Marcie Montague, owner of Juliet Books, downtown Cary’s first independent bookstore, shares the current and historical fiction she couldn’t put down.
by Ayn-Monique Klahre

Juliet Books, which opened in July, is downtown Cary’s first independent bookstore. A lifelong reader, Montague graduated from Meredith College with a degree in English and earned a master’s degree in communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

What kinds of books do you gravitate toward, generally?

I love reading current fiction and historical fiction, and I also appreciate rediscovering classics.

What book are you reading right now?

Land by Maggie O’Farrell.

What is the best light read you’ve enjoyed recently?

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I liked how easy it was to slip into the story. Reid writes in a way that hooks each chapter together and makes the story such a page turner, while also keeping it light enough to not get that emotional hangover a heavier book can give.

What’s the best heavier book you’ve read recently?

North Woods by Daniel Mason. I loved everything about it: the way the author anchored us on a piece of land and took us on a journey akin to time travel, where language and characters and buildings all evolved, intertwined with a bit of magic. It makes you think about each tree, each generation, and the land, all while being swept up in beautiful storytelling and writing. 

What is a classic/older book that you either always recommend, or have read many times?

I always come back to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby. I think my love for this novel dates back to high school English class, when I was first introduced to it, and I became spellbound with the extent of Jay Gatsby’s all-consuming love for Daisy. The loss, love, longing and eventual loss again, and the symbolism woven throughout, made me fall in love with the art of writing in a way that affected the course of my life – enough to make writing my career.

What is a book by a Raleigh or North Carolina author that you’d recommend?

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris, or really almost anything by David Sedaris. The way in which Sedaris tells stories about his family and his upbringing, bringing humor to the wide range of experiences, is so relatable and yet so brilliantly done. Nothing is off limits, and I love that he makes it okay to be human, even with all our faults.

Visit Juliet Books & Beautiful Things at 200 Pathrough Street in Cary or online at julietbooks.com.

This article first appeared in the August 2026 issue of WALTER Magazine.