A cozy winter window with a blanket and coffee with the headline: "Beyond the bestsellers, Winter 2025"

Recommended Reads

Beyond the bestsellers: Your winter reading guide for under the radar books

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It’s said that good things come in small packages, and I’d like to expand that by saying great reads come from small presses. Independent publishers have a habit of putting out amazing under the radar titles that are very much my jam. When you throw in the ever-growing number of excellent self-published titles, there’s really an embarrassment of riches if your reading tastes sometimes wander off the beaten path.

To start, I’m going to look at three books that might seem completely different, but that all have truly memorable pick-up lines. Then on to some romance, a few books in translation, a gorgeous children’s book, and to wrap it up, the latest from one of my favorite authors publishing today.

So, let’s dive into 10 recent indie book releases that you can borrow on the Libby app.


The Nvidia WayThe Nvidia Way: Jensen Huang and the Making of a Tech Giant by Tae Kim
🎧 Audiobook

This book pretty immediately won me over. Considering I’m not usually one for business or tech books, this might seem shocking, but the introduction is essentially “An Ode to a Whiteboard,” and I really love a good whiteboard. (I literally carry a small one in my bag.)

In addition to discovering that Jensen Huang has a favorite chisel-tipped dry erase marker that’s only made in Taiwan, this book also reveals the pick-up line he used on girls in college: “Do you want to see my homework?”

Fast-paced and chatty, as well as informative, this book looks at the factors that put Huang and his business partners in a position to take the tech world by storm when they founded Nvidia, as well as how their computer chips and business practices have changed the way we all work.


The ResurrectionistThe Resurrectionist by A. Rae Dunlap
🎧 Audiobook

Historical true crime fans are going to love this debut novel set in 1820s Edinburgh, following the fortunes of one of the university’s medical school students, James Willoughby. (If you’re familiar with the true case of Burke and Hare, yes, they play a role in the book. If you don’t, stay off Wikipedia and unspoiled until you finish the book!)

The Willoughby family is experiencing financial difficulties, and James has to fight his family to remain at school, as well as find a way to pay for it. Enter Aneurin MacKinnon, the assistant to a doctor who runs a private anatomy school for hopefully doctors. All James has to do to earn tuition, room, and board is help Aneurin procure specimens, aka, snatch bodies from the graveyard.

Part thriller, part mystery, with a nice dollop of romance between James and Aneurin, this an exciting and detailed novel. Oh. And the promised pick-up line: “Yesterday I extracted the most enlarged spleen I’ve ever seen. Would you care to see it, Mr. Willoughby?”


Amid Clouds and Bones🎧 Amid Clouds and Bones by Ella Fields

“Good food, good literature, good housing, and good sex […] I will give you everything a female wants.” With a promise like that from a king, what else could a girl possibly ask for?

Well, if the girl in question is half-faerie, half-human Princess Mildred, she might ask to be allowed to make her own decisions for a change. When she was ten years old, her father made an alliance with a neighboring faerie kingdom, promising Mildred in marriage to that kingdom’s Prince Atakan. Except they hate each other as children and teens and still as adults when Mildred goes to his kingdom to prepare for the wedding. Their hate, however, doesn’t stop them from sleeping together. What does stop them is when Mildred suddenly finds herself transported to another kingdom, one at war with Atakan’s. And this new king says the only way to end his kingdom’s curse is to make Mildred fall in love with him. Let the wooing begin!


The Crack at the Heart of EverythingThe Crack at the Heart of Everything by Fiona Fenn

Another choice for romantasy fans is Fenn’s debut, which is perfect for everyone who secretly (or openly) loves the villain.

In this first book of a planned series, Orpheus, a powerful sorcerer, finds himself desperate to fix the problems he caused. You see, helping his childhood friend conquer the realm seemed like the right thing to do, but in the process of conquest, he cursed himself and grows to regret the terrible devastation he caused. But before he can make any changes or amends, he’s exiled, at a loss for what to do.

At every turn, though, there is the handsome general, Fenrir. Cue the slow burn romance. Orpheus begins his journey to becoming a better man, assuming that it isn’t too late for him to atone for the harm he’s caused. And if he can find a path to redemption, does that also mean he can find love with Fenrir? Seeing as how Fenrir keeps popping up in Orpheus’s life, he certainly seems invested in those answers as well.


Mr. HeartbreakerMr. Heartbreaker by Piper Rayne
🎧 Audiobook

And now for one more romance, but something completely different! The Nest series continues Piper Rayne’s journey into the romantic lives of pro-athletes in Chicago that started in the Chicago Grizzlies series, but has now moved on to the Windy City’s hockey team.

In this first book, Rowan Landry, who has just joined the Chicago Falcons as their star center, meets fashion designer, Kyleigh, at a wedding. The sparks immediately fly, but at first, Kyleigh hesitates, because even though Rowan doesn’t remember her, she knows Rowan played hockey with her brother in college, and she promised her brother she’d never sleep with one of his teammates. But figuring that it’s okay since they aren’t teammates now, Kyleigh goes ahead and hooks up with Rowan. But then a one-night stand turns into the following day, and the day after that, and after that…. Feeling it’s too late to come clean on who she is, Kyleigh keeps her secret. Which is fine. Until her brother gets traded to Chicago.

This one is definitely steamy, and the romantic entanglements of the Falcons continue in Mr. Broody, with more books already scheduled to follow this February and April!


Taiwan TravelogueTaiwan Travelogue by Shuang-zi Yang

And now for something completely different, the winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Translated Literature, Taiwan Travelogue.

In May of 1938, a young Japanese novelist is encouraged by the Japanese government, who currently control the island of Taiwan, to visit and write about life there. Although she has no desire to write anything to aid Japan’s Imperial government, she has always longed to see the island, so she accepts. Her first day there, she meets a friendly local who speaks both Chinese and Japanese, and translates for her in the market. Not long after, they meet again when the local woman is introduced as the author’s guide and translator during the visit. The two then embark on a journey exploring cultures, language, power, and love.

The fascinating story of these two women, both coincidentally named Chizuko, is framed as a lost work newly translated, and will leave the reader with much to think about.


The SuicidesThe Suicides by Antonio Di Benedetto, translated by Esther Allen

I’m a big fan of New York Review of Classics, particularly their dedication to bringing deserving, if older, books from around the world to English translation. Their latest is from 20th century Argentinian author, Di Benedetto, and it’s about a journalist tasked with studying suicides in his provincial city.

The story begins with a colleague asking him to study photos of the dead, to see what appears different about those who took their own lives. As our reporter becomes more obsessed, he investigates new instances of suicides—someone’s aunt, two college friends who made a suicide pact, and others—trying to find the meaning behind these acts. Are these people driven by madness, despair, genetics, or something completely different? As the reporter nears his 33rd birthday, the same age as when his father took his own life, he becomes increasingly anxious to find the answer.

Definitely a dark read, but expertly written and translated.


Naples 1343Naples 1343: The Unexpected Origins of the Mafia by Amedeo Feniello, translated by Antony Shugaar

The author is a medieval historian and resident of Naples, who in his real life, has come face-to-face with organized crime. But how did the mafia begin in Southern Italy? The answer, Feniello explains, has its roots in an incident that occurred in the city he calls home in the year 1343.

On the surface, what happened one night in the waters off Naples might seems like no more than the sort of piracy common to the Mediterranean Sea in the 14th century. A ship out of Sicily owned by the Genoese, one of the great shipping hubs in the medieval world, was boarded and the goods confiscated by the Neapolitans during a time of famine. Those are the bare facts. But that ship seizure is just the first salvo in a more concerted effort by three families in the Kingdom of Naples to be the real power behind the throne—three families whose power would last centuries and even into the modern day.


The Wolf-Girl, the Greeks and the GodsThe Wolf-Girl, the Greeks, and the Gods: A Tale of the Persian Wars by Tom Holland, illus. by Jason Cockcroft
🎧 Audiobook

Holland has written a spectacular children’s novel that blends true Greek history, like the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, with the Greek gods of mythology, and he has done so in such a compelling way that it’s an exciting read at any age.

The protagonist is Gorgo, a girl the reader first sees as she is visited by a wolf who carries her to the bedside of her dying mother. Gorgo is then raised to be an ideal Spartan woman, strong and clever, and she eventually grows up to be the wife of Sparta’s famous King Leonidas. But the wolf she rides to the bedside of her mother is not the last time the touch of the gods affects Gorgo and the people around her as the Greeks battle the Persians.

Not only is this an excellent retelling of history, ingeniously interweaving the gods of mythology, it has extraordinarily gorgeous illustrations that elevate this already wonderfully written middle-grade novel into something truly special.


Gabriel's MoonGabriel's Moon by William Boyd
🎧 Audiobook

And I’m wrapping up today with the latest from William Boyd, an author I’ve long loved since reading Armadillo ages ago.

This smartly written British Cold War spy novel opens just before WWII on the most tragic day in young Gabriel’s life, a day that will leave him with lifelong insomnia and eventually the need of a therapist. Then the novel jumps ahead to the 1960s, where Gabriel has become a successful travel author. On his travels, his brother, who works for the Foreign Office, occasionally asks him to drop something off or pass along a message. Gabriel doesn’t particularly mind these little clandestine requests, but then one day, someone from MI6 approaches him to perform a seemingly innocuous task for them in Spain. After initially declining, Gabriel changes his mind, a decision which ends up changing everything.

Emotionally moving and just the right amount of tense, this is yet another winner from Boyd, and I particularly recommend the audiobook, read beautifully by George Blagden.


*Title availability may vary by library & region.

If you’re someone who reads out of the box, enjoy these picks on Libby. And be sure to subscribe to Libby Life for more under the radar picks announced every season.

RELATED READ: Indie picks: 8 self-published books you shouldn’t miss

Published Jan 21, 2025

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About the Author

Shelia Mawdsley did everything from answering questions at the Reference Desk to tech training to running a classic lit book club in her 17 years in public libraries. Now she helps other public libraries make the most of their OverDrive collections. In her spare time, she’s either writing or reading, usually with an opera playing in the background. If you ever run into her, ask Shelia about #WITMonth.

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