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’m currently reading A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers. Shortly after starting this science fiction/fantasy novella, I’m surprised to find myself craving a perfectly steeped cup of tea and longing to hear a summer chorus of chirping crickets.” -Lacey Losh

“I recently read Robby Krieger’s autobiography Set the Night on Fire: Living, Dying, and Playing Guitar with The Doors. It’s a super quick read but still insightful, honest, and introspective with a generous helping of humor. As a Doors fan, I ate up all of the stories—classics and those I hadn’t heard—and appreciated the more technical explanations of the musical choices and lyrical inspirations behind my favorite songs.” -Cecelia Bialas

“For love of audiobook! A full cast narrates multiple uses of media in Acts of Violet, by Margarita Montimore, as characters try to figure out what really happened to famed magician VV, who disappeared –permanently–during one of her ‘career-comeback’ shows. Also, listening to Angie Cruz’s How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water made me feel the story in a way a standard reading of the book couldn’t provide.” -Heather Stauffer

“I’ve just finished reading Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn, book two in The Legendborn Cycle; and I loved it! This series is a King Arthur retelling set in the American South that explores themes of generational trauma, grief, and love. I’ve also been doing a reread of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice this month.” -Sarah Kee 

“I just finished The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons. I’d first heard of it in Stephen King’s 1981 treatise Danse Macabre as one of his favorite contemporary horror stories; and it’s a wonderful example of telling an unconventional haunted house story, one about how just being near an evil place is its own unique nightmare. It’s a quick, scary read, one that makes you reevaluate all those trope-filled characters warning protagonists about that abandoned old mansion down the road.” -Jackson Adams

“My 5-star February reads include Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray—how did it take me so long to read this?—and Ted Kooser’s latest collection, Cotton Candy: Poems Dipped Out of the Air. Dorian Gray is now easily one of my favorite classics, one that I’d recommend to anyone and everyone, and Cotton Candy is a delight from beginning to end that I will be revisiting throughout the changing of the seasons for years to come.” -Kayla Moslander

“I’m about halfway through Cormac McCarthy’s The Passenger. It’s kind of a strange book between the mysterious sunken plane crash at the center of the action, the main character’s painful past, and the relationship between him and his sister, but I’m enjoying it so far.” -Taylor Martin

“I unintentionally repeated Nathan’s reading list from last month. I just finished The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. I can see why it was the most checked out book of 2022 for Lincoln City Libraries-it’s great! Now I’m waiting for my hold to come in for A Gentleman in Moscow.” -Erica Corwin

“I am reading Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. Originally recommended to me by my sister but come to find out the author is the keynote speaker at the AWP conference in March. It’s really fantastic so far – I am enjoying it so much as well as taking notes on her writing style. I can’t wait to hear her in person!” -Rosemary Sekora

“The Typographic Medium by Kate Brideau explains through theories of philosophy, communication studies, copyright law, and neurology, that for a book designer, setting a book in one typeface versus another has meaning beyond simply serving the text.” -Nathan Putens