Yesterday we had our first double act, two collaborating authors each making her own recommendation, and today we’ve got another #read99women first: a male author sharing his pick. When I started putting together the idea of #read99women, I figured it made sense to extend invitations regardless of gender. If the books themselves were about or by women, I decided, the gender of the recommender didn’t particularly matter. (That said, you may have noticed the obvious preponderance of women, but if you know—or are—a male author who wants to participate, just drop me a line! We’ll talk.)

Today’s guest Matthew Norman’s latest novel LAST COUPLE STANDING follows a married couple, Jessica and Mitch, as they decide that the best way to minimize their chances of divorce—a plague that has hit their friend group hard—is to open their marriage. Trouble and hilarity both ensue.

Matthew Norman lives with his wife and two daughters in Baltimore, Maryland, and holds an MFA from George Mason University. His newest novel, LAST COUPLE STANDING, is out now.

His first novel, DOMESTIC VIOLETS, was nominated in the Best Humor Category at the 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards, and his second novel, WE’RE ALL DAMAGED, was an Amazon bestseller. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @TheNormanNation.

Without further ado: Matthew Norman!

“By sheer coincidence, as I write this, it should be MLB’s Opening Day. I’m doing my best to keep things in perspective. The world has bigger problems than a delayed baseball season, right? But, to be honest, the absence of my favorite sport has me down this week. Fortunately, I have Emily Nemens’ THE CACTUS LEAGUE to help me through.

The book has several storylines and a rich cast of characters, so it’s a tough one to summarize in a single sentence. But, basically, THE CACTUS LEAGUE is about a group of people who are associated with a fictional baseball team during Spring Training, most notably superstar outfielder Jason Goodyear, whose life and career are beginning to come apart at the seams.

Nemens clearly knows baseball inside and out. She gets the nuances of the game and, more importantly, the passion it instills in its players, coaches, and fans. But, you don’t need to be a baseball fanatic to enjoy this book. You just need to like really, really good fiction. The characters are wonderfully drawn and deeply human, and their storylines intersect in interesting, compelling ways.

I absolutely loved this book. In fact, I loved it so much that I made myself read slowly—often putting it down when I wanted to keep going. Because, like a dream season, when something is this good, you want it to last.”