UO alumni and friend authors to add to your 2023 reading list

UO Alumni and friend authors to add to your 2023 reading list

Business Books

CAPitalize Your Finances: The How-To Financial Framework that Takes You from Compoundingly Clueless to Monetarily Magnificent

By Chris Panagiotu, BS ’13 (business administration)

Panagiotu’s new manual is an invitation to a new mindset for financial decisions. Through CAPitalize Your Finances, gain a new framework around finances, no matter your age, life stage, or financial trajectory.

Six-Figure Sales Secrets: The Ultimate Guide to Overfilling Your Pipeline, Closing More, and Earning in the Top 1% of Salespeople

by Marcus Chan, BA ’07 (Chinese, business administration)

One of the world’s leading sales experts, Marcus Chan brings you Six-Figure Sales Secrets, a proven framework for taking your sales to the next level. Chan’s book will show you how to earn an additional $50k to $100k in commissions this year without working 60+ hours per week or making cold calls — even if you don’t have any experience.

Children's Books

Messy Robot and the Sneaky Cat

by Anne Marquard, BA ’70 (romance languages)

A story about friendship, overcoming fears, and acceptance, Messy Robot and the Sneaky Cat introduces young readers to a world where Hyperion, a robot, realizes that he is not perfect. A new friend, Ricky, guides Hyperion and teaches him that it is possible to be imperfect and still be loved. Marquard’s book dives into self-awareness, motivation, and empathy, teaching children the importance of striving to be your best and self-acceptance.

The Moon Bear

by Steve Scher, BS ’77 (journalism)

In The Moon Bear, Gwen, an adventurous young girl, wakes up in the middle of the night to find a giant bear climbing up the tree outside her bedroom window. An unlikely friendship forms between Gwen and Moon Bear, and the two discover the owners of the night. Scher, a Seattle public radio personality, now writes on Whidbey Island.

Nonfiction

Conversations Across America: A Father and Son, Alzheimer’s, and 300 Conversations Along the TransAmerica Bike Trail that Capture the Soul of America

by Kari Loya

Travel with Kari and Merv Loya, former UO Law School assistant dean and director of career services. Through Kari’s book, follow the father-son duo on their 73-day, 4,600-mile journey on the TransAmerica Bike Trail. The two trekked the cross-country trail in 2015, after Merv was diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s. Their adventure is a heartwarming example of listening and discovery in the face of uncertainty.

White Terror: The Horror Film from Obama to Trump

by Russell Meeuf, MA ’05, PhD ’09 (English)

Russell Meeuf reveals how radical, political commentary in horror films produced during the Obama-era gave rise to the Trump presidency and the Make America Great Again movement. White Terror explores how motifs of home invasion, exorcism, possession, and hauntings mirror cultural debates around white masculinity, class, religion, socioeconomics, and more.

Poetry

63 Poems of the Pacific Northwest

by Joseph Vranas, MMus ’19 (music composition, music performance)

A collection of experimental poetry, 63 Poems of the Pacific Northwest explores the magic of the region through the lens of a transplanted Texas musician. Inspired by moments of introspection and observation, Vranas's poetry explores the connections between the soul of modern man and ancient earth.

Lexicon of the Body

by Denise M. Wallace, BA ’89 (telecommunication and film)

Wallace’s poetry explores the impact and evolution of lived experiences and perspective of the world. Exploring themes of desire and gratitude, as well as disappointment and loss, the focus rests upon honesty and authenticity.

Young Adult

If Anything Happens I Love You

by Michael Govier, BS ’00 (theatre arts) and Will McCormack

Based on the Academy Award-winning short film of the same title, Govier and McCormack’s book is a graphic novel retelling of the animated short. The young adult graphic novel follows two parents as they reckon with the loss of their young daughter, Rose, in a school shooting. If Anything Happens I Love You is a story of loss, the complexities of grief and pain, and the fight for human connection, love, and acceptance.

Monstersona

by Chloe Spencer, BA ’17 (journalism)

Chloe Spencer’s debut young adult sci-fi horror novel, Monstersona, focuses on 16-year-old Riley Grishin and her life in Little Brook, Maine, a small town that serves as the headquarters for an international tech laboratory. On the night of her high school homecoming game, Riley wakes up to her town on fire, terrorized by a monster. Follow Riley’s adventure as she escapes Little Brook with her dog and the only other survivor of the tragedy: Aspen. Monstersona is available for pre-order.

Other books by alumni to check out: