Joshua Isards debut novel is a hoot. Our hero Nathan Wavelsky moves into the burbs with his wife. Life is good. Hes a successful slacker. He doesnt want to rock the boat. His definition of a good time is listening to his favorite bands on his iPod and staring at the grass and the poplar trees in his backyard. As a mid-level corporate manager, he does what his bosses tell him. If they want somebody fired, he fires them. No questions asked. But the boat does start to rock. He innocently gives a copy of Kurt Vonneguts Cats Cradle to a teenage girl and his neighbors are righteously appalled. His wifes hormones start to tango and now she wants a baby. Sure, he enjoys sex, but that doesnt mean he wants a baby in the house. Worse, his best friend wants him to climb Mount Everest. Nathan likes the solitude of camping and hiking, but climbing in the Himalayas? He could die, for Gods sake. He just wants to be left alone. But no chance. Shit begins to happen.Joshua Isard developed and is the director of Arcadia Universitys low-residency MFA Creative Writing program. Since the program is high tech and has a study abroad component, it gives him a chance to enjoy two of his favorite things at work: travel and Apple products. His short stories have appeared in numerous magazines and in the anthologies The Lie of the Land and Outlandish Affairs. He lives outside Philadelphia with his wife and two cats.