An Oral History of Atlantis is a short-story collection of sixteen inventive, deadpan tales that blur reality and performance while probing memory, identity, and the transitory nature of youth and art. Through witty, often surreal vignettes—from a college actor whose role begins to overtake him to a man confronting his life through forgotten passwords—Ed Park illuminates how ordinary, absurd moments become unexpectedly meaningful.

A profile of Lorne Michaels, the creator and longtime producer of Saturday Night Live. Based on extensive interviews with Michaels and many SNL writers and performers, it explores his personality, his approach to finding and nurturing talent, and how he built and sustained a show that transformed American comedy.

After discovering her husband’s affair, a woman is soon diagnosed with breast cancer and nicknames the tumor “Maggie.” Told in fragments over months, the narrator converses with the tumor and the other woman, reworks bedtime stories from Chinese folklore for her children, and uses wry, intimate humor to navigate grief, healing, and reclaiming her life.

Cartoonist Alison Bechdel, who runs a pygmy-goat sanctuary in Vermont, grapples with climate anxiety, social unrest, and her own privilege. After a previous memoir is adapted into a successful TV series, Alison grows envious and considers using storytelling—even imagining a makeover-style show—to push people toward more ethical, less consumer-driven lives. The novel is a sharp, humorous, and introspective look at creativity, envy, and the impulse to change the world without losing oneself.

Anders, a teenage idealist, enlists and reenlists during the Civil War and adopts a new identity to navigate shifting loyalties. Living among a Black Union regiment of eccentric comrades, he confronts questions of belonging, power, and who gets to be called American. Dennard Dayle’s novel uses dark humor and sharp satire to explore war, identity, and the contradictions of a nation.

In a world where reality and illusion intertwine, a young woman embarks on a journey of self-discovery, navigating the complexities of love, identity, and the pursuit of happiness. As she delves deeper into her own psyche, she encounters a series of enigmatic characters and surreal landscapes that challenge her perception of truth and existence. Through a blend of introspective narrative and vivid imagery, the story explores the delicate balance between the tangible and the ethereal, ultimately questioning what it means to find paradise within oneself.

Ten-year-old Vera Bradford-Shmulkin narrates a tender, often funny portrait of her mixed-heritage family as they cope with personal strains and a country in flux. Observant and hopeful, Vera wants a friend at school, for her parents to stay together, and to meet her birth mother, while her cash-strapped father, overburdened mother, and confident older brother navigate shifting loyalties and identities. Told through Vera’s clear perspective, the novel examines family, belonging, and the search for stability.

In this gripping tale, a young protagonist finds themselves thrust into a world of unexpected challenges and thrilling adventures as they navigate the rugged terrain of the Appalachian Mountains. With a blend of humor and heart, the story explores themes of resilience, self-discovery, and the power of friendship. As the protagonist encounters a cast of quirky characters and faces both natural and personal obstacles, they learn valuable lessons about courage and the importance of embracing the journey, no matter how daunting the path may seem.

Evie, newly orphaned and evicted as New York falls apart, sets out for a distant cousin’s town called Gulluck — a surreal Texas place where reality bends. In a landscape of albino cicadas, eccentric residents, and strange happenings, she searches for a house and a sense of belonging. The novel blends magical realism and dark humor to explore housing, family, and what “home” means.

Set in Gaza’s Beach Hotel — a four-star media hub where reporters shelter and file stories amid conflict — Vulture follows ambitious journalist Sara as she chases the story that will make her career. When her fixer refuses a dangerous assignment, she turns to Fadi, a young member of a powerful militant family, and her decisions illuminate the moral compromises, complicity, and human cost of war reporting.

Jada Williams, a former Hollywood wardrobe designer now working for minimum wage at a mall, finds herself targeted by the Debt Police after losing her job. Refusing to be crushed by crushing student debt, she teams up with two fellow mall coworkers to pull off a bold plan to erase their loans and strike back at a predatory system. The story is a darkly comic, character-driven heist about debt, survival, and revenge.

Mary Roach investigates the science and people behind replacing and repairing human body parts — from prosthetics and donor organs to stem-cell–grown tissues and 3D‑printed parts. Through on‑site reporting and interviews with researchers, surgeons, and patients, she explores the technical challenges and ethical questions of reconstructing the human body in an engaging, often humorous way.

A darkly comic novel about a forty-something journalist who, after the collapse of print, takes a job at a bookstore in a rapidly gentrifying Los Angeles neighborhood. Through his caustic attempts to write and the humiliations of service work, the book skewers gentrification, aging, professional envy, and the uneasy place of literature in the digital era.

Sixty-three-year-old PJ Halliday, a lottery winner coping with loss and health problems, decides to drive from Massachusetts to Arizona to win back his high school sweetheart. When he unexpectedly becomes guardian to his estranged brother’s grandchildren, he sets out on a cross-country road trip with his adrift adult daughter and a therapy cat named Pancakes who seems to predict death. The journey forces PJ to confront his past, try parenting again, and search for a second chance at love.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye asks what would happen if the Moon were suddenly replaced by a same-mass wheel of cheese. Over the course of a lunar cycle, interconnected characters—children, scientists, workers, billionaires, preachers and politicians—grapple with the physical, social and personal consequences of this strange, impossible change.

Set against the backdrop of a small, economically struggling town, the story unfolds through the intertwined lives of its residents, each grappling with their own personal challenges and aspirations. As secrets unravel and past decisions come to light, the characters navigate a landscape of hope, regret, and redemption. Through a tapestry of vivid storytelling and poignant moments, the narrative explores themes of resilience, community, and the enduring human spirit in the face of adversity.

In this witty and satirical novel, readers are taken on a whirlwind journey through the chaotic world of modern corporate life, where absurdity reigns supreme. The protagonist, a beleaguered office worker, navigates a landscape filled with eccentric colleagues, nonsensical meetings, and the constant pressure to maintain a facade of productivity. As the story unfolds, the character's internal monologue offers a humorous critique of the often-ridiculous demands of the workplace, ultimately leading to a moment of self-discovery and a reevaluation of what truly matters in life.

Robert Doughten Savile, nicknamed Doughty, is a delusional young man from Connecticut who drifts into early-’90s New York convinced that wealth and status are his birthright. He spins grandiose lies and cons his way into people’s lives while failing professionally and sliding into substance use and risky behavior. The novel is a darkly comic portrait of entitlement, manipulation, and the damage one person can inflict on others.

Cry For Me, Argentina is a memoir by Tamara Yajia about growing up between Argentina and the United States in an eccentric, often chaotic family. Balancing early experiences as a young performer with cultural displacement and creative hustle, Yajia writes with sharp, candid humor—sometimes raunchy—about identity, family ties, and coming of age.

A tightly wrought collection of stories that probes the messy, often destructive edges of love and desire, following ordinary people whose attachments — romantic, familial, and platonic — reveal the quiet violences and betrayals underlying everyday life. With spare, acutely observed prose and a darkly ironic tone, the book moves through moments of longing, obsession, and loss to show how small choices and withheld truths escalate into lasting consequences.

A short, laugh-out-loud picture book that humorously warns readers never to trust fish. Using absurd examples— they live where we can’t see them, some are enormous, their “schools” are mysterious, and their behavior seems suspicious — it turns a nature guide into a playful, off-the-rails comedy.

Kelsey McKinney, drawing on her experience as the host of the Normal Gossip podcast, blends memoir, reporting, and cultural criticism to explore why we gossip, what we hope to get from it, and when it becomes harmful. Written with wit and personal anecdotes, the book questions how we define gossip, why we obsess over others’ private lives (including celebrities), and how gossip can be used to harm or control people.

A collection of autobiographical essays in which Jeff Hiller traces his path from growing up “profoundly gay” in 1980s Texas through work as a social worker to decades of struggling as a working actor. With sharp humor and candid reflection, he recounts bullying, odd jobs, failed auditions, and the small triumph that brought wider recognition, offering a warm, relatable look at aging, resilience, and chasing a dream.

On a Chicago university campus, a toddler begins to emit a mysterious light called the nimbus. The unexplained phenomenon, visible to some but not others, upends the lives of his parents—Adrian, a divinity school professor, and Renata—and draws in Adrian’s graduate student Paul Harkin and a former alumnus, Warren Kayita. As attention on the child grows, the characters are forced to confront questions of faith, family, ambition, and the search for meaning.

In a fading Italian village, newly installed Mayor Delizia Miccuci presides over shuttered businesses, disgraced townsfolk, and a bar where locals nurse old grievances. When truffle hunter Giovanni Scarpazza discovers an enormous, mysteriously potent truffle in the nearby woods, the발 find threatens to upend the community’s fortunes and relationships—forcing residents to reckon with hope, greed, and what it means to save a place they call home.