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 Leslie Patten’s Ghostwalker. I didn’t know too much about mountain lions prior to reading this book; but it’s been a very interesting read so far! My library hold for Shōgun by James Clavell also finally came this week (10 months later!), so I’m excited to start this one after watching Hulu’s adaptation of the book last fall.” -Sarah Kee

“This last month, I’ve been reading Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire, A 500-Year History by Kurt Andersen. Fantasyland is a history examining the spread of “magical thinking” and accommodation of belief rather than fact in America. Andersen examines all kinds of fantasy in American culture: Ren Faires, fantasy football, the Satanic Panic, Civil War reenactments, themed attractions, suburbia, the Puritans and Pilgrims, occultism, P.T. Barnum, and more. Fantasyland posits that all of these things are symptoms of the same kind of thinking that led to our current political climate. I’ve also started rereading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, which needs no further explanation.” -Taylor Martin

“I’m enjoying Hill of Secrets by Galina Vromen, a novel set at Los Alamos during the development of the atomic bomb. It deals with a few scientists and their families, the secrets they keep, and the prices they pay to be connected to something so awesome and awful—whether they’ve chosen to be there or not.” -Joyce Gettman

“I’m currently reading A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire, the third book in his ‘The Wicked Years’ series. It’s the story of the Cowardly Lion, and it’s a lot of fun. I’m trying to finish the series in preparation for the Wicked movie next month, but it’s also a perfect spooky season read, too.” -Tayler Lord

“I just read Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie. Anyone familiar with Rushdie’s writing, activism for freedom of expression and of the fatwa placed on him by leaders of Iran will find this reckoning with the attempt on his life very fascinating. I bought the book when it came out this spring, but I happened to finish it just as they are preparing to go to trial this month.” -Taylor Gilreath

“Right now I’m enjoying Stephen King’s You Like It Darker. This collection of creepy tales is a nice, seasonal read. My favorite stories so far are the novella length pieces entitled ‘Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream’ and ‘Two Talented Bastards.’” -Lacey Losh

“I finished Antillia by Henrietta Goodman. It was a collection to puzzle over. Interestingly enough, I finished the portion that included a series of self-portraits right as my birthday came and went—inspired, I decided to try my hand at one. If you would like to think at length about Victorian hair art, self-portraits, and the Antarctic through which Victor Frankenstein chased his creature, I recommend it.” -Rebecca Jefferson

“I’ve been reading John Long’s The Secret History of Sharks. He looks at the evolutionary history of sharks and their amazing adaptations; he also examines the dire threats they face today. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated with sharks. I wanted to serve on Jacques Cousteau’s crew on the Calypso just so I could encounter sharks more often, and Long’s book is a literary parallel to that sort of engagement with these fascinating creatures who both inspire and haunt our way-too-active imaginations.” -Clark Whitehorn