Before we share info about this month’s book, we want to recognize that this month’s “Community Kindness Sponsor” (which helps offset the cost of the extra 20 books we hide after scavenger hunt weekend every month – the “random act of kindness” books) is our friend Cynthai Bardo! We are so grateful for her support in creating a bookish community rooted in kindness. If you know her, please send some gratitude her way!

Do you know someone who might be interested in partnering with us as a Community Kindness Sponsor in 2027 ($250)? We are all set for 2026, but are starting to look ahead to 2027 (because as we know, time flies!). Please send us an email (tucsontomegnome[at]gmail.com), and we can send you some information 🙂

AND NOW, for what you’ve been waiting for: all about this month’s hidden book!

About the book, from Penguin Random House:

“In “Machine City” a college student’s chance role in a friend’s movie blurs the line between his character and his true self. (Is he a robot?) In “Slide to Unlock” a man comes to terms with his life via the passwords he struggles to remember in extremis. (What’s his mom’s name backward?) And in “Weird Menace” a director and faded movie star gab about science fiction, bad costume choices, and lost loves on a commentary track for a B-film from the ’80s that neither remembers all that well.

In Ed Park’s utterly original collection, An Oral History of Atlantis, characters bemoan their fleeting youth, focus on their breathing, meet cute, break up, write book reviews, translate ancient glyphs, bid on stuff online, whale watch, and once in a while find solace in the sublime. Throughout, Park deploys his trademark wit to create a world both strikingly recognizable and delightfully other. Spanning a quarter century, these sixteen stories tell the absurd truth about our lives. They capture the moment when the present becomes the past—and are proof positive that Ed Park is one of the most imaginative and insightful writers working today.”

About the author, Ed Park:

“Ed Park is the author of the novels Same Bed Different Dreams (2023), a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and Personal Days (2008), a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. His debut story collection, An Oral History of Atlantis, was published in July 2025. His fiction, essays, and reviews have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, Harper’s, The Atlantic, Bookforum, McSweeney’s, and elsewhere. He is a founding editor of The Believer and the former literary editor of The Village Voice, and has worked in newspapers and book publishing.

In 2025, Park received the Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Deborah Pease Prize from A Public Space. His memoir, Three Tenses, is forthcoming in Summer 2026, followed in the fall by The Repairer of Reputations, a work of weird horror bound in a special edition with the 1895 Robert W. Chambers classic of the same title.”

Why I selected An Oral History of Atlantis for the May 2026 Giveaway:

• It’s been a while since I’ve hidden a short story collection, and this one felt especially worth sharing because each story offers a new surprise – – – it’s perfect for readers who enjoy wandering through strange little worlds that (maybe) seem so much like our own.
• Ed Park is very, very funny. These stories are full of wit, absurdity, and wonderfully unexpected pop culture references that make even the strangest moments feel strangely familiar.
• This short story collection also feels deeply “of the moment.” Beneath the humor is a sharp recognition (and understanding?) of the chaos, anxiety, and surreal absurdity of living in the 21st century. While reading it, I couldn’t shake that feeling that we’re all trying to make sense of a world that’s moving a little too fast.
• Most of all, this book rewards the curious reader. These stories invite you to follow unusual ideas, embrace a little weirdness, and enjoy the pleasure of being surprised, which is exactly the kind of energy I hope people feel when they stumble across one of my hidden books 😉
• Finally, May is AAPI Heritage Month, and I wanted to share this book by Ed Park, who is one of the most interesting (and funny, sharp, and smart!) voices in contemporary fiction. AND, just in case any of you missed seeing him while he was here in Tucson for the Tucson Festival of Books this past March, we wanted to bring this amazing short story collection back into the Tucsoniverse 🙂