GREAT INDIE READS
This month's recommendations
Undiscovered Country
Traversing the personalities and places of a small town in Vermont, Undiscovered Country is a coming-of-age story with a dash of magical realism. Sharp, tender, and darkly funny, the novel asks thought-provoking questions about the power of dreams, the danger of expectations, and the absurdity of striving for normal.
Reviving the Artist Who Fought Hitler: My Life with Arthur Szyk
The intertwining story of a noted anti-Nazi artist and the former rabbi who revived his reputation. During World War II, the Polish-Jewish immigrant Arthur Szyk became America's leading anti-Nazi artist. His art was so effective that Adolf Hitler reportedly put a bounty on his head while the US military declared him a "citizen-soldier" of the free world. Szyk steadfastly fought for the rescue of European Jewry during the Holocaust, creating artworks like De Profundis, which imagines Jesus sharing the suffering of countless lifeless Jews. His civil rights art challenged segregation and his illuminated Declaration of Independence resides in the Library of Congress. Szyk's masterwork, an illustrated Passover Haggadah, is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful books ever produced by human hands. Once world-famous, Arthur Szyk was all but forgotten after his death in 1951. Reviving the Artist Who Fought Hitler recounts Irvin Ungar's decades-long journey to restore Szyk to public consciousness, and become the principal collector, dealer, scholar, and promoter of Szyk's art in the United States, Europe, and Israel. Richly illustrated and full of forgotten history, this memoir is an inspiring story of artistic passion and an invitation to commune with a heroic advocate for all humanity.
Against the Shoals: A novel
This is a tale of loss, survival, and desire, and how some ghosts refuse to be vanquished. It is a powerful love story, deploying the courtroom drama as a vehicle to explore the terrain of dark secrets and the factors that shape one's character and behavior. This complex emotional ride asks the age-old question: are our actions borne of choice or are they preordained by our past? And ultimately: does love conquer all?
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Join the ClubRecent Great Indie Reads Books
July, 2026
A Handful of Raisins in an Otherwise Empty Room: A Journey from Tragedy to Joy
A Handful of Raisins is a heart-stirring memoir about survival, strength and courage. For Michèle Misino de Luca, life began as a series of dark, traumatic episodes and continued as deeply challenging events beset her incessantly throughout her youth. Yet somehow, she rises to value life, viewing it as a miracle.
Operation Texas
In 1938, Congressman Lyndon Baines Johnson hires the 24-year-old, multi-lingual Rosalind Fisher to accompany his good friend, Jim Novy, on a hazardous trip to Poland. Rosalind is responsible for easing 40 visas for Novy’s family to leave Poland through the US Embassy—a nearly impossible job on its own.
During the trip on the Queen Mary, Rosalind encounters German spies just returning from New York with secreted documents, and a handsome British undercover agent, with consequences for American security. At the embassy, Rosalind finds no one willing to help and must use her own skills, make her own compromises, and risk her safe return to the US, to secure the signed visas. At the same time, can she help her own cousins, also trapped in Warsaw?
Squirrel Pie: A Memoir
Squirrel Pie is a true story of the painful realities around abuse, addiction, mental illness, and generational trauma. It is also a success story; a story in which perseverance, resilience, compassion, and unexpected allies lead Debbie to a life of healthy connections and choosing joy.
June, 2026
EASE: Existential Health in the Age of Overwhelm
Coherent Leadership: Prosperity and Purpose in All Aspects of Life
The Mark of the Bear Clan (The Far Northern Land Saga)
May, 2026
Subjugation: Book 2 of the Ephisian Saga
Pregnant and with a whole new list of enemies to kill, Izzy and Baal flee south.
Poinsettia Girl: The Story of Agata della Pieta
Venice, 1710, Poinsettia Girl is based on the story of Agata de la Pieta, an orphan musician of the Ospedale de la Pieta.
Grabtown: a psychological thriller
Grabtown is a gripping dual-timeline thriller that exposes the dark underbelly of small-town secrets, where sisterhood and courage become the only weapons against those who prey on the vulnerable. Perfect for fans of Kellye Garrett's Like a Sister, Shari Lapena’s Listen for the Lie, and Amy Gentry's Good as Gone.
About the Books
The Great Indie Reads is a collaboration between Bookclubs and Dartfrog to expose book clubs to new, independent authors and books! Dartfrog books are the best in independently published literature. DartFrog uses professional editorial standards to curate book store and book club worthy books from self-publishers, hybrid publishers, and smaller traditional publishers. We're bringing recommended DartFrog books to you, each with a book club discussion guide. Enjoy!
