What We're Reading: Spring 2023

“I just read and loved I Have Some Questions for You… unputdownable! Next up is Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano.” — Deb Futter, President and Publisher

“I had a major Chuck Klosterman phase years and years ago, and I hadn’t read him in a long time. It’s delightful to be back inside his head, this time taking a deep, critical look at my formative years, the 1990s.” – Ryan Doherty, VP, Editorial Director

“J. Edgar Hoover was one of those mythical figures of the ’60s and definitely not a popular one. When I heard that Yale historian Beverly Gage was coming out with a biography, I knew what to put on my Christmas list. Weighing in at a hefty 732 pages, G-Man is a bit daunting, but Gage is a smart, lively writer and full of surprises about Hoover, a critical figure in American history for half a century. You will learn a lot about this country by reading it and come away with a better understanding of why the country is the way it is today.” — Bill Hamilton, Executive Editor

“I’m eagerly awaiting Happy Place! I’m saving it for a big trip I have coming up this spring, and I can picture myself now, lounging outside with this book, completely carefree, feeling swept away by this imagined, star-studded, comedic world. Can’t wait!” — Randi Kramer, Associate Editor

“I can’t wait to read this novel, just out, which chronicles the life of the elusive artist X as her widow, CM, seeks to understand her and the enigmatic art she left behind. Biography of X bends form and genre, and it promises to be an exciting, ambitious read!” — Cecily van Buren-Freedman, Associate Editor

“I recently devoured Foster, the novella by the great Claire Keegan, and moved breathlessly from that to Small Things Like These. I heard NPR describe her work as small, but with a miraculously outsized impact. I couldn’t agree more.” — Christine Mykityshyn, Senior Publicity Director

“I’m a huge fan of Curtis Sittenfeld’s books (see Celadon’s Fall 2020 reading list), and her newest novel, Romantic Comedy, had me smiling from ear to ear throughout. Set in the writers’ room of a Saturday Night Live–type show, it was fun and funny, and the perfect weekend-escape read.” — Jennifer Jackson, Executive Director, Marketing

"What says springtime more than a book about trees? I’m about a third of the way into this beautifully written ecological science fiction novel, and I’m savoring every page. I love that its three storylines are set in completely different centuries and yet are all linked by apple trees and the book serves as a warning to readers about our disappearing natural resources.” — Jaime Noven, Senior Marketing Manager

“I’m reading Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan (author of Good Boy). I decided to finally pick it up after hearing about it everywhere. I’m really enjoying it so far, and even as a total thriller/mystery buff, I can honestly say I have no idea where this plot is headed.” — Julia Sikora, Publicity Assistant

“After Victor LaValle’s stunning The Ballad of Black Tom, I am very excited to read his recently published Lone Women. I love fiction that transforms the American West, and LaValle’s gorgeous, gory prose (interspersed with shockingly tender moments of community care) is something I’m very much looking forward to in 20th-century America. Also, I’ve never been one of those people who likes reading dark, depressing books in fall — I enjoy reading them in the spring, when the weather is nicer and it feels less overwhelming to read something so macabre.” — Sandra Moore, Marketing Assistant

“I found this book of poetry secondhand when I first moved to New York City. It was published in 1914, and the poems are so digestible and thoughtful, with many themes of growth. It’s a perfect spring reread for me!” — Erin Cahill, Manager of Studio Art