In his fourth novel, the Brooklyn-based author explores the love one young man has for music, his iPod and an Irish rock singer. To Sound in the Know: The author of the critically acclaimed Prague is also a fivetime Jeopardy champion.Take that,Trebek!

How It Ended: New and Collected Stories By Jay McInerney, Out April 7

This collection of short stories draws from over 30 years of McInerney’s writing life, stretching from the frenzy of the Bright Lights, Big City era to the more thoughtful times of The Good Life. To Sound in the Know:McInerney made a minor splash with a whole new generation of fans when he appeared on an episode of Gossip Girl last fall.

Thanks for Coming By Mara Altman, Out April 14

A memoir of a woman in search of the ultimate prize: her own orgasm. Hopefully this one has a happy ending.To Sound in the Know:While writing the book, Altman, a former Ace Bar cocktail waitress, met her current boyfriend and apparently they’re getting along (and off) just fine.

Unplugging Philco By Jim Knipfel, Out April 14

This satire explores the life of Wally Philco in an America after Horribleness Day turns terrorism into the reason that everyone cites for everything bad that happens in the world.
To Sound in the Know:The Horribleness is never explained in the book, but it’s likely that AIG was somehow involved.

Bis for Beer By Tom Robbins, out April 21

Billed as both “A Grown- Ups book for Children” and “A Children’s book for Grown-Ups,” Robbins’ latest offering delves into the magical relationship between humans and their beer. Apparently it’s more than just Best Friends. To Sound in the Know: Robbins chose his new publisher, Ecco, because it published

Nobody Move By Denis Johnson, Out April 27

Johnson follows up his National Book Award–winning Tree of Smoke with this noir of four lowlifes chasing each other over $2.3 million dollars in the wilds of Bakersfield, California.
To Sound in the Know: The book was originally serialized in Playboy last year.

Blue Boy By Rakesh Satyal, Out April 28

An out of place Indian-American boy having trouble fitting into life in Cincinnati (shocking) realizes that his problem isn’t that he’s weird—it’s that he’s the 10th reincarnation of the god Krishnaji. Hilarity ensues. To Sound in the Know: Satyal, when he’s not writing, sings in a cabaret show in Manhattan.

Sag Harbor By Colson Whitehead, Out April 28

The Fort Greene–based author of takes us back to 1985 where we meet an awkward black teenager who is ostracized at his Manhattan prep school, but finds solace in a summer escape to the mostly black enclave of Sag Harbor. Life is hard when you summer in the Hamptons.
To Sound in the Know: In 2002,Whitehead was awarded a MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship. Yeah, one of those guys.