Catching Up, or Replinishing the To Be Read List

Life feels like it is finally getting back to normal here at the Slushpile.net libraries… After months of interviews, publicist meetings, travel obligations, and general craziness related to the release of my first book The Man Behind the Nose: Assassins, Astronauts, Cannibals, and Other Stupendous Tales, things seem to be settling down to a more manageable level.

One of the first things I do whenever I try to re-establish a normal life is fill up the queue with books to be read. And I’ve come across a few lately that seem intriguing. These aren’t necessarily brand new, but I’m looking forward to sitting down with these titles.

What are you looking forward to reading in the coming days and weeks?

–When I was in Oxford recently, my pals at Square Books turned me on to Michael Knight’s The Typist. I’ve always loved Knight’s short stories so I’m looking forward to this novel. And speaking of short stories, Alex Taylor’s The Name of the Nearest River is also tantalizing. Taylor received an MFA from Ole Miss and he’s from Kentucky originally, so that’s right up my alley.

—The Elegant Variation has some very complimentary things to say about Benjamin Percy’s The Wilding. Based on those comments, I’ve definitely added this debut novel to my queue.

–And finally, Megan Buskey gives a rundown of several interesting nonfiction for the New York Times. In particular, The Body Shop by Paul Solotaroff and Broke, USA by Gary Rivlin both seem intriguing.