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. 

“While I was on vacation, I finally had a chance to read James by Percival Everett, which is a reimagining of Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I highly recommend!” -Sarah Kee

“I just finished My Friends by Fredrik Backman. As a foster parent, I want to write myself into this novel and take Louisa (one of the main characters) in when she’s young. Her experience in foster care is appalling, but unfortunately common. The power of this story is in the found family and sustaining friendships that Backman writes so well.” -Lacey Losh

“I’m reading Couchsurfing in Iran by Stephan Orth. The title and Persian design of this book caught my eye at a library sale, and I’m enjoying this glimpse into the everyday lives of citizens of Iran and the Middle East through the eyes of a travel writer. Orth flies from Germany to Tehran on a visa with no agenda and no lodging arrangements, letting the locals he meets guide his adventures while he absorbs the typical lifestyle of citizens of the Islamic Republic. I just realized that this is one of a series of Couchsurfing travelogues by Orth, and I’m looking forward to picking up another one that I can find an English translation of.” -Taylor Gilreath

“This past month, I finished Less by Andrew Sean Greer. It was nice to read a queer fiction title without the usual YA embellishments, and also fun to read a travel narrative whilst spending the summer months at home. I love when authors make the narrator a character in their own right, so the book felt right at home for me. I also picked up The Starving Saints by Caitlin Starling from Francie and Finch because I couldn’t resist the cover, plus sapphic cannibals and divine horror—need I say more?” -Rebecca Jefferson