You have too much stuff and Alan Anderson is the guy who convinced you to buy it. Now he sees the error of his ways and he’s shunned his worldly goods, living in a shed in his backyard and bathing in Long Island Sound. That’s the notion behind this very funny novel from Courtney Maum: Alan Opts Out. While advertising executive Alan is clearing out the clutter, his wife is collecting more. Maum tells us what we all know: we’re too consumed with consumerism. Maybe Alan has the right idea? Courtney laughs along with Steve as she speaks…from a shed in her backyard.

You might know Bobby Finger from his two earlier novels, The Old Place and Four Squares, or maybe you follow his podcast, Who? Weekly, where he and his cohost Lindsey Weber keep track of would-be celebrities so you won’t have to. His latest novel is We Are Gathered Here Today, where he returns to Texas for a funny and meaningful look at marriage: gay, straight, or whatever.

New York Times bestselling author Lisa See’s latest book is Daughters of the Sun and Moon. Publisher’s Weekly calls it one of the best books of the summer. She talks with Steve about the little-known story of the 1870 massacre of Chinese immigrants in what was then a small, dusty and very dangerous Los Angeles.

In this week’s podcast, Steve catches up with author Phil Melanson as he teaches in London. Phil is the author of Florenzer…it’s a great account of life in Medici Florence told through the lives of Lorenzo de Medici, Francesco Salviati and Leonardo de Vinci. The book is now in paperback.

Chicago writer Melanie Benjamin has made a career out of writing historical fiction with stories that largely center around women. Put another way, Melanie has given us fictional accounts of our non-fiction world. In her latest, The Windsor Affair, she looks into the abdication of King Edward Vlll. It’s a story that’s been told many times, but not like this. The Windsor Affair focuses on the rivalry between Wallis Simpson and Queen Elizabeth, the woman we would later know as the Queen Mum. Melanie talks with Steve about her writing, her love of Chicago, and more.

Djamel White is being called a powerful new voice in Irish literature. His debut novel, All Them Dogs, takes a look inside the crime underworld of west Dublin, focusing on a lost young man looking to be found. Unfortunately for him, his search for male guidance only brings more struggle. Djamel talks with Steve about the book and about his own struggles in west Dublin: dropping out of school, finding his way back with the help of the legendary Roddy Doyles foundation, and, now, the toast of Irish literature.

Hannah Thurman’s smash debut novel is set in Raleigh, North Carolina, mostly at an under-pressure mental institution. At the center of Mercy Hill is a family of four daughters, their dad, and the mom who is the force fighting to save the hospital. The family grows up in the shadow of the institution, much in the way Steve grew up in the shadow of the Manteno State Mental Hospital.

Charles Schutt is a former Chicago priest who left the Church after 17 years and then successfully moved to the world of corporate recruiting. And he wants you to know why. He’s got a new book out called “A True Story of a Catholic Priest: Why I Got In, Why I Got Out, and What I Learned Through It All.”

Maybe it’s in our 30s that the rubber finally meets the road and it’s time to confront life, maybe accept the fact that you can’t be anything you want to be after all. In a way, that’s a way to read Rachel Khong’s short story collection. It’s called “My Dear You.” Rachel says each short story is like a song. Well, this collection sings.

Sometimes a small story can help to paint a much bigger picture. That’s the case with The Feather Wars by James H. McCommons. Actually, his is not a small story at all, it’s a remarkable accounting of America’s assault on birds around the Gilded Age. McCommons writes about flocks of birds more than a hundred miles long: birds, the passenger pigeon in this case, that were hunted into extinction. Through McCommon’s stories, we learn more about the Gilded Age overall…and that, you might say, is a feather in his cap, though, in this case, that is not a good thing.