Turtles All The Way Down

By John Green

After the international phenomenon that was 2012’s The Fault in Our Stars (23 million copies sold, a film adaptation that grossed $307 million), expectations were stratospheric for Green’s follow-up young-adult novel set in Indianapolis. As The New York Times review attests, the October release was worth the wait.

Kurt Vonnegut Complete Stories

By Kurt Vonnegut

As if an omnibus collection of Vonnegut’s short stories weren’t enough, this 900-page doorstop, published in September, contains a foreword by Dave Eggers and notes by Vonnegut’s friend (and famed author in his own right) Dan Wakefield.

Hunger

By Roxane Gay

The Purdue professor’s biting commentary on race, gender, and body image has earned her a regular spot on The New York Times Bestsellers list. Her latest book, about being raped as a teenager and the lifelong struggle with overeating that followed, may be her best.

Chasing Slow

By Erin Loechner

This Hoosier essayist parlayed her Design For Mankind blog into an HGTV show, which in turn led to a book deal last winter. As stylish as she is, Loechner’s Chasing Slow is less about the perfect heels and more about simplifying your life in order to be happy.

Only Dead On The Inside

By James Breakwell

When BuzzFeed, USA Today, and other media outlets discovered this local guy’s hilarious tweets about family life last year, he quickly landed a book deal. His parenting survival guide for the zombie apocalypse, published this fall, follows in the footsteps of the popular Worst Case Scenario books.

The People Are Going To Rise Like The Waters Upon Your Shores

By Jared Yates Sexton

Before he was among the first reporters to cover Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, Sexton was a creative-writing professor at Ball State. His troubling account of the 2016 election, published this past summer, caught the attention of The Daily Beast and Salon.

Calling A Wolf A Wolf

By Kaveh Akbar

In his first full collection of poetry, the Iranian-born Purdue professor wrestles with his alcoholism and faith. His colleague Roxane Gay gave it a five-star review, calling every poem “compelling or strange or unknowable and always beautiful.”