NOSTALGIA FOR THE FUTURE: New and Selected Poems by Gregory Djanikian C’71 (Green Writers Press, 2025, $19.95.) These poems by the former longtime director of Penn’s creative-writing program [“The Moment and the Poem,” Sep|Oct 2014] tackle subjects including romantic love and its difficulties, the horrors of the Armenian genocide of 1915, the émigré experience, the allure of landscapes, and our longing for what is ephemeral and elusive in life. Buy this book
A FIELD OF MY OWN: A Memoir of Place by Cynthia McVay G’88 WG’88 (Living in a Place, 2024, $48.30.) In this ode to the Hudson Valley, occasional Gazette essayist McVay [“Salvo,” Jul|Aug 2025] chronicles her intimate, two-decade relationship with a flagging orchard, building a pond and pollinator gardens, learning to forage for food and run a tractor, and relocating an enormous 180-year-old hand-hewn Amish barn to the property. Buy this book
SECRETS OF THE BLUE HAND GIRLS by Rowana Miller C’22 (Sourcebooks Fire, 2025, $12.99.) When the first letter appears in Kay Anderson’s locker, it carries one instruction: dye your hand blue. Once Kay does, her life as she knows it will never be the same, in this secret society thriller written for young adults. Buy this book
COMMUNITY-ENGAGED SCHOLARSHIP: Reflections from Netter Center Alumni edited by Rita Axelroth Hodges C’05 GEd’15 GrEd’24 and Michael Zuckerman C’61 (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025, $39.95.) In this collection of essays, Penn alumni tell how their lives were profoundly shaped by engaging with the West Philadelphia community, through Penn’s Netter Center, as students. Buy this book
CONNECTING THE DOTS: Building Your Network and Legacy by Toby Usnik GEd’88 and Samir Kanuga (Blue Ocean Press, 2024, $29.99.) A communications professional and chief financial officer present the art of networking across generations, teaching readers how to engage with anyone and build strategic relationships that resonate with their life’s purpose. Buy this book
SNOWBOUND: A Pressland Adventure by Peter Kong GEng’18 (self-published, 2024, $16.99.) Intrepid researcher Mirana Orbelian will stop at nothing to uncover a mythical plant that could heal her dying father. But when her Himalayan expedition is ambushed, she’s forced to ally with Alex Pressland—a rogue ex-military pilot with a shared history that haunts them both. Buy this book
CONFLUENCES: Religion, Health, and Diversity in Missouri edited by Signe Cohen Gr’99 and Rabia Gregory (University of Missouri Press, 2025, $55.00.) This collection of scholarly essays explores connections between religious affiliation, race, gender, ethnicity, epidemiology, and attitudes towards health and medicine in Missouri from the 19th century to the present day. Buy this book
OPEN BAR by Dan Schorr C’95 G’95 (Spark Press, 2025, $17.99.) When the longtime abuse of teenagers by a university’s softball coach in its youth summer softball program—and the university’s cover-up—comes to light, a community is turned upside down. Buy this book
EVERYTHING ALIVE by Molly Johnsen C’10 (Green Writers Press, 2025, $16.95.) This debut poetry collection confronts trauma and disability, from a therapist’s office to a cave in Italy, to a raspberry patch in a childhood backyard. Buy this book
