UNP staff members are always reading new books, both within our list and outside of what we publish. Here are some of the titles where our noses have been buried. 

 “I recently finished The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander Newfoundland by Jim DeFede. This is the sort of non-fiction work that helps restore your faith in humanity. This book highlights the community-minded town of Gander as they accepted diverted flights meant to land in the US on September 11, 2001. Townspeople pitched in to care for the displaced passengers, offering their food, their homes, their cars, and their friendship in an effort to help their guests feel comfortable in the wake of tragedy.” -Lacey Losh

“I’m reading Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. After hearing a great interview with him I had to read the book. He had previously been something of a time management specialist and maybe about the time he became a father he saw through the rubbish that we can all get everything done, if we manage our time well enough, esp. considering none of us has any idea how much time we actually have—and that even if we did, too many truly worthwhile goals compete with each other. He examines thoughts about time through history, such as Deep Time which made me think of UNP’s fall 2022 book Everywhen: Australia and the Language of Deep History as well as the idea that humans *are* time. He provides some ideas at the end of the book for making slightly wiser choices about one’s life.” -Tish Fobben

“I just finished The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. It was recommended to me by one of my college classics professors after we read Miller’s other novel Circe. It is a beautiful work of historical fiction with a new perspective on not only the Trojan War but also Greek heroism.” -Shannyn McEntee

“I’ve been reading Doug Chadwick’s Four Fifths a Grizzly: A New Perspective on Nature that Just Might Save Us All (Patagonia, 2021). Chadwick’s books are always engaging, plus I love to read books connected to grizzlies in the season when they start emerging from hibernation. His work isn’t specifically about grizzlies, but whether it’s wolverines or mountain goats, he makes us think about nature in new ways.” -Clark Whitehorn

“I’m reading A Carnival of Snackery: Diaries (2003–2020) by David Sedaris. It feels like he’s always on a book tour, but I’m guessing that comes to a halt once I get to the part about 2020.” -Erica Corwin

 “The Shining Studies in the Horror Film edited by Daniel Olson. I got this one for Christmas and have been slowly working my way through its mix of interviews with the cast and crew of the film and academic essays on the movie’s approach and adaptation. I’ve most enjoyed the focus on how Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation focuses on cold and chill as recurring visual motifs while so much of the Stephen King novel revolves around references to heat, boiling, and nervous sweat.” -Jackson Adams

“Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol by Mallory O’Meara and We Ride Upon Sticks, by Quan Barry. This Women’s Month, I’m enjoying Girly Drinks and learning the instrumental role of women in the history of alcohol.  On the fiction side, We Ride Upon Sticks is a witty recasting of teenage witches in Salem via a field hockey team’s quest to win the state championship in 1989 by tapping into the dark power of a magazine photo of Emilio Estevez.” -Heather Stauffer

“My daily walks are lengthening with the warmer spring temperatures, and Wanderlust: A History of Walking by Rebecca Solnit has been a fitting audiobook companion. The author and the walking greats of history, however, would probably frown upon me plugging into my phone rather than reaping the benefits of quiet contemplation that the physical movement and journey are meant to evoke.” -Haley Mendlik

“I recently bought The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake over Spring Break and am hoping to start reading it after I finish a few midterm papers. It was originally self-published; but after it became popular on social media, Tor Books acquired and revised it.” -Sarah Kee