Jackson Adams and Anna Weir are publicists at UNP. Today they share their thoughts about a few upcoming titles they’re particularly excited about as readers. The books in this discussion will be published in March.

Anna Weir: I’ve been reading through Randon Billings Noble’s haunted and haunting collection Be with Me Always, and it’s reminding me of why I wanted to study English lit and creative writing in college. Wrapping her own intensely personal experiences with stories more familiar with bookish people like me, Noble reminds us of the ability stories and the words that compose them have to bring understanding and meaning to our lives. Each essay is like her grandmother’s ring collection (which she contemplates in “The Island of Topaz”): unique and glittering, tangled with memories, reflecting tiny versions of ourselves if we hold them in the right light. I don’t think I could recommend it enough.

What are you excited for this month, Jackson?

Jackson Adams: I was excited for Shattered Minds: How the Pentagon Fails our Troops with Faulty Helmets long before copies finally ended up on my desk. One of my favorite genres of nonfiction tend to be deep-dive investigative pieces and Robert H. Bauman and Dina Rasor’s book digs into the many ways the Pentagon repeatedly failed to upgrade combat helmets for troops fighting in the Middle East and the efforts of whistleblowers to finally correct the injustice. It’s a rousing book about bureaucracy and the slow battle for progress but a necessary one.

AW: I’ve enjoyed coordinating publicity for many of UNP’s outstanding baseball books, but Here’s the Pitch stands out. Roberta J. Newman explores the connection between baseball and advertising and how both reflect American culture. She considers the simultaneous development of both industries from the birth of the partnership, paying particular attention to the ways in which advertising spread the gospel of baseball at the same time professional baseball helped develop a body of consumers ready for the messages of advertising. It’s a fascinating and well-written study I’m excited to dig in to.

JA: I’m always excited to see our newest books in the African Poetry Book Series. One of the two coming out this month is Your Body is War, the second collection from Mahtem Shiferraw. The volume is focused entirely on the subject of the physical and psychic violence inflicted on women. It’s a complex but compelling book, one that tries to suss out a new form of self-image in its fascinating final entries and one that absolutely cannot be ignored.

Tune in next month for more reading suggestions from your friendly neighborhood publicists!