA, for the week ending Sunday, April 19. 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. Yesteryear (Indies Introduce)
Caro Claire Burke, Knopf, $30, 9780593804216
3. The Keeper
Tana French, Viking, $32, 9780593493465
4. Hope Rises
David Baldacci, Grand Central Publishing, $32, 9781538758021
5. Kin
Tayari Jones, Knopf, $32, 9780525659181
6. American Fantasy
Emma Straub, Riverhead Books, $30, 9798217046850
7. Go Gentle
Maria Semple, G.P. Putnam's Sons, $30, 9798217176632
8. Heart the Lover
Lily King, Grove Press, $28, 9780802165176
9. The Correspondent: Deluxe Edition
Virginia Evans, Crown, $35, 9798217398713
10. Between Two Fires
Christopher Buehlman, Tor Nightfire, $29.99, 9781250439208
11. The Faith of Beasts
James S. A. Corey, Orbit, $32, 9780316525671
12. The Book Witch
Meg Shaffer, Ballantine Books, $30, 9780593983584
13. The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
Matt Dinniman, Ace, $30, 9780593820285
14. Transcription
Ben Lerner, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $25, 9780374618599
15. The Night We Met (Indie Exclusive Edition)
Abby Jimenez, Forever, $30, 9781538780688
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth
Patrick Radden Keefe, Doubleday, $35, 9780385548533
2. Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage
Belle Burden, The Dial Press, $30, 9780593733318
3. Famesick: A Memoir
Lena Dunham, Random House, $32, 9780593129326
4. How to Be Okay When Nothing Is Okay: Tips and Tricks That Kept Me Alive, Happy, and Creative in Spite of Myself
Jenny Lawson, Penguin Life, $29, 9780593833216
5. Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life
Alex Mayyasi, Hosts of NPR's Planet Money, W. W. Norton & Company, $29.99, 9781324078777
6. Joyful, Anyway
Kate Bowler, The Dial Press, $30, 9780593734193
7. The Best Dog in the World: Essays on Love
Alice Hoffman (Ed.), Scribner, $22, 9781668209028
8. A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness
Michael Pollan, Penguin Press, $32, 9781984881991
9. The Future Is Peace: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land
Aziz Abu Sarah, Maoz Inon, Crown, $30, 9798217086511
10. The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
Robin Wall Kimmerer, John Burgoyne (Illus.), Scribner, $20, 9781668072240
11. Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection
John Green, Crash Course Books, $28, 9780525556572
12. The Meaning of Your Life: Finding Purpose in an Age of Emptiness
Arthur C. Brooks, Portfolio, $30, 9780593545423
13. Rasputin: The Downfall of the Romanovs
Antony Beevor, Viking, $35, 9798217061181
14. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This
Omar El Akkad, Knopf, $28, 9780593804148
15. How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature's Revolutionaries
David George Haskell, Viking, $32, 9780593834961
TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION
1. Theo of Golden
Allen Levi, Atria Books, $20, 9781668236512
2. Project Hail Mary (Movie Tie-In)
Andy Weir, Ballantine Books, $22, 9798217299461
3. Dungeon Crawler Carl
Matt Dinniman, Ace, $20, 9780593820254
4. The God of the Woods
Liz Moore, Riverhead Books, $19, 9780593418925
5. Remarkably Bright Creatures
Shelby Van Pelt, Ecco, $19.99, 9780063204164
6. Hamnet
Maggie O'Farrell, Vintage, $19, 9781984898876
7. I Who Have Never Known Men
Jacqueline Harpman, Transit Books, $16.95, 9781945492600
8. The Road to Tender Hearts
Annie Hartnett, Ballantine Books, $20, 9780593873465
9. Fever Beach
Carl Hiaasen, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard, $19, 9780593315477
10. The Frozen River
Ariel Lawhon, Vintage, $18, 9780593312070
11. Heated Rivalry
Rachel Reid, Carina Press, $18.99, 9781335534637
12. Demon Copperhead
Barbara Kingsolver, Harper Perennial, $21.99, 9780063251984
13. The Lion Women of Tehran
Marjan Kamali, Gallery Books, $18.99, 9781668036594
14. Dear Debbie
Freida McFadden, Poisoned Pen Press, $17.99, 9781464249624
15. Red Rising
Pierce Brown, Del Rey, $18, 9780345539809
TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION
1. Raising Hare: A Memoir
Chloe Dalton, Vintage, $21, 9780593689004
2. The Demon of Unrest: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War
Erik Larson, Crown, $22, 9780385348768
3. The Art Thief: A True Story of Love, Crime, and a Dangerous Obsession
Michael Finkel, Vintage, $18, 9781984898456
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. The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
David Grann, Vintage, $21, 9780307742490
7. Be Ready When the Luck Happens: A Memoir
Ina Garten, Crown, $22, 9780593800027
8. A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon
Kevin Fedarko, Scribner, $22, 9781501183065
9. The End of My Life Is Killing Me: The Unexpected Joys of a Cancer Slacker
Annabelle Gurwitch, Zibby Publishing, $17.99, 9798992377071
10. An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s
Doris Kearns Goodwin, Simon & Schuster, $21, 9781982108670
11. Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype
Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D., Ballantine, $24, 9780345396815
12. Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays
Joan Didion, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $18, 9780374531386
13. The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change
Rebecca Solnit, Haymarket Books, $16.95, 9798888904510
14. Miami
Joan Didion, Vintage, $18, 9780679781806
15. Cuba: An American History
Ada Ferrer, Scribner, $21, 9781501154560
MASS MARKET
1. 1984
George Orwell, Signet, $12, 9780451524935
2. Animal Farm
George Orwell, Signet, $12, 9780451526342
3. Lord of the Flies
William Golding, Penguin, $12, 9780399501487
4. Dune
Frank Herbert, Ace, $10.99, 9780593640340
5. The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger, Little, Brown, $9.99, 9780316769488
6. The Way of Kings
Brandon Sanderson, Tor, $12.99, 9780765365279
7. Dune Messiah
Frank Herbert, Ace, $9.99, 9780593098233
8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Maya Angelou, Ballantine, $9.99, 9780345514400
9. A Game of Thrones
George R.R. Martin, Random House Worlds, $9.99, 9780553593716
10. Mistborn: The Final Empire
Brandon Sanderson, Tor, $10.99, 9781250318541
CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED
1. It's My Bird-Day!
Mo Willems, Union Square Kids, $18.99, 9781454999621
2. Goodnight Moon
Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), Harper, $10.99, 9780694003617
3. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Eric Carle, World of Eric Carle, $10.99, 9780399226908
4. Good Night, Little Blue Truck
Alice Schertle, Jill McElmurry (Illus.), Clarion Books, $10.99, 9780358229278
5. 102
Matthew Cordell, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780316580953
6. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Bill Martin, Jr., Eric Carle (Illus.), Henry Holt and Co. BYR, $8.99, 9780805047905
7. If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone
Gideon Sterer, Emily Hughes (Illus.), Clarion Books, $19.99, 9780063375222
8. Frog and Toad: Two Together Original Board Book
Arnold Lobel, HarperCollins, $11.99, 9780063414501
9. Richard Scarry's Colorful Cars and Trucks (A Chunky Book)
Richard Scarry, Random House Books for Young Readers, $4.99, 9780593708552
10. Where the Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak, Harper, $21.99, 9780060254926
CHILDREN'S INTEREST
1. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Manga
Dav Pilkey, Motojiro (Illus.), Graphix, $14.99, 9781546151210
2. The Escape Game
Marissa Meyer, Tamara Moss, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, $22.99, 9798217006120
3. A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic: Or, Like Lightning in an Umbrella Storm
Philip C. Stead, Neal Porter Books, $18.99, 9780823458097
4. A Wolf Called Fire
Rosanne Parry, Mónica Armiño (Illus.), Greenwillow Books, $9.99, 9780063415140
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Special Edition)
Stephen Chbosky, Simon Pulse, $15.99, 9781665982412
6. Charlotte's Web
E.B. White, HarperCollins, $10.99, 9780064400558
7. The Book Thief
Markus Zusak, Knopf Books for Young Readers, $16.99, 9780375842207
8. The Giver
Lois Lowry, Clarion Books, $11.99, 9780544336261
9. The One and Only Family
Katherine Applegate, Storytide, $10.99, 9780063221130
10. Rialto
Kate Milford, Clarion Books, $19.99, 9781328466914
CHILDREN'S SERIES TITLES
1. Dog Man: Big Jim Believes
Dav Pilkey, Graphix, $15.99, 9781546176183
2. Sunrise on the Reaping (A Hunger Games Novel)
Suzanne Collins, Scholastic Press, $27.99, 9781546171461
3. The Wild Robot
Peter Brown, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $9.99, 9780316581097
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Partypooper
Jeff Kinney, Harry N. Abrams, $15.99, 9781419782695
5. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, #1)
Rick Riordan, Hyperion, $10.99, 9781368051477
6. Investigators: Agents of S.U.I.T.: Sew Much Trouble
John Patrick Green, Christopher Hastings, Pat Lewis (Illus.), First Second, $12.99, 9781250359469
7. Dog Man Unleashed
Dav Pilkey, Graphix, $12.99, 9781338741049
8. Darkstalker: A Graphic Novel (Wings of Fire: Legends Graphic Novel)
Tui T. Sutherland, Jake Parker (Illus.), Graphix, $14.99, 9781339001296
9. Six of Crows
Leigh Bardugo, Square Fish, $15.99, 9781250076960
10. Jessi Ramsey, Pet-Sitter: A Graphic Novel (The Baby-Sitters Club #18)
Ann M. Martin, Ellen T. Crenshaw (Illus.), Graphix, $12.99, 9781338835656