Fully Booked: Your 2026 Raleigh Summer Reading Guide, Plus Local Authors and Best Reading Spots
More than 40 summer book recommendations from Raleigh booksellers, interviews with three North Carolina authors, and the best local spots to read them.
Tag: books
Summer Reading Recs from Bright Side Books & Wine
Susannah Baird, owner of Bright Side Books & Wine, Raleigh’s only romance bookstore, recommends love stories from wholesome romance to sweeping romantasy epics.
Q&A: Molly Irani’s Guide to Meaningful Hospitality
Part memoir, part survival guide, NC restaurateur Molly Irani’s debut book traces the origins of her award-winning restaurant group.
Book Nooks: 10 Cozy Places to Read in Raleigh
Raleigh’s coziest cafes, bars and wine shops for reading solo or hosting your book club — the perfect spots for your 2026 summer reading list.
Summer Reading Recs from Nice Price Books & Records
Enoch Marchant of Nice Price Books & Records on Hillsborough Street shares Southern fiction, biography and sports picks for your 2026 summer reading list.
Summer Reading Recs: Quail Ridge Books
Ginger Kauts of Quail Ridge Books, a Raleigh institution since 1984, shares fiction, fantasy and Southern author picks for your 2026 summer reading list.
Summer Reading Recs from Juliet Books & Beautiful Things
Marcie Montague, owner of Juliet Books, downtown Cary’s first independent bookstore, shares the current and historical fiction she couldn’t put down.
Summer Reading Recs from Blackbird Books & Coffee
Hannah Brunswick, co-owner of Blackbird Books & Coffee in Downtown Raleigh’s City Market, recommends poetry, thrillers and reads from Black, Indigenous and queer authors.
Summer Reading Recs from Liberation Station Bookstore
Victoria Scott-Miller, founder of Liberation Station in Southeast Raleigh, North Carolina’s first Black-owned children’s bookstore, recommends stories by and about Black women.
Summer Reading Recs: Dog-Eared Books
Colleen Gross and bookselling team at Dog-Eared Books in North Raleigh recommend beach reads, classics and North Carolina authors from their used-book collection.
Our Novels, Ourselves: Developing a Literary Friendship
Authors Elaine Orr and Nell Joslin spent 10 years walking and writing together as they worked on two very different books
10 Great Places to Browse Books in Raleigh
Whether you prefer a pristine page or a well-loved one, Raleigh has many places for you to hunt through shelves to find the perfect read.
A Great Marriage: Frances Mayes’ Latest Book
The latest book from the Under the Tuscan Sun author draws from her own experience to explore the beautiful, complicated topic of relationships.
Decoding A Dynasty: Unveiling the Murdaugh Murders
In her new book, The Devil at His Elbow, Valerie Bauerlein explains the deep roots of the infamous South Carolina murders.