What You Should Be Reading This Winter According to Indie Booksellers

Every Tuesday, a wave of new books is published, fresh off the printing press onto the shelves of bookstores around the world. Even for a book editor like me, it gets overwhelming to keep track of all the forthcoming titles. So we’ve turned to our most trusted source for recommendations: indie booksellers. From a star-crossed saga set in a small Icelandic town to a retelling of Huckleberry Finn, here are the newly released or forthcoming winter books that you should be reading:

You Dreamed of Empires by Álvaro Enrigue, translated by Natasha Wimmer (Jan. 9)

“Initially I thought You Dreamed of Empires was the best book I will read in 2024, even this early into it. Upon further reflection I think this is one of the best books I have read possibly ever. Enrigue imagines Cortés and his entourage welcomed (?) by Montezuma into his kingdom with hysterical escapades as a result. This is historical fiction at another level. Álvaro Enrigue is a genius.” 
—Nick Buzanski, Books Are Magic in Brooklyn, New York 

Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino (Jan. 16)

“Adina is just a regular girl living in South Philly with her single mom, except Adina is an alien and communicates with her home planet via an old fax machine. Quirky and funny and relatable to anyone who has felt a little different. Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino is one of my favorite books of 2024!”
—Caitlin L. Baker, Island Books Mercer Island, Washington 

Drunk-ish by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor (Jan. 16)

“This is a beautiful, complicated memoir about how difficult it can be to identify and address alcoholism in a culture that often pokes fun and minimizes alcohol dependence. Ironically, Stefanie Wilder-Taylor contributed to this culture with her blog, and her previous book Sippy Cups Aren’t for Chardonnay. Wilder-Taylor’s honesty in grappling with her own alcohol use helped me think about my own relationship with alcohol in a new way, which has been very helpful. I’d recommend this book to anyone who is interested in thinking more deeply (while also laughing—the book is hilarious at times) about how they drink (or don’t).”
—Daniel Jordan, Pearl’s Books in Fayetteville, Arkansas

Fifty Beasts to Break Your Heart: And Other Stories by GennaRose Nethercott (Feb. 6)

“When I read Thistlefoot last year, I got the same feeling I did the first time I read Kelly Link or Neil Gaiman—and Fifty Beasts just confirms that GennaRose Nethercott is a magician of the highest caliber, a writer whose work is destined to be beloved. These stories are playful, beautiful, occasionally odd, occasionally scary, and always charming. Heck, the title story is a fully illustrated bestiary! The writing is bewitching and I can guarantee that within a story or so, you’ll become an immediate superfan, just like me.”
—Drew Broussard, The Golden Notebook in Woodstock, New York

The Book of Love by Kelly Link (Feb. 13)

“Reading Kelly Link’s work changes you—there’s no other way to say it. Her short story collections are fan favorites for a reason, and it’s no surprise that her debut novel is over 600 pages! It doesn’t feel like that, though, because each chapter leaves you hanging on desperately, craving more. The Book of Love has everything, and I promise that’s not an exaggeration. It has magic, horror, fantasy, dark humor, weird talking animals (in true Kelly Link fashion), along with the most heartfelt warmth, intimacy, and sincerity. This book will never leave my brain or my heart—10s across the board.”
—Amali Gordon-Buxbaum, Books Are Magic in Brooklyn, New York

I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both by Mariah Stovall (Feb. 13)

“I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both feels like the ribbons of a mixtape unraveling in the knot of your stomach. This is a harrowing story of music, mental illness, growing up and apart, and finding yourself in the unique position of truly loving someone to death.”
—Kenzie Hampton, The Bookshop in Nashville, Tennessee

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson (Feb. 13)

“This book is a blend of sapphic romance, dark academia, with just a touch of fantasy. Taking place in the 1960s we meet our southern belle protagonist Laura, who is entering freshman year of university in Massachusetts. Her love of poetry and writing has brought her here to study under the most esteemed writing professor De Lafontaine, but she has a fierce competitor—senior and teacher’s pet Carmilla. When De Lafontaine takes an interest in Laura’s education, Carmilla becomes jealous and the two students are quickly enemies. As the months pass, we learn more about De Lafontaine and why she pays special attention to Carmilla and then Laura. Things quickly take a dark turn, and the three women find themselves struggling to come to terms with their own wants, loneliness, and jealousy.”
—Elizabeth Dowdy, Baldwin & Co Bookstore in New Orleans, Louisiana

Counsel Culture by Kim Hye-jin, translated by Jamie Chang (March 5)

“Counsel Culture is a quiet and thoughtful novel that mines the many layers of cancel culture, ethics, and forgiveness. The author looks deeply into the complexities surrounding forced apologies and genuine ones while also delving into the ripple effects of public condemnation across several forms of media. The paths of the two main characters, Haesoo & Sei, are similar in that both of them are able to find healing in the face of adversity and redemption through each other’s friendship. This book is very timely and wonderfully written.”
—Stuart McCommon, Interabang Books in Dallas, Texas

The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft (March 5)

“This book could not have been written by anyone other than Jennifer Croft, a veteran translator with a tremendous capacity for language and storytelling. When eight translators convene for a summit with their revered author Irena Rey, they have no idea they are embarking on a psychological thrill-ride that will destabilize not only their long-standing relationships with one another, but their entire sense of self and history. With conflicting voices that twist and tangle like vines, the characters in this novel are intertwined inseparably from one another. A smart, pensive exploration of the creative process, The Extinction of Irena Rey will transform your understanding of authorship, translation, and the sticky web cast between them.”
—Melissa Sagendorph, Harvard Book Store in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Your Absence is Darkness by Jon Kalman Stefansson, translated by Philip Roughton (March 5)

“Inherited memories and legacies imprinted upon generations direct how a group of Icelanders accommodate the processes of living and dying in this unforgettable, brilliant novel. Narrated by a man who has returned home with almost no memory of his old life or friends, Stefansson explores heartbreak, loneliness, and most of all hope. The writing, whether about people or place, is descriptively and emotionally rich. As a saga of small-town life, the book is replete with wonderful stories of mostly ordinary (and a few remarkable) people, their lives legendary to all who fondly remember them. A wonderful, immersive read.”
—Lori Feathers, Interabang Books in Dallas, Texas

The No-Girlfriend Rule by Christen Randall (March 5)

“This book is a love letter to the geeky, fat, queer, and neurodivergent teens that haven’t seen themselves in books before. It’s like a hug of pure joy, with found family and girl power. Hollis learns her boyfriend’s favorite table-top game to try to prove her love for him, but has to find her own group to play with. She finds a group of girls who turn into more than just game companions, but real friends, and a new crush, where she can be a more confident version of herself.”
—Lauren Simonis-Hunter, Mystery to Me in Madison, Wisconsin

Thunder Song by Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe (March 5)

“Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe gives us glimpses into her life as an Indigenous woman in America in her brilliant new essay collection, Thunder Song. She boldly proclaims her heritage, her queerness, and her punk-ness. I can’t wait for people to read this!”
—Ashley Kilcullen, The Bookshop in Nashville, Tennessee

Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel (March 12)

“Headshot is a powerhouse of a novel that feels incredibly piercing and intimate at the same time. The range of motivations, internal battles, and emotions of each of the characters is vast… but Bullwinkel’s prose kept me so tightly focused on each fighter that I felt fully invested in their successes and failures by the end. This is a fantastic analysis of competition and the resiliency/fragility of its participants.”
—Stuart McCommon, Interabang Books in Dallas, Texas

These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart by Izzy Wasserstein (March 12)

“Some books feel like they were written as a special treat just for me. This trans, queer techno-noir follows an unlikely detective after she learns her ex-girlfriend was murdered in the radical commune where they met. It asks the kinds of questions that queer SF excels at, like ‘what are the ethical considerations of fucking a clone?’ and ‘what happens when our well-earned paranoia butts up against collective liberatory praxes?’”
—Nino Cipri, Astoria Bookshop in Astoria, New York

Fury by Clyo Mendoza, translated by Christina MacSweeney (March 12)

“Clyo Mendoza’s debut novel is equally gripping and dark. She masterfully overlaps and parallels stories in the Mexican desert, where the traumas of each generation wrap, contort, and unfold, beautifully mirroring traditions of oral storytelling.”
—Ashley Kilcullen, The Bookshop in Nashville, Tennessee

Wolf at the Table by Adam Rapp (March 19)

“Wolf at the Table follows the five Larkin siblings in Elmira, New York starting in the 1940s into the present, each with their own struggles in facing the life they have chosen or has been forced upon them. The special ‘love you in spite of your actions’ relationship between siblings is tested and reaffirmed over the dinner table over the decades. Several ‘didn’t see that coming’ twists keeps the story from becoming maudlin or predictable. A good read for anyone who has—and continues to—deal with a far flung family.” 
—Doloris Vest, Book No Further in Roanoke, Virginia

James by Percival Everett (March 19)

“A retelling of Huck Finn from Jim’s perspective? Yes, please! James is literary dynamite from its first word to its last, a simply brilliant must-read as a complement or on its own. I wager this book would’ve won Twain’s enthusiastic, have-a-cigar approval.”
—Joelle Herr, The Bookshop in Nashville, Tennessee