{"id":31171,"date":"2026-03-13T15:37:33","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T15:37:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/160-news\/?p=31171"},"modified":"2026-03-17T19:03:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T19:03:48","slug":"books-spring-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/2026\/03\/books-spring-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Books: Spring 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mise en Sc\u00e8ne: Illustrating French Interiors <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Illustrator Cora Trout\u2019s latest project combines paintings of ten distinct spaces across \u00cele-de-France\u2014from a palace to a 1950s suburban home. A French major at Macalester, Trout created the work during a two-month residency at the Cit\u00e9 Internationale des Arts in Paris. We spoke with her about the project, recently featured at the Columbia Art League.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did it feel to immerse yourself in these French interiors?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was special to work on these paintings while I was in Paris. My desk at the Cit\u00e9 Internationale des Arts overlooked the Seine, and I could see the spire of Notre Dame. When I returned to St. Louis, painting these interiors brought me back to Paris. Even thousands of miles away, I could feel connected to the city again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What got you interested in this project?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I first became interested in French interior design after coming across Jean Badovici\u2019s Int\u00e9rieurs Fran\u00e7ais (1925) and the R\u00e9pertoire du Go\u00fbt Moderne (1928-29), a five-volume set of folios depicting domestic interior design illustrated by many famous designers and architects. These books were part of the \u201cadvice literature\u201d genre circulating in Paris at the time. They helped shape the debate over what constituted good taste, and sought to disseminate those views on an international scale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you hope someone viewing these illustrations takes away?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many of the locations I feature in my book were, at the time of their creation, tangible manifestations of power and wealth. And their interiors followed suit. Today, these interiors help us understand furniture and furnishings as objects of social history. A room\u2014her chairs, cushions, curtains, commodes, china, all of it\u2014is a mirror for human emotions, needs, and desires, however rational or irrational they may be. I hope this book helps people think differently about the spaces they inhabit. I also hope they can feel transported to another place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional Titles:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Empire<\/figure>
\n

Sonia Hazard \u201908.<\/strong> Empire of Print: Evangelical Power in an Age of Mass Media<\/em> (Oxford University Press, 2025) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A religious studies and art history double major, Hazard examines how the American Tract Society built a nineteenth-century media network that shaped information distribution across the United States. The book, dedicated to her late religious studies professor Paula Cooey, explores how power operates through everyday information systems. \u201cI hope readers see that the story I\u2019m telling about the nineteenth century is not the distant past, but a moment that helps illuminate the roots of our modern media environment,\u201d Hazard says. The cover was designed by Patricia Olson \u201973, Hazard\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"What<\/figure>
\n

Jonathan Bernstein \u201911.<\/strong> What Do You Do When You\u2019re Lonesome: The Authorized Biography of Justin Townes Earle<\/em> (Hachette, 2026) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fact-checker and journalist at Rolling Stone, Bernstein traces the book\u2019s origins to his sophomore year at Macalester, when he first saw Justin Townes Earle perform at the Turf Club. The biography explores the late singer-songwriter\u2019s life and legacy. \u201cOne of my aims in writing this book was to try to investigate some entrenched and in many ways harmful ideas in music, and in our culture at large, about the correlation between creativity and self-destruction,\u201d Bernstein says.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Selah:<\/figure>
\n

B\u00e1y\u00f2 Ak\u00f3mol\u00e1f\u00e9<\/strong>, Hubert Humphrey Distinguished Professor of American Studies. Selah: A B\u00e1y\u00f2 Ak\u00f3mol\u00e1f\u00e9 Reader<\/em> (Ayin Press, 2026) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Known for investigating the fundamental assumptions of our current culture in crisis, Ak\u00f3mol\u00e1f\u00e9\u2019s collection presents a wide range of aphorisms, poems, and philosophical ideas. Taken together, they examine his signature concepts of ontofugitivity, ecocognitive assemblage theory and postactivism, drawing inspiration from thinkers ranging from \u00c9douard Glissant to Octavia Butler. The title of the collection draws on a Hebrew word suggesting ecstatic exclamation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"How<\/figure>
\n

Peter Bognanni \u201901<\/strong>, Associate professor of English and creative writing. How to Lose Yourself Completely<\/em> (Balzer + Bray, 2026)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Dr.<\/figure>
\n

Anthony Smith \u201973<\/strong> and Steven J. McCabe. Dr. Sterling Bunnell: From Son of the Gold Rush to Founding Father of Hand Surgery<\/em> (American Society for Surgery of the Hand, 2025)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"He<\/figure>
\n

David Lapakko \u201972.<\/strong> He Didn\u2019t Know What He Didn\u2019t Know<\/em> (Innovative Ink, 2025) The \u201calmost entirely autobiographical\u201d coming-of-age novella is partly based on Lapakko\u2019s experiences as a Macalester student.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Mr.<\/figure>
\n

Pamela Sjodin \u201968.<\/strong> Mr. Boonjie and the Moondust Quest<\/em> (Beaver\u2019s Pond Press, 2025)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Capital<\/figure>
\n

Seth Levine \u201994<\/strong> and Elizabeth MacBride. Capital Evolution<\/em> (Matt Holt Books, 2025)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Progressive<\/figure>
\n

Heidi Waterhouse \u201998.<\/strong> Progressive Delivery<\/em> (IT Revolution, 2025)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Soomaali<\/figure>
\n

Billan Omar \u201920.<\/strong> Soomaali Mi\u2019yaa? Exploring Somalinimo in South Africa<\/em> (Langaa Research and Publishing Common Initiative Group, 2025)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Email book publication news to mactoday@macalester.edu<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Books recently published by Macalester faculty, alumni, and staff. This spring we also feature a Q&A with illustrator Cora Trout \u201916.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":881,"featured_media":31173,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[34,667,23,101],"class_list":["post-31171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","tag-art-and-art-history","tag-english-and-creative-writing","tag-french-and-francophone-studies","tag-religious-studies","mediatype-articles"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"fields":{"main_feature_story":"","custom_image":false,"custom_link_url":"","custom_feature_title":"","custom_feature_caption":"","custom_markup":"","custom_markup_link":"","custom_markup_title":"","custom_markup_caption":"","byline":"Cora Trout \u201916","article_type":[8],"post_thumbnail_style":"default","flickr_photoset_id":"","youtube_id":"","square_thumbnail":false,"press_downloads":false,"press_photos":false,"story_title":"","story_caption":"","rotations":false,"maps":false,"marker_title":"","marker_text":"","geographic_location":false,"feature_embed":"","news_icon_name":"","image_options":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/881"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31171"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31171\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31841,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31171\/revisions\/31841"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.macalester.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}