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 Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo, which follows two brothers as they navigate life in the wake of their father’s death. My bookish resolution for the new year is to work through my physical TBR pile…wish me luck!” -Sarah Kee

“I recently finished The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl. I read this book slowly over a year, staying as true to the seasonal weeks this book is divided into as possible. Every opening chapter is accompanied by lovely piece of collage artwork. This book celebrates seasonal joys and sorrows, with thoughtfully reflective moments and natural observations. When I finished, I passed along my copy to a dear friend who I think will appreciate it as much as I did.” -Lacey Losh

“I’m reading The Reader by Bernhard Schlink, translated from German by Carol Brown Janeway. I chose it to fulfill a task on Book Riot’s 2025 Read Harder Challenge, something they do annually to encourage readers to stretch beyond their comfort zone and discover new books. Part romance, part historical fiction, The Reader tells the story of a teenage boy who first has an affair with a woman twice his age and then learns that she has been working for the SS as a concentration camp guard. He realizes while coming to terms with the fact that she is not the person he thought she was that she may not be quite as culpable as the court paints her to be when her ability to read and write is questioned.” -Taylor Gilreath

“This month I’ve been reading The Best Short Stories 2024: The O. Henry Prize Winners, edited by Amor Towles. I love the variety contained in short story anthologies and I try to read one or two collections of short stories each year. On the nonfiction side of things, I’m reading What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing by Peter Ginna. My bookish resolution for 2025 is to spend more time reading and less time doomscrolling.” -Katrina Vassallo 

“Argh, matey! It’s a pirate trifecta for me. Just read Steven Johnson’s Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History’s First Global Manhunt, Eric Jay Dolin’s Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America’s Most Notorious Pirates, and (currently reading) Keith Thomson’s Born to Be Hanged: The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune. My son, Noah, is about to report for Coast Guard boot camp, so for the last month or two I’ve been thinking about the historical role of the Coast Guard in combatting piracy.” -Clark Whitehorn

“I just finished reading Time of the Child by Niall Williams. The story is about the small fictional Irish town of Faha, in the 1960s, leading up to Christmas. I saw a recommendation for it and splurged for a hardcover edition, one of my best investments of 2024. I was in desperate need of escape. The gentle, kind depictions of the characters, their motivations, and daily life are so good. I was really sorry when it ended and am tempted to read it again. To quote a New York Times book review by Jen Doll: ‘the most heartwarming thing of all is how the reader is welcomed into Faha’s world. When I cried, it was because, with his careful and compassionate depictions of people, place and time, Williams reminds us of the humanity in all, of the vitality of a community that comes together, and of the power in revealing our vulnerabilities to others.’” -Tish Fobben

“Lately I’ve been reading Butter by Asako Yuzuki. Butter is the story of a Japanese female journalist trying to get the story of an alleged female serial killer and foodie. It’s a translated work and deals with various aspects of Japanese culture and expectations of women, such as body image, career expectations, motherhood, and romance. I have quite a few books at home that I haven’t read yet, so my goal for this year is to make a sizable dent in that pile (and not add too many new books to it!).” -Taylor Martin