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. 

“This month I’ve been reading Molly McGhee’s Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind, which follows Abernathy at his new job where he enters and audits the minds of middle-class workers while they sleep to help improve their productivity at work. My book-related resolution for the new year is to read some of the books that have been sitting on my physical TBR pile for ages (we’ll see how that goes!)” -Sarah Kee

“I’m about to start Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men, which Kayla kindly loaned me. I’ve previously read both The Road, which I loved, and The Passenger, which I had not loved at all, so I’m curious to see where No Country will fall for me. This year, I would like to get past my big book fear and read some of the larger, more imposing books I’ve had sitting around. Related to that, I’d also like to finish a fantasy series I started last year, N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy. We’ll see if I stick to those goals…” -Taylor Martin

“I’m rereading Famous Father Girl: A Memoir of Growing Up Bernstein by Jamie Bernstein, the oldest daughter of Leonard Bernstein. It’s more familiar to me now because I watched the Bradley Cooper movie Maestro in December. I’ll probably watch the movie a second time soon, too!”- Erica Corwin

“I just finished The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin. I am a sucker for a curmudgeonly character with a heart of gold and that’s exactly what this heartwarming story has to offer. This book is well paced and the literary references throughout make it shine.” -Lacey Losh

“I’m reading a biography of Willa Cather, Chasing Bright Medusas by Benjamin Taylor. I read a couple of good reviews of it before Christmas and put it on my gift list! I’ve tended to avoid biographies, but this one is changing my mind. (I was excited to learn she was a friend and mentee of Sarah Orne Jewett—one of my favorite authors).” -Annie Shahan

“I just finished Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. While I found the novel’s take on the fragility of civilization somewhat frightening, its focus on the durability of spirit, humanity, and culture made the post-apocalyptic tale more optimistic than pessimistic for me.” -Joyce Gettman

“I read the last book in The Jaipur Trilogy, The Perfumist of Paris: A Novel, by Alka Joshi. I loved the first two books and had high hopes for the third. It was a little disappointing as it merely served as a wrap-up to the trilogy. Everything was resolved in this book a little too neatly for me. Having said that, the first book is utterly captivating.” -Manjit Kaur

“I’m currently reading The Tin Roof Blowdown by James Lee Burke, no. 16 of a detective series set in Louisiana. This one is part of a “Louisiana literary canon,” for lack of a better word, that contributes to southern Louisiana history, Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans culture, and the major environmental and social challenges the city has overcome in its life. Detective Dave Robicheaux is deployed to New Orleans after Katrina has come through, and he finds a completely destroyed city, brutal loss of life, and the worst sides of humanity as survivors turn to looting, robbery, murder, etc. to navigate post-Katrina. I enjoy reading about Louisiana history, and while it’s a novel, I have a feeling none of it is really all that fictional. It’s very thought-provoking and informative if you’re interested in the aftermath of Katrina!” -Taylor Gilreath

“Two copies of A Broken Mirror by Mercè Rodoreda arrived in the office, also available as a paperback in our European Women Writers series; and I have read only so far to get only a loose grasp of the characters and the style of writing which keeps them at a distance, all within the splendor of a Barcelona villa. Also, to read more for ’24, I’ve acquired a clip-on light so I can read wherever I please!” -Nathan Putens