Fantasy Novels for People Who Think They Don’t Like Fantasy

Interested in dipping your toe into the genre? The author Leigh Bardugo recommends books that can get you started.

All Politics Is Local. In This Novel, It’s Incestuous.

Jon Hickey’s book imagines a cutthroat campaign for control of a Native American reservation.

The Forgotten Story of 6 Immigrants Saved From the Titanic

In “The Six,” Steven Schwankert tells an amazing story of survival, slander and mystery.

A Tale of Bloodshed and Lost Love in China’s Turbulent Past

“City of Fiction,” a novel by Yu Hua, follows a man on a search for his missing wife amid bandits and warlords.

Graydon Carter Thinks ‘Hollywood Wives’ Waylaid His Magazine Career

He bounced back big time with editorships at Spy and Vanity Fair, a glamorous life he details in a new memoir.

Vietnamese Americans Are Swept Into Detention Camps in this Comic (Yes) Novel

Four half siblings balance the mundane (internships) and the terrifying (internment) in Kevin Nguyen’s “Mỹ Documents.”

A New Thomas Pynchon Novel Is Coming This Fall

Featuring a Depression-era private eye, “Shadow Ticket” will be the 87-year-old writer’s first book since 2013.

Faced With Death, He Did the Only Thing He Could: Take Notes

Peter Godwin, who has seen death up close a few times over the course of his life, examines grief and belonging in a new memoir, “Exit Wounds.”

The Far Right’s Love-Hate Relationship With Globalization

A new book by the historian Quinn Slobodian examines right-wing figures who have positioned themselves as populist critics of neoliberalism while weaponizing some of its founders’ ideas.

Want to Be a Better Friend? Read These Books.

In an era of loneliness, friends are more important than ever. How do we find, and keep, these connections?

Criminally Good New Murder Mysteries

Our columnist on the month’s best releases.

International Booker Prize Shortlist: 6 Books to Talk About

The nominees for the translated fiction award “don’t shut down debate, they generate it,” said the author Max Porter, who leads the judging panel.

The Critic Who Turned the Hate Read Into High Art

“Authority,” a new collection of reviews and essays by the Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Andrea Long Chu, showcases her smarts, humor and contempt.

When a High School Fight Tears a Community Apart

In “Our Beautiful Boys,” Sameer Pandya uses an altercation at a teen party to stage an urgent conversation about race, gender, parenthood and more.

Who Was Jesus? The World May Never Know.

In her new book, “Miracles and Wonder,” Elaine Pagels tries to find the man behind the faith.

Buffy Slayed. Their Marriage Didn’t Survive.

In a fizzy joint memoir, Jenny Owen Youngs and Kristin Russo capture what it was like to create a popular podcast for fellow superfans — and how they kept it going even after breaking up.

Jennifer Weiner Goes Behind the Music in a Tale of Estranged Sisters

In this affectionate if sometimes off-key novel, a would-be rock star confronts the family drama behind her mother’s brief, blazing career.

How Much Do You Know About the History of Books?

Try this short quiz on the material side of reading.

Could This Be the Funniest Book Ever Written?

J.P. Donleavy clocks the absurdities of human conduct in his satirical advice guide, “The Unexpurgated Code.”

Craving More of ‘The White Lotus’? Read These Books Next

From scathing satires of wealth to murder mysteries set at luxe resorts, these novels are sure to scratch that Mike White itch.

Why Did Democrats Let Biden Keep Running in 2024?

Chris Whipple offers an insiders’ account of a disastrous political campaign.

Is He a Stranger, Her Son, Her Lover or All Three?

Katie Kitamura’s thrilling new novel, “Audition,” examines the performances we put on for others — and exposes the shams that underpin them.

Edward Countryman, Student of the American Revolution, Dies at 80

He wrote influential books exploring the dramatic changes wrought by independence, bringing in overlooked perspectives — what he called “a collision of histories.”

Dear Armchair Mountaineers: A Cherished Literary Classic Awaits

Nan Shepherd’s meditative book on the great outdoors is an inspiring guide to stepping away from comforts and routine.

Can These Endlessly Complicated Siblings Reunite After Their Mother’s Death?

In Lynn Steger Strong’s new novel, “The Float Test,” one semi-estranged family is forced to come back together amid a crisis.

Wordplay, Weirdness and a Guest Appearance by Clint Eastwood

“Thrilled to Death” collects many of Lynne Tillman’s spiky short stories, where dreams tell the truth and glamour mingles with the mundane.

2 Books to Keep You Pleasantly Diverted

A collection of autobiographical sketches; a complicated Japanese mystery.

How Video Games Ushered In the A.I. Revolution

In “The Thinking Machine,” the journalist Stephen Witt tries to figure out what the Nvidia C.E.O. Jensen Huang sees in the future of artificial intelligence.

A Stunning, Hallucinatory Retelling of Greek Myth

In “Tongues,” Anders Nilsen takes the story of Prometheus and sets it in the modern world.

Thrillers Suffused With a Dark Sense of Dread

Our critic on the month’s best releases.

Frustrated With Dating? These Novels Are for You.

“Liquid: A Love Story” and “Paradise Logic” follow young women searching for love, while commenting on the state of modern romance.

Jean Van Leeuwen, 87, Dies; Wrote ‘Oliver Pig’ Series of Children’s Books

She wrote for many ages, from picture books to young adult fiction. Her children led her to create a series of books about two pigs named Oliver and Amanda.

Colum McCann on the Surprising Drama of Undersea Cables

The Irish writer’s new novel, “Twist,” is a shipboard adventure about the ragtag crews who repair ruptured information cables deep in the ocean.

Sam Keen, Philosopher of the Men’s Movement, Is Dead at 93

“Only men understand the secret fears that go with the territory of masculinity,” he wrote. His message resonated: His book “Fire in the Belly” was a best seller.

A Subversive Family Memoir Tinged With Tragedy and Mustard Gas

In “Children of Radium,” Joe Dunthorne explores the absurdity of family histories and his own clan’s complicated past.

Childhood Memories of Connecting Through Cartooning

Mine came flooding back as I read Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud’s “The Cartoonists Club” and Jerry Craft and Kwame Alexander’s “J vs. K.”

30 Years Ago, This Book Saw the Coming Backlash Against Elites

Christopher Lasch’s “The Revolt of the Elites” anticipated the resentments of ordinary Americans that have led inexorably to Trumpism.

Beatlemania: A Penetrating New Book Celebrates Lennon and McCartney

T Bone Burnett reviews Ian Leslie’s “John & Paul,” which explores the partnership of “two extraordinarily gifted young men.”

7 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

A Pandemic Puppy Inspired Reginald Dwayne Betts’s New Book

It’s called “Doggerel” for a reason: “These are poems that speak to everyone, that pun and riff and make fun of themselves a bit as they reveal something about the world.”

Let Us Help You Find Your Next Book: Fantasy

Whether you're looking for a classic or the latest and greatest, start here.

The Alienated, Irresistible Man in a Novel Stripped to the Bones

In his new book, David Szalay offers unvarnished scenes from a lonely, rags-to-riches life.

Why Are We So Fascinated by Cults?

Two new books use divergent styles to look at mind control, brainwashing and the outer limits of influence.

After a Terminal Cancer Diagnosis, a Lawyer Seeks Revenge

In Ariel Courage’s novel, “Bad Nature,” a powerful career woman sets out on a road trip intending to kill her father.

In These Poems Life Is a Party, Complete With Designer Drugs

Alex Dimitrov’s fifth collection, “Ecstasy,” offers a rollicking paean to pleasure.

A Victim of Childhood Rape Close-Reads Her Past

In “Sad Tiger,” the French author Neige Sinno analyzes her memories of being abused as a child, alongside literature about incest and pedophilia.

Mum and Dad Won’t Toss the Rubbish. There’s a Llama in the Kitchen. Help!

In “The Usual Desire to Kill,” Camilla Barnes finds the humor in a daughter’s aggravating visits to her aging parents at their run-down home in rural France.

In Espionage and War, Secure Communication Is Key. Just Ask These Spies.

As Americans scrutinize the accidental leak of a high-level U.S. group chat, several books detail other mishaps in the annals of global conflict.

She Wrote Last Summer’s Hit Thriller. Naturally, TV Was Next.

Suddenly Liz Moore blazed, comet-like, onto small screens and best-seller lists. But her writing career has been a slow burn.

Do You Know Where These Jazz Age Novels Are Set?

Even though it’s been more than a century since some of these novels roared onto the literary scene, they all remain classics of the era. Try this short quiz to see how many you remember.

This Is Your Brain on Politics

A new book by the neuroscientist Leor Zmigrod explores the connections between brain biology and political beliefs.

20 Books Coming in April

A posthumous Joan Didion book, Emily Henry’s latest romance novel, Tina Knowles’s memoir and more.

When Cutting Ties Is the Best Thing a Child Can Do

In “The Power of Parting,” Eamon Dolan makes a persuasive case for eliminating contact with family members whose abusive behavior can’t be redeemed.

A Slow-Burn Thriller Set on the Appalachian Trail

In “Heartwood,” when an experienced hiker named Valerie vanishes, other women must crack the case.

Wife, Tigress, Influencer, Accountant, Nurse, Muse, Mystery

In Michèle Gerber Klein’s new biography, “Surreal,” Gala Dalí gets her due.

The Essential Tanith Lee

The eclectic, prolific author wrote more than 90 novels — primarily fantasy and science fiction, but also horror, erotica, mysteries and historical fiction. If you’ve never read her work, here’s where to start.

Molly Young on Space and Music

A Booker-winning novel; a rocking essay collection.

The Story of Crypto’s Rise: Tangled, Confusing and Frustrating

In “The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto,” Benjamin Wallace is hot on the trail of the person — or people — behind a financial revolution.

How Anarchists Helped Build Up Free Speech

As two recent books show, free speech protections were forged a century ago by people who fought for the rights of activists.

A Novel That Offers a Chilling Peek Into U.S. Intelligence

“The Snares,” by Rav Grewal-Kök, examines the perils and moral quandaries of clandestine service.

3 Horror Novels That Put an Extra-Terrifying Spin on Death

Our columnist reviews this month’s releases.

Book Club: Let’s Talk About Han Kang’s ‘We Do Not Part’

This Korean novel by the 2024 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature turns a pet-sitting mission into a haunting reflection on grief and memory.

The ‘Stuff’ of a New York Legend, From Skateboards to $12,000 Sweaters

A new book collects the Paper Magazine co-founder Kim Hastreiter’s most treasured belongings, and friends.

Book Club: Read ‘Playworld,’ by Adam Ross, With the Book Review

In April, the Book Review Book Club will read and discuss “Playworld,” Adam Ross’s off-kilter coming-of-age novel about one boy growing up in New York in the 1980s.

Historical Fantasy Novels Offer a Magical Escape Into the Past

The author of “The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi” recommends fantastical tales grounded in real history.

Thrilling, Lush New Historical Fiction

Our critic on the month’s best releases.

The American Picture Book’s Unsung Parent: Japan

Missing for decades from the Anglophile version of its origin story was another great visual narrative tradition, of the East.

It’s Gatsby’s World, We Just Live in It

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel turns 100 this year. What does its hero tell us about how we see ourselves?

8 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

The Truth About F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Drunken Brawl in Rome

Biographers took an account of a scuffle in “Tender Is the Night” as a record of a real-life event. But uncovered documents suggest Fitzgerald may have behaved worse than he wrote.

Maggie Smith Has Had to ‘Unlearn’ Her Identity as a Poet

“I’ve had to set that limiting belief aside,” she says, “in order to write other kinds of books without feeling like an interloper.” Her new guidebook is called “Dear Writer.”

4 Shattering Romance Novels With Glorious Payoffs

Our critic on the month’s best new releases.

L.J. Smith, Author of ‘Vampire Diaries’ Book Series, Dies at 66

She wrote seven books in a series that went on to be a hit TV show. After she was replaced by ghostwriters, she reclaimed her characters online in fan fiction.

Dennis McDougal, True-Crime Writer and Hollywood Muckraker, Dies at 77

The author of more than a dozen books and an award-winning documentary, he died in a car crash in Southern California.

For Joan Didion, Mementos of Her Daughter’s Childhood Became Material

The opening of the Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne archives in the New York Public Library reveals unseen aspects of their family life, and approach to writing.

Working While Homeless: In America, It’s All Too Common

A new book by the journalist Brian Goldstone puts a spotlight on people who have jobs but no homes, whose struggles remain largely invisible.

In This 1910 True Crime Story, the Victim Finally Gets Some Respect

Hallie Rubenhold’s “Story of a Murder” chronicles a killing, featuring sex, dentures and tightrope walkers.

Before QAnon and the Deep State, There Was Iron Mountain

A new book by Phil Tinline recounts the history of a 1967 hoax and its ongoing influence as source code for antigovernment conspiracy theories.

A Refugee Odyssey Unfolds in a Novel Full of Unknowns

Boris Fishman’s new book follows a family that leaves a war-torn country for a shot at asylum in the United States.

Dag Solstad, 83, Dies; His Novels of Alienation Delighted Norwegians

A winner of top awards in his country, he drew the attention of European and American critics. The prime minister said he “made us see Norway and the world in new ways.”

Do You Know the Classic Works That Inspired These Popular Family Movies?

Try this quiz on beloved literature that was memorably adapted for the screen.

Affirmative Action Is Gone. Can Class-Based Admissions Replace It?

Richard D. Kahlenberg has long argued for colleges to weigh socioeconomic status to promote diversity. His position is more relevant than ever.

One Exhilarating, Excruciating Night in Nell Zink’s Berlin

The city’s varied discontents skip into the spotlight in Zink’s new novel, “Sister Europe.”

Is This Mysterious Swedish Commune an Eden or a Nightmare?

Annika Norlin’s novel, “The Colony,” follows a group of misfits in a bucolic forest. The only thing its members share is a dark past.

8 Great Noir Thrillers

Sara Gran — whose 2003 novel of demonic possession, “Come Closer,” is a cult favorite — recommends her favorites.

9 Months Pregnant, and Navigating the Apocalypse

Emma Pattee’s debut novel, “Tilt,” takes place in the 24 hours after “the really big one” devastates the Pacific Northwest.

Yoko Ono, Demonized No Longer

David Sheff’s new biography convincingly argues for John Lennon’s widow as a feminist, activist, avant-garde artist and world-class sass.

A Novel Explores the Undersea Cables That Connect the World

The crew in Colum McCann’s new book makes complex repairs deep in the ocean. Human bonds prove harder to mend.

A Hare, a Fox, an Owl, a Snail: Animal Memoirs Are Going Wild

Books about writers’ dogs and cats are a literary staple. Now there’s a booming subset of memoirs about writers’ relationships with less domestic creatures.

What if We Select Ourselves Out of Existence?

Parents looking to promote health and intelligence in their children can pick and choose their embryos now. There could be more downsides than we think.

Thomas Hoobler, Half of a Prolific Writing Couple, Dies at 82

He and his wife, Dorothy Hoobler, wrote 103 books, most recently one about presidential love letters, “Are You Prepared for the Storm of Love Making?”

2 Books With Celebrity Cameos

A memoir of Greenwich Village; an Argentine story collection.

‘There but Not There’: A Husband’s Dementia Leaves His Wife Reeling

In the novel “Counting Backwards,” by Binnie Kirshenbaum, an artist grieves the loss of her husband to Lewy body disease.

Classic Private-Eye Detective Novels: A Starter Pack

Our crime columnist recommends books starring hard-boiled investigators who are ready to travel down the meanest streets to root out the darkest truths.

V.E. Schwab’s Favorite Cross-Genre Fantasy Novels

The author of “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” recommends books that weave the fantastical into mystery, horror, romance and more.

Life Isn’t Perfect. But This Poem Might Be.

“Aunt Jennifer’s Tigers,” by Adrienne Rich, is a blazing portrait of an artist and her work. Our critic A.O. Scott admires its craft — and its wildness.

A Servant Girl in 1776 Boston Fights Her Own Battle for Independence

Laurie Halse Anderson returns to the Revolutionary War era with a timely new novel for young readers.

Aleksei Navalny Among National Book Critics Circle Award Winners

Hisham Matar won the fiction prize, and Sandra Cisneros received the lifetime achievement award.

9 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

Robert E. Ginna Jr., Whose Article Bolstered U.F.O. Claims, Dies at 99

A founding editor of People, he also served as editor in chief of Little, Brown and produced films. But his public image was defined by a 1952 story for Life.

John Green Is Obsessed With Tuberculosis. His New Book Explains Why.

In a new nonfiction book, the Y.A. novelist describes the disease as a window into “the folly and brilliance and cruelty and compassion of humans.”

Nell Zink Couldn’t Have Written a Book Had She Stayed in the U.S.

Working to cover rent and insurance, “I turned out a two-page story every three months,” she says. “At that rate a novel would take 25 years.” She lives in Germany, the setting of her sixth, “Sister Europe.”

After Years of Prescription Pills, She Is Unmedicated and Unapologetic

In “Unshrunk,” Laura Delano chronicles her struggles with mental illness — and the endless parade of pills meant to treat it.

A Dyslexic Comedian Walks Into a Recording Booth …

Writing a memoir was no laughing matter for Phil Hanley. Narrating the audiobook took 16 sessions, 64 hours and a supportive audience.

A Vivid, Engrossing Biography of an Art-World Contrarian

In “The Maverick’s Museum,” Blake Gopnik presents the contradictory, intriguing, infuriating man behind the Barnes Collection.

Every Breath You Take Is Loaded With Meaning

In a new book, the psychoanalyst Jamieson Webster considers how the air we share connects us to others.

This Paranormal Investigator’s Next Case: Cracking an Ancient Curse

In “The Haunting of Room 904,” a woman who can commune with spirits is pulled into a sweeping conspiracy tied to a Native American massacre.

J.F.K., Blown Away, What Else Do I Have to Say?

Why the newly released documents won’t put out the fire.

D.G. Hessayon, Author of Blockbuster Garden Guides, Dies at 96

His “Be Your Own House Plant Expert” and other best-selling manuals were a fixture of British life for half a century. Among his many fans was Margaret Thatcher.

A Propulsive, Brutal ‘Hunger Games’ Prequel Is Here. And It’s Great.

“Sunrise on the Reaping,” by Suzanne Collins, explores the devastating story of Haymitch Abernathy, a mentor in the original “Hunger Games” novels.

No Sense of an Ending: A Stale Offering From a Great Writer

In “Changing My Mind,” the novelist Julian Barnes presents an argument for the joys of flexibility.

Can Democrats Learn to Dream Big Again?

In “Abundance,” Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson prod fellow liberals to think beyond their despair over Trump’s return to power.

Revolution Freed Their Country, and Upended Their Lives

In the novel “Theft,” by the recent Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah, three characters navigate messy relationships in 1980s Tanzania.

From Welcoming New Life to Mourning Its Loss, in 22 Weeks

In the memoir “Firstborn,” Lauren Christensen writes about losing the daughter she was expecting.

Can You Uncover These 13 Hidden Book Titles?

See how many works of prose and poetry by popular Irish authors you can find in this short scene — and build a reading list along the way.

While Her Body Struggles to Stay Alive, Her Brain Writes Porn

Saou Ichikawa’s award-winning novel, “Hunchback,” is narrated by an heiress with a rare genetic disorder and a brilliant, cynical mind.

3 Heart-Pounding, High-Stakes New Thrillers

Our columnist on the month’s best releases.

So a Lesbian Clown and a 50-Something Magician Go on a Date

Kristen Arnett’s new novel, “Stop Me if You’ve Heard This One,” follows a woman grappling with grief and love while pursuing her true passion: clowning.

The Alternate Futures of a Family of Holocaust Survivors

In Stuart Nadler’s novel “Rooms for Vanishing,” four characters search for and grieve one another across separate timelines.

A Missing Child Washes Ashore After 20 Years. He Hasn’t Aged a Day.

In “The Fisherman’s Gift,” a man finds a lost child on a Scottish beach after a storm, a discovery that unlocks a town’s suppressed drama.

A Paper Where the News Really Is Fake, and That’s the Point

In “Funny Because It’s True,” Christine Wenc offers an idiosyncratic history of The Onion, the publication that made the media its chief satirical target.

She Survived Horror, and Then She Went to Space

In “Saving Five,” Amanda Nguyen tells a winding story of pain, justice and stratospheric accomplishment.

There’s a New ‘Hunger Games’ Novel. Here’s What You Need to Know.

“Sunrise on the Reaping” further expands the world of Panem, focusing on Haymitch Abernathy’s story.

He’s Undead, He’s Indigenous, and He Wants Revenge on America

In “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter,” a Blackfeet man becomes a vampire and seeks vengeance for the country’s sins.

He Dreamed Up Bosch and the Lincoln Lawyer. It All Started With L.A.

For almost four decades, Michael Connelly has set his characters loose in a city of big dreams and lucky breaks. Now they’re facing an altered landscape. So is he.

2 Middle-Aged Couples, a Hot-Air Balloon Crash and Many Bad Decisions

Marcy Dermansky’s novel “Hot Air” plunges two couples — one old, one new; one rich, one not — into the deep end, together.

Herman Graf, Who Helped Sell ‘Tropic of Cancer,’ Dies at 91

A major figure in independent publishing, he promoted Henry Miller’s once-banned book and helped make “A Confederacy of Dunces” a best seller after the author’s death.

Graydon Carter’s Memoir Evokes the Golden Age of New York City Media

The former Vanity Fair editor reflects on an era’s power moves and expense-account adventures in a new memoir.

Was She Crazy? Immoral? Menstruating? Or Just a Murderer?

When a woman shot her married lover in 1870s San Francisco, all of America took sides.

Making America Red-Scared Again

In “Red Scare,” Clay Risen shows how culture in the United States is still driven by the political paranoia of the 1950s.

What the Alluring ‘She-Wolf’ of Brazilian Literature Wanted Kids to See

In her children’s stories, Clarice Lispector disguised philosophical questions in cheerful, kooky fables about exuberant animals with places to be.

A Satire of the Expat’s Berlin: Utopian, Urbane, Unstable

Vincenzo Latronico’s novel “Perfection” explores the creative capital of Europe in its heyday.

Felice Picano, Champion of Gay Literature, Is Dead at 81

At a time when, in his words, “nobody was writing about gay life,” he produced groundbreaking novels and memoirs and published books by Harvey Fierstein and others.

John Feinstein, Who Wrote ‘A Season on the Brink,’ Dies at 69

A longtime columnist for The Washington Post, he also wrote dozens of books about basketball, baseball, tennis, football and the Olympics.

Jennifer Johnston, 95, Novelist Who Probed Ireland’s Fault Lines, Dies

She explored tensions among the social classes and within families in fiction that prompted Roddy Doyle to call her “Ireland’s greatest writer.”

8 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

2 Memoirs by Women of the Bad Boy Chef Era Leave a Bittersweet Taste

New accounts of working in a man’s world — and that world’s comeuppance — are long on boldface names and even longer on personality.

Tori Amos Saw a New Side to Baltimore Thanks to Russell Baker

His memoir “Growing Up” depicted her hometown “like a shining city on a hill.” Other authors who mean a lot to the musician (and now children’s book writer): Kevyn Aucoin and Hilary Mantel.

Sick, or Overthinking It? This Writer Will Be the Judge.

What started as a scholarly study becomes, in Will Rees’s hands, a freewheeling journey into our brains and souls.

24 Works of Fiction to Read This Spring

Watch for a new “Hunger Games” prequel; a quirky romance from Emily Henry; novels by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Ocean Vuong; and more.

21 Nonfiction Books to Read This Spring

A posthumous collection of Joan Didion’s diaries, biographies of Yoko Ono and Mark Twain, a history of The Onion — and plenty more.

Amid a Dust Storm and a Depression, 5 Pioneers Reap What They’ve Sown

Karen Russell’s “The Antidote” is set in 1930s Nebraska, when the promising days of the American frontier are over, and white settlers reckon with the consequences of overfarming.

I’ll Have the Psychedelic Dystopia With Everything on It

Fernando A. Flores’s new novel imagines a bleak world where books are illegal and deprivation is the norm. It’s a blast.

The Americans Who Ran Guns for the I.R.A.

“The Next One Is for You” chronicles the effects of the Troubles on both sides of the Atlantic.

NPR Has Always Been Fighting for Its Life

A new book by Steve Oney traces the public radio network’s turbulent history as it once again becomes a political target.

A Murder Mystery in the West Bank, With an Unlikely Duo on the Case

In Lawrence Wright’s new thriller, an Arab American F.B.I. agent and an Israeli cop take on an intractable conflict.

How the Movies Made Joan Didion a Great American Writer

A new book by Alissa Wilkinson argues that the iconic writer’s imagination and signature style were profoundly shaped by Hollywood.

Bookish Beefs: Do You Know the Great Author Feuds of Modern Literature?

Try this short quiz on writers who had very public spats with each other.

A Facebook Insider’s Exposé Alleges Bad Behavior at the Top

“Careless People,” a memoir by a former Facebook executive, portrays feckless company leaders cozying up to authoritarian regimes.

A Melancholy Yiddish Classic That Also Happens to Be Hilarious

“Sons and Daughters,” Chaim Grade’s serialized novel about Jewish life in 1930s Europe, has been published in English for the first time.

The Cops Thrashed Him. Madonna, Spike Lee and Toni Morrison Took Notice.

Elon Green’s telling of the life and death of the artist Michael Stewart is filled with heartbreaking echoes of the present.

Geoff Nicholson, Author of Darkly Comic Novels, Dies at 71

In more than a dozen books, he created characters who were obsessed with maps, urban walking, sexual fetishes and Volkswagen Beetles.

A Nanny on the Run With Someone Else’s Daughter

“The Tokyo Suite” explores class divisions in contemporary Brazil via the twinned stories of a high-powered TV executive and the desperate caretaker of her child.

For These Women, It’s Kill or Be Killed

Our critic on Deanna Raybourn’s “Kills Well With Others” and three more new books.

2 Books From Other Shores

A memoir of Italy; notes on Canada.

Take a Deep Breath. If You Dare.

In “Air-Borne,” his detailed and gripping account of aerobiology, Carl Zimmer uncovers the mysteries filling our lungs.

Think Gender Is Messy? Wait Until You Read These Stories.

In “Stag Dance,” Torrey Peters probes the complicated, evolving realities of queerness and trans life.

Uri Shulevitz, 89, Acclaimed Children’s Book Author and Illustrator, Dies

A Caldecott Medal winner, he turned childhood memories of fleeing the Nazis in Poland into magical stories.

Spring Preview: A Few Books We’re Excited For

Every season brings its share of books to look forward to, and this spring is no different. On this episode Gilbert Cruz and Joumana Khatib talk about a dozen or so titles that sound interesting in the months ahead.

The Author of ‘The Help’ Wrote a Second Novel. Yes, Following Up Was Daunting.

Fifteen years ago, Kathryn Stockett’s debut novel became a best seller, but was also heavily criticized for its portrayal of Black characters. Now, she has written second novel, “The Calamity Club.”

A Garden Writer’s Novel Bears Fruit

In Linda Joan Smith’s “The Peach Thief,” an orphaned girl posing as a boy raids an English Eden.

She Brings Diverse Voices to Book Publishing

Sally Kim, president and publisher at Little, Brown and Company, wants to give everyone a seat at the table.

After an Abortion and a Separation, a 30-Something Flails Toward Adulthood

The novel “Goddess Complex,” by Sanjena Sathian, takes a sharp turn from an existential crisis into a more literal one.

How Do You Like Your History? With Imaginative Leaps or Grounded in Fact?

Novelized accounts of historical figures’ lives are hugely popular. But do we really want to draw back the curtain on history and find people talking and acting the way we do?

6 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

A New Novel After the Nobel? No Pressure, Says Abdulrazak Gurnah.

But a full calendar meant carving out time for “Theft,” his new book and first since winning the prize.

Answer 4 Questions. Leave With a Book That Will Get You to Spring.

Tell us a few things about what you like, and we'll give you a spot-on recommendation.

A Publisher Pulled a Romance Novel After Criticism From Early Readers

The novel, “Sparrow and Vine” by Sophie Lark, was due out in April from Bloom Books. Readers with advance copies criticized passages that they found racist — or that praised Elon Musk.

Pierre Joris, Translator of the ‘Impossible’ Paul Celan, Dies at 78

A notable poet in his own right, he was best known for rendering into English the words of a poet who reacted to the Holocaust by inventing a new version of German.

How a Shocking Act of Literary Vandalism Helped a Family Start Again

A cache of family documents led a journalist to discover the source of the wealth that allowed his family to remake life in Australia after surviving World War II in Europe.

Trump Is Changing America From the Top. These Groups Did It From the Bottom.

A new book by the historian Linda Gordon considers seven social movements that transformed the country — not all of them for the better.

This Writer Isn’t Afraid to Get Weird

In a new essay collection, A. Kendra Greene translates her experiences of our bizarre and marvelous world.

He Spent the Pandemic in a Coma. Can He Rebuild His Life?

Jinwoo Chong’s new novel, “I Leave It Up to You,” is a story of food, family and new beginnings after a tragedy.

Stories by Harper Lee to Appear for the First Time in a New Collection

Before she published “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Lee had written short stories in which she explored some of its themes and characters.

Inside a Sadistic Sisterhood at the End of the World

In Agustina Bazterrica’s new novel, “The Unworthy,” a dystopian future ravaged by climate change has stripped the world of food, water and human connection.

Why Putin Can’t Wait to Have McDonald’s Back in Moscow

As the Trump administration pushes for renewed business ties with Russia, a new book looks back at the companies that helped prop up illiberalism in the country.

The Archives Tried to Erase Her Family. She Tells Their Story.

A new memoir by the historian Martha S. Jones combines a trenchant analysis of race and the historical record with a homage to other Black women scholars.

What if Your Dreams Could Land You in Prison?

In Laila Lalami’s new novel, a woman finds herself trapped in a nightmarish system of surveillance and detention.

Laura Sessions Stepp, Who Reported on Teenage Sex, Dies at 73

A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, she went on to write about “hookup culture” and young women’s sexual experiences for The Washington Post and in a best-selling book.

How Well Do You Know State Capitals? Or Books Set in Them?

If you still remember the 50 U.S. state capital cities from memorizing them in school, you’ll do well on this week’s literary quiz.

John Casey, Novelist of Salty, Rough-Hewn Characters, Dies at 86

He won a National Book Award for “Spartina,” beating out novels by Amy Tan and E.L. Doctorow. A longtime professor, he lived for a time without electricity on an island.

‘My 10,000 Hours’: The Diaries That Made Helen Garner a Writer

“How to End a Story” collects three volumes of the Australian novelist’s self-conscious, sometimes harrowing journals.

When ‘We’ Becomes ‘I’: The Case for Divorce

Two new memoirs show the commonalities — and differences — in the end of every marriage.

The 19th-Century Country Houses of Europe’s Jewish Elite

A lavish photo book collects images old and new of elaborate estates, manors, chateaus and Schlosses in the European countryside.

320 Years Before the Muppets, the English Took Manhattan

In “Taking Manhattan,” Russell Shorto pays close attention to the darker aspects of colonial life on the island at the center of the world.

4 Thriller Novels We Recommend

Sarah Lyall, who writes the monthly thrillers column for The New York Times Book Review, recommends four of her favorite thriller novels.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Aims to ‘Write a Wrong’ in ‘Dream Count’

In her first novel since “Americanah,” she draws on a real-life assault case as she follows the lives of three Nigerian women and one of their former housekeepers.

His Pitch to Save His Career: A Podcast About His Dead Best Friend

In Jeremy Gordon’s novel, “See Friendship,” a journalist reinvestigates his past, only to discover the story he was told about his friend’s death wasn’t true.

A Turbulent Road Trip to Manhood, Loaded Gun in Tow

Two teenage boys set out north with few plans and plenty of frustrations in Vijay Khurana’s novel, “The Passenger Seat.”

2 Books for Jazz Age Enthusiasts

A Scott and Zelda roman à clef; a photo collection of 1920s Paris.

An Island Family Faces Rising Waters and an Unexpected Guest

In Charlotte McConaghy’s novel “Wild Dark Shore,” the caretakers of a remote research base brave an escalating crisis.

How Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Wrote Her Way Through Loss

When her father died, the author of “Americanah” produced a slim work of nonfiction. When her mother died, she poured her grief into a sprawling 416-page novel.

The Tiny Brown Hare Who Taught One Woman to Slow Down

In her memoir, “Raising Hare,” Chloe Dalton describes how a leveret changed her outlook on life during the pandemic and beyond.

Antonine Maillet, Writer Who Celebrated Her Native Acadia, Dies at 95

She gave voice to an overlooked French-speaking population in Canada, adapting an archaic language that had survived through oral tradition.

Book Club: Let’s Talk About Samantha Harvey’s ‘Orbital’

Harvey’s novel about six astronauts living and working on the International Space Station won the 2024 Booker Prize.

3 New Horror Books That Put a Fresh Spin on Old Tropes

Our columnist reviews three new horror books out this month.

Joseph Wambaugh, Author With a Cop’s-Eye View, Is Dead at 88

In novels like “The Glitter Dome” and nonfiction works like “The Onion Field,” he took a harsh, unglamorous look at the realities of law enforcement.

Book Club: Read ‘We Do Not Part,’ by Han Kang, With the Book Review

In March, the Book Review Book Club will read and discuss “We Do Not Part,” the Nobel laureate Han Kang’s novel about history, tragedy and the work of remembering.

Both Sides Now: Two New Takes on Joni Mitchell

Highly personal tributes by the writers Henry Alford and Paul Lisicky each view the singer’s life and artistry through their own prism.

21 Books Coming in March

Novels by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Karen Russell, nonfiction by Ezra Klein, new “Hunger Games” and “Wicked” prequels and more.

Earth to Young Readers: Take a Look at Me From Space

Leonard S. Marcus brings the wonder of a 1968 snapshot to a new generation.

Lose Yourself in Rich, Evocative New Historical Fiction

Our columnist on four standout releases.

9 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

Drawing the Same Woman for 40 Years: A Master Cartoonist Ages Alongside His Heroine

In “Love and Rockets,” Jaime Hernandez has been chronicling his alter-ego since 1982, telling a sprawling tale of life, love and broken relationships.

10 Books to Beat the Winter Cold

Scorching-hot westerns, seafaring adventures and steamy romances are an ideal way to stay toasty this season.

This History of a Swiss Bank Is a Dossier of Sleaze

In “Meltdown,” Duncan Mavin describes the grand rise and ignominious fall of a financial behemoth.

Don’t Tell, but Mark Greaney Is No Fan of ‘Goldfinger’

The author of the “Gray Man” espionage series grew up on James Bond, but that Ian Fleming novel has too much golf, too little “secret agenting.”

How ‘Right-Wing Women’ Found Their Place in the Manosphere

In a newly reissued 1983 book, the radical feminist Andrea Dworkin argued that conservative women understood the reality of male domination.

Queer Historical Romance Novels: A Starter Pack

Our columnist recommends books featuring centuries of L.G.B.T.Q. love stories that defy tragedy, laugh in the face of shame and lean into unabashed joy.

Trump and Putin Are Coming Together. The World Is Coming Apart.

Even before the new Trump administration began to erode U.S. influence on autocratic countries, a diverse array of experts started to rethink the future of global democracy.

A Polyamory Novel for Generation X

The narrator of Ada Calhoun’s autofictional “Crush” strives toward “holiness” — in an extramarital affair.

To the Point: Short Novels Dominate International Booker Prize Nominees

Only one of the 13 titles nominated for the prestigious award for fiction translated into English is more than 300 pages long. But it is the one favored by critics.

Solving a Head-Spinning Murder Mystery With Literary Analysis

In Cristina Rivera Garza’s novel “Death Takes Me,” a professor becomes both witness and suspect in a gruesome killing spree.

She Remembers Everything. Except What Happened to Her Yesterday.

In Karen Thompson Walker’s latest novel, “The Strange Case of Jane O.,” a patient’s unusual symptoms suggest metaphysical mysteries.

How Will the West Look Back on the Crisis in Gaza?

Omar El Akkad considers American and European responses to mass suffering in his new book.

A Discovery of Lost Pages Brings to Light a ‘Last Great Yiddish Novel’

Editors waited decades for the final manuscript of Chaim Grade’s “Sons and Daughters.” Its appearance shook the Yiddish literary world.

Do You Know These Popular Books That Were Adapted for the Screen?

Try this short quiz that highlights the film or television adaptations of novels and memoirs that often have a sharp comic edge.

The Banty, Blustering Genius of Earl Weaver

The famous Baltimore Orioles manager gets a vivid new biography, the book equivalent of “a screaming triple into the left field corner.”

Curtis Sittenfeld’s New Stories Revel in Life’s Delicious Mess

Her story collection is about the thorny conundrums of being alive.

These Books Are Absolutely Unreadable. That’s the Point.

A new exhibition at the Center for Book Arts in New York features a range of items — transistor radios, lanterns, cigarette lighters and more — designed to look like books.

Spicy, Sparkling New Romance Novels

Our columnist on the month’s new releases.

A Not-So-Straight Line From Little Richard to Bowie to ‘Saturday Night Fever’

In “The Secret Public,” Jon Savage traces how music helped popularize queer culture, from the 1950s through the heyday of disco.

2 Books Chock-Full of Worthwhile Ideas

A study of human fatigue; a cranky travel memoir.

He Fled the Nazis Before the War. He Came Back to Put His Country on Trial.

In “The Prosecutor,” Jack Fairweather tells the story of Fritz Bauer, the German jurist who helped find Eichmann in Argentina and brought Auschwitz guards to justice.

6 Thrilling Novels About Serial Killers

The mystery writer S.A. Cosby picks some of his favorite tales of the human monsters that wait for us in the dark.

The Election Just Ended and We Already Have a New Michael Wolff Book

In “All or Nothing,” the Trump biographer shows that he is his favorite subject’s perfect twin.

Three Poets: The Tale of Gerd, Carl & Allen

Gerd Stern, who has died at 96, formed a lifelong bond with Allen Ginsberg and Carl Solomon. Ten years ago, he wrote about how they had met in a psychiatric hospital.

Celebrating 100 Years of Edward Gorey

The great author and illustrator was born on Feb. 22, 1925. Gilbert Cruz talks with the Book Review’s Sadie Stein about his distinctive talent and sensibility.

I Would Follow This Poem to Hell and Back

Our critic A.O. Scott marvels at the power and paradox of a sonnet by Gwendolyn Brooks.

Why Children Love Edward Gorey: A Centenary Tribute

He made the uncanny cool for a kid like me, whose dollhouse contained a miniature Ouija board in the child’s room and a ghost made of Kleenex and cotton balls in the attic.

7 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

A Taxi Driver’s Comment Inspired David Levering Lewis’s Personal New Book

The august scholar has two Pulitzer Prizes and a National Humanities Medal. In “The Stained Glass Window,” he seeks to explain “macro-history as family history.”

The Best Second-Chance Romance Novels, According to Tia Williams

Books by Casey McQuiston, Alexis Daria and more offer emotional tales of love and forgiveness with plenty of heat.

Donald Shoup, 86, Dies; Scholar Saw the Social Costs of Free Parking

He took a dry topic and made it entertaining, capturing the attention of policymakers and influencing the way cities are built.

The New York Books Our Readers Love

Plenty of classics made the list, as did books that capture particular, personal slices of New York.

Inside the Making of ‘Wicked’

Meet the writer who helped turn a book into a cultural phenomenon.

How Trump Rode a Wave of ‘Reactionary Nihilism’ to the White House

A new book by the journalist Katherine Stewart finds a far-right movement seething in resentment, suspicious of reason and determined to dominate at all costs.

How Teatime and Cartoons Changed the World

In “The Revolutionary Self,” the historian Lynn Hunt explores the way 18th-century culture transformed our sense of power in the world.

Can You Find the 13 Book Titles Hidden in This Text Puzzle?

Certain books maintain an evergreen popularity long after they have been published. See if you can uncover the baker’s dozen of 20th-century classics concealed in this short scene — and build a reading list along the way.

A Story of Love, Critical Theory and Other Wild Fictions

In Michelle de Kretser’s new novel, a young graduate student gets caught in the gap between ideals and real life.

He’s Dead. His Ghost Isn’t the Only Thing Haunting His Girlfriend.

In Evie Wyld’s new novel, “The Echoes,” a woman mourns her partner while also contending with the traumatic past she left behind.

Oprah’s Latest Book Club Pick: A Shimmering Montana Saga

Set in a rapidly warming valley, “Dream State” spans 50 years of a rocky friendship.

She Gathered Evidence of War Crimes. Then She Became a Victim of One.

The Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelina compiled stories of women resisting the Russian invasion. After she was killed, colleagues ensured publication of her unfinished book.

Does the Art World Need a New Avant-Garde to Shake It Up?

A new book by Morgan Falconer argues that artists working today should take inspiration from Futurism, Dada and other art movements that sought to reinvent the field.

The Forgotten Writers Who Influenced Jane Austen

In “Jane Austen’s Bookshelf,” a rare-book collector sets out to “investigate” a group of overlooked female writers.

A South Korean Filmmaker’s Early Fiction Holds a Mirror to His Past

Set in 1980s South Korea, Lee Chang-dong’s book “Snowy Day and Other Stories” hangs in the shadow of the violent Gwangju massacre.

In His 80s, and Recalling All the Men He’s Loved Before

Edmund White seems to hold nothing back in his raunchy, stylish, intimate new memoir, “The Loves of My Life.”

A Tiny Press Took a Big Risk on Experimental Books. It Paid Off.

The British publisher Tilted Axis specialized in innovative translated literature. It won them major awards. Now they’re coming to the U.S.

A History of Modern Catholicism Puts Sex Abuse Front and Center

Philip Shenon’s “Jesus Wept” looks at the church since World War II, with particular focus on the clerical abuse crisis and the ideological battles that followed the Second Vatican Council.

The Nightmare of Leaving an Abusive Marriage

The heroine of Roisín O’Donnell’s novel “Nesting” is a young mother desperate to escape her husband’s physical and emotional control.

Adapting the Twists and Turns of ‘Conclave’

How the novel became an Oscar-nominated film.

Photos That Capture the Soul of San Francisco

Taken in the late 1960s and early 1970s, these long hidden photographs by Barbara Ramos have just been published in “A Fearless Eye.”

Here’s Looking at You, Kids: 3 Picture Books About Eyeglasses

A forgetful bear, a lovesick boy and, yes, George Washington share their views from the bridge.

10 Great Gothic Thrillers That Will Keep You Up at Night

The author of “If We Were Villains” recommends novels that will make you shiver with delight one moment and recoil in horror the next.

7 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

Michael Longley, 85, Northern Irish Poet of Nature and ‘the Troubles,’ Dies

“Ceasefire,” his most famous poem, invoked the “Iliad” in exploring his country’s sectarian strife. But his work wasn’t Homeric in length: “Michael was a miniaturist.”

This Book on World War I Changed How I Think of Nonfiction

Paul Fussell’s 50-year-old survey of trench warfare deserves a new generation of readers, our book critic writes.

Watched the New ‘Bridget Jones’ Movie? Read These Romance Books Next

Whether you’re in the mood for another Jane Austen adaptation, a British rom-com or a love story with a fabulous older heroine, we’ve got you covered.

Helen Fielding Has a Big Collection of ‘Sadly Ineffective’ Self-Help Books

The creator of Bridget Jones, who grew up on Jane Austen and Jackie Collins, has no patience for “snobbery about escapist fiction.”

Christopher Jencks, a Shaper of Views on Economic Inequality, Dies at 88

His clear prose, illuminating data and novel arguments, transformed debates around issues like public education and welfare reform.

Answer 4 Questions. Leave With a Romance Novel You’ll Love.

Tell us a few things about what you like, and we’ll give you a spot-on recommendation.

What a President’s Pardon Says About His Soul

A new book by the legal journalist Jeffrey Toobin plumbs the dubious history of the presidential pardon.

Can Understanding the Brain Make Us Better People?

In “Cerebral Entanglements,” Allan J. Hamilton argues that new imaging technologies give us unprecedented access — with revolutionary implications.

A New Book Gives Lorne Michaels the Founding Father Treatment

“Saturday Night Live” turns 50 this year, and a monumental biography of the man who created it attests to his enduring role as America’s impresario of funny.

Is Bob Dylan Still a ‘Complete Unknown’?

The director James Mangold discusses the things we may never understand about the folk legend.

You Know You Love Gossip. Does It Love You Back?

The writer Kelsey McKinney tries to wrestle with our guiltiest pleasure.

You Can’t Trust Elites. Just Ask a 500-Year-Old German Peasant.

In “Summer of Fire and Blood,” Lyndal Roper tells the story of the serfs who fought for a better life and the elites who co-opted their movement.

Ireland Banned This 1961 Novel About Catholic Sex and Desire. It’s Back.

John Broderick’s “The Pilgrimage” plumbs the rich interior lives of a devout gay man and his wife, without judgment.

Haunted by Apartheid, an American Confronts the Limits of Revenge

In the psychological thriller “Casualties of Truth,” by Lauren Francis-Sharma, a woman and a country are both forced to face the harrowing violence that has shaped them.

His Grandfather Was Haiti’s President for 19 Days. The Trauma Endures.

In “Talk to Me,” Rich Benjamin investigates his family’s harrowing past to better understand the troubles that continued to plague them.

Mother and Daughter Stuck in the Woods, With Danger Everywhere

Two new novels riff on fairy tales to explore mothers with unusual hungers and daughters trying to survive them.

Skip ‘Yellowstone’ for This Rawer Version of the West

In Callan Wink’s new novel, two brothers struggling to make ends meet are forced to turn to shady ventures.

At 83, Anne Tyler Has a New Novel. She’d Rather Talk About Anything Else.

While many of her contemporaries are playing canasta, she’s releasing her 25th book. There’s no mystery to it, Tyler says: Start on Page 1, then keep writing.

Do You Know These Literary Power Couples and Their Work?

With Valentine’s Day coming up, try this short quiz on authors who found love with other authors.

Valentine’s Day Children’s Books That Won’t Make You Cringe

These refreshingly authentic and playful picture books celebrate the many kinds of love that can fill kids’ lives.

Whatever You Think Will Happen Next, It’s Even More Grotesque

The taut, disturbing stories in Bob Johnson’s “The Continental Divide” share the setting of a rural hamlet in Indiana — and transcend it.

An Exquisite, Wrenching Novel of Leaving Your Life Behind

In Charlotte Wood’s novel “Stone Yard Devotional,” an atheist burrows into herself while staying in a convent, and contemplates how to live without causing harm.

An Esteemed Biographer Puts Her Own Life in the Spotlight

The standout essays in Megan Marshall’s “After Lives” recall her troubled father and the fate of a high school classmate.

What Is the Best Way to See the Violence in the Middle East?

In “The World After Gaza,” Pankaj Mishra looks for moral clarity in the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

A French Widow Agonizes Over Her Husband’s Fatal Accident

In the 2022 Prix Goncourt-winning novel “Live Fast,” Brigitte Giraud pieces together the motorcycle crash that killed the narrator’s husband, while tearing her apart.

4 New Detective Novels Worth Investigating

Our critic on the month’s most notable releases.

2 Books for Anxious Minds

Nadine Gordimer’s stories; Margaret Atwood’s sketches.

7 Great Legal Thrillers

The novelist Robyn Gigl picks her favorite courtroom dramas and legal whodunits — some of which may surprise you.

‘Demon Copperhead’ Explored Addiction. Its Profits Built a Recovery House.

Barbara Kingsolver has put royalties from her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel to work in the region it portrayed, starting a home for women in recovery.

How ‘Nickel Boys’ Became One of the Year’s Most Visually Striking Films

The director RaMell Ross on adapting Colson Whitehead’s prize-winning novel.

Can A.I. Heal Our Souls?

Two new books grapple with the questions of who we are, what we are, whether we are — and what we can do for one another.

Aliens and A.I. Are the Heroes of These Kids’ Sci-Fi Novels

In “What Fell From the Sky,” by Adrianna Cuevas, and “Oasis,” by Guojing, the best examples of humanity aren’t necessarily human.

3 Creepy New Psychological Thrillers

Our columnist on the month’s best new releases.

5 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

Elinor Lipman Wants to ‘Get My Characters Out of the House’

Eighteen books in (the latest is “Every Tom, Dick & Harry”), she still recalls an editor’s note urging more action: “Could someone here please pass the potatoes?”

Anson Rabinbach, Leading Historian of Nazi Culture, Dies at 79

He demonstrated that fascism had its own intellectual roots and showed how ideas, theories and an antisemitic “ethos” influenced German culture and policymaking.

Let Us Help You Find Your Next Book: Romance

Whether you're looking for a classic or the latest and greatest, start here.

Classic Romance Novels: A Starter Pack

These vintage books introduce the archetypes, settings and lavishly bonkers sensibility that are the hallmarks of great romance.

25 Years Ago, Joan Didion Kept a Diary. It’s About to Become Public.

The notes, taken after meetings with her psychiatrist, will be published in April as a book, “Notes to John.” They provide a raw account of her life, her work and her complex relationship with her daughter.

A Book Comes Close to a Unified Theory of Food. It’s a Big Job.

In “How the World Eats,” the philosopher Julian Baggini grapples with “everything that affects and is affected by” our comestibles.

How the British Art Market Went From Sublime to Ridiculous

“Rogues and Scholars,” James Stourton’s erudite and authoritative history, doesn’t spare the color.

What Are Book Blurbs, and How Much Do They Matter in Publishing?

An announcement from Simon & Schuster’s publisher left the literary community wondering whether blurbs, the little snippets of praise on a book jacket, are all they’re cracked up to be.

Lawsuit Accuses Neil Gaiman of Sexual Assault Facilitated by His Wife

Scarlett Pavlovich, who accused Mr. Gaiman of rape and assault in a report last month, said in the suit that his wife had played a role in “procuring and presenting” her.

Too Busy Blurbing Books to Write One

For the novelist Rebecca Makkai, writing blurbs had become nearly a full-time job. She explains why blurbs matter — and why she’s taking a break.

Children on the Run From a Dystopian Nightmare

Ali Smith’s latest novel, “Gliff,” infuses a Y.A. plot with her distinctive verbal magic.

A Novel Offers Words to Live By in Unforgiving Seas

Jon Kalman Stefansson’s novel “Heaven and Hell” recounts a 19th-century fishing trip and its aftermath.

Escaping the Nazis, With Help From a Priest and a Countess

Joseph O’Connor’s novel “The Ghosts of Rome” explores a World War II resistance network based in the Vatican.

Pole-Dancing Her Way Through a ‘City of Data and Drugs’

Call her Ruth, or Baby, or Sunday: A San Francisco sex worker’s carefully compartmentalized life starts to unravel in Brittany Newell’s vivid “Soft Core.”

Do You Know Where in the World These Novels Are Set?

Try this short quiz on Africa’s vibrant literary scene and its globally popular authors.

Can Her Daughter’s Wedding, and a Cat, Revive Her Own Marriage?

In Anne Tyler’s new novel, a socially inept mother faces hurdles in her personal, professional and family lives.

The ‘First Negro Novelist’ Saw the South Clearly

A new biography of Charles W. Chesnutt, by Tess Chakkalakal, explains the friendships and tensions he had with his white literary contemporaries.

Does Having Options Really Make Us Free?

In “The Age of Choice,” Sophia Rosenfeld questions whether choosing — what to buy, whom to vote for — is actually worth it.

A ‘Weary but Fabulous’ Poster Girl for Trans Life Opens Up About Aging

In her fifth memoir, “Cleavage,” Jennifer Finney Boylan writes about her 36-year marriage, her adult children and why she keeps telling her story.

Millicent Dillon, Chronicler of Jane and Paul Bowles, Dies at 99

A novelist and short-story writer, she devoted years to a nonfiction project examining of the lives of two eccentric authors who spent decades in Morocco.

Grieving the End of a Literary Couple’s Globetrotting Life

In “Memorial Days,” Geraldine Brooks retreats to an island off Australia hoping to pick up the pieces after the sudden death of her husband.

He Was Disgraced on Zoom. Can Fleeing to Denmark Make a Man of Him?

“Something Rotten,” Andrew Lipstein’s latest examination of male self-delusion, finds a Brooklyn journalist falling under the sway of a Svengali.

3 Romance Novels We Recommend

What are three popular tropes that romance novels use? Jennifer Harlan, a New York Times books editor, recommends three romance novels that show off those tropes at their best.

2 Novels for People Who Really, Really Love Cats

Rachel Ingalls’s lion god; Haruki Murakami’s cat whisperer.

The Noblewoman Marooned on an Island for Loving the Wrong Man

Allegra Goodman’s novel “Isola” tells the story of a 16th-century Frenchwoman’s extraordinary fight for survival.

When Nigerian Schoolgirls Are Abducted, a Father Unravels

In Julie Iromuanya’s novel “A Season of Light,” a Nigerian American family in Florida experiences aftershocks from their father’s trauma during the Biafran War.

If Patrick Bateman Were a 19th-Century English Governess

Virginia Feito’s relentlessly gory novel “Victorian Psycho” announces its narrator’s grisly intentions from the start.

Book Club: Let’s Talk About Alan Hollinghurst’s ‘Our Evenings’

This sweeping novel about the life, loves, struggles and triumphs of a queer English Burmese actor is the topic of our January book club discussion.

Book Club: Read ‘Orbital,’ by Samantha Harvey, With the Book Review

In February, the Book Review Book Club will read and discuss “Orbital,” a Booker Prize-winning novel following six people living and working on a space station above Earth.

James Carlos Blake, Novelist of Outlaw Life, Is Dead at 81

His savage fiction, set in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, demonstrated his belief that “violence is the most elemental truth of life.”

This Josephine Baker Oral History Has Never Been Published Here. Now We Know Why.

“Fearless and Free,” recorded between 1926 and 1949, is full of heroism, glamour, righteous anger — and things you wish you could unsee.

A Literary Genius Who Championed Nonsense

Gianni Rodari used puns, topsy-turvyism and zany names to invent stories for children and help children invent their own.

The Best Spicy Romance Novels, According to Ali Hazelwood

These steamy reads bring the emotion and the heat.

Rebecca Yarros’s ‘Onyx Storm’ Is the Fastest-Selling Adult Novel in 20 Years

The book, the third in a series, has sold 2.7 million copies in its first week, and provided yet another example of the romantasy genre’s staying power.

Read Your Way Through New York City

We asked 10 writers — including Hernan Diaz, Jennifer Egan and Casey McQuiston — to recommend books that capture their particular slice of life in New York.

7 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

As a Kid, Bill Gates Sneaked Out His Window at Night — to Write Code

A new memoir by the tech mogul recounts a boyhood steeped in old-fashioned, analog pastimes as well as precocious feats of coding.

Americans Feel Isolated. Imani Perry Wants to Help Them Connect.

Perry took on misconceptions about the South (and won the National Book Award) with “South to America.” In “Black in Blues” she continues to challenge perceptions, using the color blue to examine notions of Blackness.

20 Books Coming in February

Bill Gates’s first memoir; new novels by Ali Smith, Anne Tyler and TJ Klune; a Booker Prize nominee and more.

Hanif Kureishi Wonders What Dostoyevsky’s Characters Did in Bed

It’s among the more playful matters on his mind in “Shattered,” a memoir of the injury that took away his ability to turn pages — but not his hunger to tell a story.

William E. Leuchtenburg, Scholar of F.D.R. and the Presidency, Dies at 102

His writings, which stretched across eight decades, helped Americans understand a president who transformed the office and shaped the postwar years.

It’s Cold Outside! Warm Up With a Hot Romance Novel.

Our columnist on three spicy new releases.

How Big Tech Mined Our Attention and Broke Our Politics

“Superbloom,” by Nicholas Carr, and “The Sirens’ Call,” by the MSNBC host Chris Hayes, argue that we are ill equipped to handle the infinite scroll of the information age.

Talk Is Cheap. It Can Make You Rich.

In “Talk,” Alison Wood Brooks mines years of data to optimize your conversations.

No Writer Better Understood the Agony of Expectation

Antonio Di Benedetto’s characters are repellent and constantly frustrated. Why are they so captivating?

Indie Bookstores Will Soon Be Able to Sell E-Books to Customers

Bookshop, a site that lets independent, bricks-and-mortar bookshops sell their books online, is launching an app that will allow the sales of e-books, too.

Historical Fiction Imbued With a Rich Sense of Place

Our columnist on four stellar new releases.

Subprime Mortgages Destroyed Them. Who Paid the Price?

In “The Killing Fields of East New York,” Stacy Horn profiles one 1990s white-collar crime spree and the wreckage it left behind.

Do You Know These Books Made Into Popular Movies?

This week’s literary quiz tests your knowledge of films inspired by nonfiction books or deeply autobiographical novels.

Comic Book Publisher Drops Neil Gaiman Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Dark Horse Comics announced it would no longer publish the author and canceled further publication of his “Anansi Boys” series.

Paralyzed by a Fall, a Writer Learns Resilience (and Kindness)

In a new memoir, Hanif Kureishi reflects on a life transformed since he lost the use of his arms and legs.

The Ironic Fight Against Liberty in the American Revolution

In “A Perfect Frenzy,” Andrew Lawler reveals the hypocrisies of the patriots on the battleground of colonial Virginia.

3 Chilling Horror Books to Read This Month, Including a Reissued Classic

Our columnist reviews January’s new horror titles.

A Black History of the Color Blue

Imani Perry’s impressionistic “Black in Blues” finds shades of meaning — beautiful and ugly — in art, artifacts, music, fashion and more.

An Unsolved Murder Haunts an Elite Black Family in New England

Charmaine Wilkerson’s novel “Good Dirt” weaves together grief, suspense and the story of a jar made by an enslaved potter generations earlier.

2 Novels for Cold Weather

Joan Aiken’s neo-Gothic; Joseph Roth’s family epic.

The Best Cozy Romance Novels to Steam Up Your Nights

Books by Alyssa Cole, Talia Hibbert and more offer heartwarming banter and plenty of heat.

A ‘Groundhog Day’ Time Loop So Long It Spans 7 Enthralling Books

Solvej Balle’s “On the Calculation of Volume” rethinks the familiar story of the endlessly repeating day.

A Lonely 20-Something Finds Her Ideal Mate. It’s a Blob.

In Maggie Su’s funny debut novel, a Frankenstein-like monster turns on his flailing creator.

Amid the Pain of Separation and Surveillance, Life Continues

“Picturing the Border” collects photographs of the United States-Mexico boundary dating back to the 1960s.

Where the Thriller Writer Alafair Burke Gets Her Ideas

A Hamptons vacation and a prank gone wrong anchor Burke’s new book, “The Note.” It started with real life.

I Swear This Poem Didn’t Make Me Cry

George Oppen’s “From a Photograph” turns a wintry snapshot into a moving meditation on parenthood and the passage of time. Our critic A.O. Scott shows you what he loves about it.

If Talking Politics With Family Has Become a Horror Show, This Book’s for You

Clay McLeod Chapman kept hearing friends say, of their Fox News-watching parents, “It’s like they were possessed.” That’s what inspired him to write “Wake Up and Open Your Eyes.”

A Cinco de Mayo Time Travel Fantasy

For the three Latino kids transported to 1862 Mexico in Emma Otheguy’s latest novel, the outcome of the American Civil War hangs in the balance.

8 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

The Dalai Lama Shares Thoughts on China and the Future in a New Book

The spiritual leader of Tibet has published amply but seldom written in depth about politics. Now, as he approaches 90, he shares a detailed and personal account of his decades dealing with China.

Why Scott Turow Brought Back His Most Famous Hero: He ‘Changed My Life’

The novelist is 75. Rusty Sabich, the now-retired prosecutor he introduced in “Presumed Innocent,” is 77 — and taking on a new case in “Presumed Guilty.”

Robert Harris Likes the ‘Conclave’ Movie, But …

An adaptation of “Fatherland,” the best-selling novelist’s first solo work, “sets my teeth on edge,” he admits. His newest book, “Precipice,” is about a former British prime minister in love.

You Know Emerson and Thoreau. Why Not Their Female Counterparts?

In “Bright Circle,” Randall Fuller shines a light on the women behind — and before — the male philosophers of 19th-century Massachusetts.

In Pop Culture, the End of the World Is Always Nigh

A new book by the British cultural journalist Dorian Lynskey chronicles our centuries-old obsession with doomsday scenarios.

10 Winter Reads for Cold Nights

Chilly thrillers, snowy fantasies and Alpine adventure novels exquisitely capture the atmosphere of the season.

Read These Books Before They Hit Your Screens in 2025

Judy Blume’s “Forever,” a new Stephen King movie and “Mickey17” are some of this year’s most anticipated adaptations.

Can You Find the 13 Book Titles Hidden in This Text Puzzle?

This short scene conceals the names of 13 books published in the middle decades of the 20th century. See if you can find them all and build a reading list along the way.

Did Christopher Columbus Jump-Start the Climate Crisis?

In “Dark Laboratory,” Tao Leigh Goffe traces the origins of global environmental collapse to the explorer’s conquest of the Caribbean.

In ‘Mona Acts Out,’ #MeToo Shakes Up a Downtown Theater

Mischa Berlinski’s shrewd comic novel finds a veteran actress reconnecting with her deposed mentor while facing the challenge of playing Cleopatra.

You’ve Been Invited to a Secret House Party in London

Details are in Caleb Femi’s new poetry collection, “The Wickedest.”

The Tragedies That Came After Freedom in the American South

“Somewhere Toward Freedom” tells the story of Sherman’s March to the Sea from the perspective of the formerly enslaved.

The ‘Hellboy’ Artist Makes a New Playground

Mike Mignola’s “Bowling With Corpses” is full of suspicious shadows and offbeat jokes.

Remember Body Glitter and Chat Rooms? ‘Y2K’ Won’t Let You Forget.

In a vibrant collection of “essays on the future that never was,” Colette Shade takes a cold look at the cheery promise of the 2000s.

Want to Get Sucked Into a Black Hole? Try This Book.

Marcus Chown’s “A Crack in Everything” is a journey through space and time with the people studying one of the most enigmatic objects in the universe.

In African Publishing, ‘There Is a Renaissance Going On’

A new ecosystem of publishers, bookstores, literary magazines and festivals is promoting African writers and changing the stories told about the region.

The Queen Is Dead. Long Live the Queen?

Two very different books examine the reigns and legacies of Victoria and Elizabeth II.

The Absurd, Dizzying Humanity of a 20th-Century Genius

Mavis Gallant wrote short stories full of brutal humor that examined the hell of other people.

How Silence Improves Pico Iyer’s Life

The travel writer and essayist discusses his new book, “Aflame,” about his stays at a California monastery.

Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, 90, Dies; Her Internment Inspired a Memoir

In “Farewell to Manzanar,” she wrote about the years she and her family were imprisoned in a camp for Japanese Americans. It became the basis for a TV movie.

Publishers and Authors Wonder: Can Anything Replace BookTok?

With a ban looming, publishers are hoping to pivot to new platforms, but readers fear their community of book lovers will never be the same.

The Desperate Housewife Whose Face Launched a Thousand Ships

In “Helen of Troy, 1993,” the poet Maria Zoccola relocates a figure from Greek mythology into small-town Tennessee.

First Love and First Loss in 1941 Iowa

In H.M. Bouwman’s wise and heartbreaking “Scattergood,” the shadow of the Holocaust reaches a farm girl trying to help her ailing friend.

In Han Kang’s Latest, a Quixotic Bird Rescue Expedition Turns Tragic

The Nobel laureate’s new novel, “We Do Not Part,” revisits a violent chapter in South Korean history.

5 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

Masters of Allusion: The Art of Poetic Reference

Poets have a way of incorporating other poets into their work. Our columnist approves.

A Case for Hookups With Strangers

In his new essay collection, Manuel Betancourt explores the beauty, depth and riches found in brief romantic encounters with unfamiliar people.

Books on Drug Trafficking, and Kant, Line Adam Haslett’s Shelves

His new novel is titled after Turgenev’s “Fathers and Sons,” he says, “given the theme of incomprehension between generations in that book.”

The Secret to a Good Life? Thinking Like Socrates.

In “Open Socrates,” the scholar Agnes Callard argues that the ancient Greek philosopher offers a blueprint for an ethical life.

Three Men and a Rabbi Face a Life-Changing Test: A Toddler

Tom Lamont’s debut novel, “Going Home,” considers the joys and frustrations of raising a child who is not your own.

Gay Talese Keeps Notes, Especially on Everyone’s Clothes

In a new collection about New York City, the writer turns his gimlet eye on its icons, its architecture, its hot spots — and its suits. “Clothes matter — especially when you get old,” he says.

Neil Gaiman Responds to Explosive Report of Sexual Assault

“I have never engaged in nonconsensual sexual activity with anyone,” said the best-selling author in response to allegations in New York magazine.

Let Us Help You Find Your Next Thriller

Whether you're looking for a classic or the latest and greatest, start here.

She Changed History, Then Erased Her Own

In “The Secret History of the Rape Kit,” Pagan Kennedy explores the tangled story of a simple but life-changing innovation, and the woman who fought for it.

You Can Go Home Again, but Then You Have to Face Your Past

In “What Happened to the McCrays?” middle-aged high school sweethearts share an unbearable history.

A Secret Love Letter Sends Two Tunisian Families Reeling

The novel “A Calamity of Noble Houses” tries to piece together a fateful night that has reverberations for two families across four generations.

Pregnant and Abused, These Young Women Fight Back With Witchcraft

Grady Hendrix’s new novel, “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls,” is a timely look at the mistreatment of women, with a dose of horror, monsters and magic.

In These 4 Novels, the Detectives Have Killer Instincts

Our columnist on the month’s best new releases.

How Much Do You Know About These Controversial Classics?

Try this short quiz on literature from the first half of the 20th century that drew censorship challenges — and still does.

How the Dream of School Integration Died

A powerful new book by the law professor Michelle Adams recounts the failed effort to integrate Detroit’s schools and the case’s relevance today.

An Illustrator Dies, His Last Book Unfinished. In Steps His Son.

A beloved illustrator died in the middle of a project. His son, who had been drifting away from art for years, was given the chance to finish the work.

A Heartbreaking Novel of Addiction, Written With Compassion and Wit

In John Dufresne’s new book, “My Darling Boy,” a retired journalist races to rescue his son from the painful grip of opioids.

Sex, Drugs and Clubbing Are a Means of Escape for This ‘Good Girl’

Aria Aber’s exciting debut novel finds the daughter of an Afghan refugee sidestepping disapproval and racism as she dives into Berlin’s nightworld.

Writing Fantasy Came Naturally. Reality Was Far More Daunting.

After winning just about every major science fiction and fantasy award, Nnedi Okorafor explores a traumatic event in her own history in her most autobiographical novel yet.

She Threw a Great Party. And No Matter Your Party, You Were Invited.

In “The Woman Who Knew Everyone,” Meryl Gordon offers a thorough biography of Perle Mesta, Washington’s colorful, and oft-mocked, “hostess with the mostes’.”

She Published a Blockbuster Book. Was It a Blessing or a Curse?

In Nnedi Okorafor’s new novel, “Death of the Author,” a once-struggling writer grapples with power, privilege, agency and art after her book becomes a life-changing hit.

Sex and Violence, but Make It Literary

Molly recommends Annie Ernaux’s photographic record of a love affair and a sociologist’s study of the moments when conflict turns violent.

Trump vs. the Bureaucrats

MAGA has turned “the administrative state” into a battle cry.

3 New Thrillers Fueled by Obsession and Blackmail

Our columnist on the month’s most exciting releases.

The Books We’re Excited About in Early 2025

The latest from a Nobel laureate, a “Hunger Games” prequel and more.

A Hot Priest, a Cold Case and a Long-Dead Co-Host

In “The Sinners All Bow,” Kate Winkler Dawson brings a podcaster’s instincts to a 19th-century murder.

In a Dystopian Nepal, an Earthquake’s Aftershocks Are Mostly Political

Samrat Upadhyay’s new novel, “Darkmotherland,” is a sprawling epic in which a natural disaster gives way to an authoritarian takeover.

A Sex Tape, a Senate Race and a Centuries-Old Family Curse

The scion siblings at the center of Sara Sligar’s Gothic thriller “Vantage Point” try desperately to outrun the calamity that is their inheritance.

6 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

The Revolution Was Live-Tweeted

In “We Tried to Tell Y’All,” Meredith D. Clark chronicles the heyday of Black Twitter.

What a Caribbean Émigré and a Holocaust Survivor Have in Common

Caryl Phillips’s new novel, “Another Man in the Street,” follows an immigrant who arrives in 1960s London.

Graham Norton Isn’t Insulted to Be Called an ‘Undemanding’ Writer

“I’m very comfortable with the level of ambition I have for my books,” says the ubiquitous BBC talk show host, who calls “Frankie” his “first happy romance.”

Jenna Bush Hager: ‘Today’ Show Co-Host, Literary Tastemaker and Now, Publisher

Nearly six years after becoming a literary heavyweight with “Read with Jenna,” she’s starting her own publishing venture with Penguin Random House.

A Novel Unearths the Dark Secrets in a Ukrainian Coal Mine

“The Lady of the Mine,” by Sergei Lebedev, takes place during Russia’s 2014 invasion.

Happily Married, Politically at Peace. Until a Run for Congress Gets in the Way.

In her lively debut novel, “How to Sleep at Night,” Elizabeth Harris measures what happens when the Republican half of a gay couple dials up the campaign rhetoric.

The Past Comes Calling for a Tightly Wound Lawyer

In Adam Haslett’s “Mothers and Sons,” crisis reconnects an immigration attorney and his estranged mother, the co-founder of a women’s retreat.

Where in the World Do These Popular Detectives Solve Crimes?

Try this short quiz on investigators and inspectors cracking their cases around the globe.

How America’s ‘Senior Citizens’ Became ‘Older People’

A new book traces shifts in the nation’s treatment of aging adults — for better and for worse.

Anita Desai Has Put Down Roots, but Her Work Ranges Widely

Her new novella, “Rosarita,” takes place in Mexico, a country she finds so like her native India that, she says, “I feel utterly at home there.”

The Hero of This Novel Is 14. His Married Girlfriend Is 36.

Adam Ross’s “Playworld” is about a child actor and the real-world dramas that engulf his adolescence.

An Overdose Sends a Widower Hunting for His Wife’s Lost Descendants

The new novel by Bernhard Schlink, the author of “The Reader,” explores the legacies of World War II and reunification in contemporary Germany.

2 Books About the Moneyed Class

A novel of British nobility; a memoir of American aristocracy.

A Student’s Mystery: How Did This Enigmatic Author Shape Her Family?

In “The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus,” a college student balances her new independence while investigating the demise of her parents’ marriage.

David Lodge, British Novelist Who Satirized Academic Life, Dies at 89

His 15 well-plotted novels teemed with romance and strange coincidence. An erudite literary critic with an ear for language, he also wrote a raft of nonfiction books.

Jon Klassen on the Art of the Board Book

Your imaginary audience has a note taped to them: “I can’t read. I can’t talk. I don’t care about stories, plots or characters. What do you have for me?”

Pico Iyer Made His Name Traveling. Now He Explores Inner Landscapes.

His new book, “Aflame,” tells of his decades visiting a silent Benedictine retreat. “You learn to love the world only by looking at it closely,” he wrote.

War Tore Them Apart and Fate Reunited Them. Could Their Love Last?

Karissa Chen’s debut, “Homeseeking,” follows two childhood sweethearts who meet in Shanghai, and whose lives are upended by the forces of history.

Life in the Tudor Industrial Complex: Sex, Beheadings, Fur

In “The Waiting Game,” the historian Nicola Clark tells a lively and vivid story of the women who served Henry VIII’s queens.

The Plagiarism Plot Is Having a Moment. Copy That.

You could assemble an entire library of contemporary work fixated on literary imitation, appropriation and theft.

Encyclopedia Brown Got Alafair Burke Started on Crime Fiction

The author of “The Note” traces her “real obsession” to discovering “a slew of smart, gritty female sleuths who began to feel like friends.”

She’s a Famous Author With a Secret Identity. Now She’s Ready to Emerge.

In Kate Fagan’s novel, “The Three Lives of Cate Kay,” a best-selling writer decides to reveal the tragedy behind her success.

The Secret Lives of Vikings

In “Embers of the Hands,” the historian Eleanor Barraclough looks beyond the soap-opera sagas to those lost in the cracks of history.

The Hipster Grifter Tells All

In “You’ll Never Believe Me,” Kari Ferrell details going from internet notoriety to self-knowledge in a captivating, sharp and very funny memoir.

All I Want for Christmas Is My Broken Family

Rebecca Kauffman’s fifth novel, “I’ll Come to You,” is a “Corrections”-esque tale of one clan’s dysfunctions and joys in mid-90s America.

You Saw the Movie in 2024. Do You Know the Book That Inspired It?

As the year winds down, the last of the big buzzy films have hit the screen — and these five were based largely on memoirs and biographies. Try this quiz to see how many you know.

Jimmy Carter: Poet, Novelist, Memoirist, Philosopher

He wasn’t just prolific, publishing 32 books. His output also showed an unusual range that included memoirs and forays into historical fiction and even poetry.

Pregnant With One Child and 295,233 Words

During the months before she gave birth, our critic wrote — a lot. What happens when the impulse to put pen to paper becomes extreme?

In His Reading Life, Jimmy Carter Favored ‘Anything but Politics’

A voracious reader, the president liked poetry, Civil War history and Southern fiction. He also sent Erica Jong a fan letter.

8 Books to Read About Jimmy Carter’s Life and Legacy

For many years, the 39th president generated little attention from authors. But recently books have sought to re-evaluate his reputation. Here is a look at the expanding Carter library.

Stanley Booth, Music Journalist Who Loved the Blues, Dies at 82

He is best known for his book about the Rolling Stones. But he mostly wrote about blues artists, some of them famous (B.B. King) and some less renowned (Furry Lewis).

Michel del Castillo, 91, Dies; Child’s-Eye Chronicler of Concentration Camps

His first novel, “Tanguy,” published when he was 24, was a fact-based Holocaust story that one reviewer said “begins where Anne Frank’s diary ended.”

The Hottest Trend in Publishing: Books You Can Judge by Their Cover

Elaborately designed books with patterned edges and other effects started as a trend in romance and fantasy, and have now spread throughout the publishing industry.

Tumbling Tots Hit the Road in Two Surreal Picture Books

Our reviewer read these stories on a train, as the world rolled by out the window.

The Novel About U.S. Politics So Outrageous It Nearly Wasn’t Published

Robert Coover’s “The Public Burning” was met with bafflement and awe when it appeared in 1977. Reality has finally caught up to his masterpiece.

5 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

Marvel Comics as Penguin Classics? Elda Rotor Heard a ‘Hell Yeah’

“I get real geek joy out of learning something new,” says the imprint’s vice president and publisher. She’s proud to have broadened the definition of a classic during her tenure.

20 Books Coming in January

Novels by Adam Ross, Han Kang and Nnedi Okorafor; nonfiction by Imani Perry and the “Hipster Grifter”; and more.

Jacques Roubaud, Poetic Master of Form and Whimsy, Dies at 92

He was trained as a mathematician, but he gained fame in France, and won major prizes, for his modern verse.

Flaco, Manhattan’s Beloved Celebrity Owl, Gets His Close-Up

In a new book, two photographers memorialize the bird that charmed New York City and the world.

The Times’s Special History With ‘The Night Before Christmas’

The popular poem, actually titled “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” first appeared in The Times’s pages in 1896.

Can You Find the 10 Hidden 2024 Best Sellers in This Text Puzzle?

This year saw a variety of novels on the New York Times best-sellers list, including the 10 titles lurking in this very short story.

Who Takes 60 Years to Write a Play? This Guy.

A new biography of Goethe approaches its subject through his masterpiece and life’s work, the verse drama “Faust.”

Remembering When ‘the World Really Made Sense’ on the Comics Pages

Wildly popular strips like “Bloom County,” “Calvin and Hobbes,” “Cathy,” “The Far Side” “and “Doonesbury” peaked in the 1980s, but they left their mark.

Why One of the World’s Most Elusive Writers Still Haunts Readers

Newly translated letters reveal the inner life of Paul Celan, offering clues to his enigmatic poems.

Heroes in Their Twilight Years, and Still in the Spotlight

Audiobooks to Cook (or Eat) To, From Ina Garten to David Chang

These culinary coming-of-age tales are movable feasts for the gluttonous listener.

Book Club: Let’s Talk About Claire Keegan’s ‘Small Things Like These’

This slim novella about one Irishman’s crisis of conscience during the Christmas season is the topic of our December book club discussion.

The Story of Hong Kong’s Billionaire Dissident

“The Troublemaker” is a brisk account of the life and work of Jimmy Lai, the media mogul and democracy activist currently on trial for national security offenses.

Maurice Berger Held a Mirror to a Racist Art World

A posthumous anthology of photo essays by the curator and art historian reveals the “troubling reality” of prejudice and the power of images to “undermine the very concept of difference.”

Book Club: Read ‘Our Evenings,’ by Alan Hollinghurst, With the Book Review

In January, the Book Review Book Club will read and discuss “Our Evenings,” a sweeping story about the life, loves, struggles and triumphs of a queer English Burmese actor.

How a Scrappy New Publisher Landed 25 Books on the Best-Seller List in a Year

Bloom Books took off with the help of E L James, the author of “Fifty Shades of Grey.” It broke with tradition and became the fastest-growing imprint in romance.

The Books Readers Loved in 2024

Memorable characters, delightful nonfiction and poignant novels stuck with people across the world.

For These Picture Book Heroes, Daydreams Are What Life Is Made Of

Like Max and Madeline, this boy and girl keep faith with the intangible treasures of their imaginations.

Staffers at The Times on the Books They Enjoyed in 2024

A taboo-busting Brooklyn memoir, a tender Japanese novel about the beauty of connection, a book by a death doula: Editors and writers from around the newsroom describe their favorite books of the year.

5 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

‘The Mark Leyner Reader’ Doesn’t Mean Mark Leyner Is Done Writing

“I’m like one of those deranged soldiers they find on some remote island still fighting a war that’s ended decades ago,” he says. “A Shimmering, Serrated Monster!” is his collection of comic fiction.

Will You Fall in Love With This Poem? I Did.

“Romantic Poet,” by Diane Seuss, is one of the best things that our critic A.O. Scott read (and reread) this year.

The History of Poetry, From the Bronze Age to A.I., in a Single Poem

With “Context Collapse,” Ryan Ruby aims to explain poetry’s origins and its waves of innovation all the way to the present.

This Book Tour Comes With a Side of Fried Rice

Curtis Chin’s memoir, “Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant,” celebrates the cuisine and community of his youth. Now he’s paying it forward.

What Satan’s Biographer Can Teach Us About Tyranny and Resistance

A new book about John Milton and “Paradise Lost” traces the 17th-century epic’s influence and relevance through the ages.

Books That Make Great Gifts

Joumana Khatib, an editor at The New York Times Book Review, recommends a few books to readers looking for gifts for their loved ones.

How Well Do You Know the London of Charles Dickens?

Try this short quiz to see how many landmarks and locations around the city you remember from the great author’s works.

Percival Everett’s Prose Is Having a Moment. How Is His Poetry?

The winner of this year’s National Book Award in fiction has published several collections of poems. Our critic takes a look.

It’s Hard to Be the Brother of a Genius Who Died Young

In “Ira Gershwin: A Life in Words,” Michael Owen offers a sympathetic portrait of the lyricist, overshadowed in a life that had him tending the legacy of his younger sibling George.

An Art World Satire Invokes a (Literal) Ghost

In Ella Baxter’s novel “Woo Woo,” a feminist performance artist starts to question herself on the eve of a provocative solo exhibition.

4 Mysteries Shot Through With Malice and Grief

Our columnist on the month’s best new releases.

Jerome Kohn, Keeper of Hannah Arendt’s Flame, Dies at 93

He devoted his career to guarding the legacy of the philosopher known for her writings on totalitarianism and “the banality of evil.”

Our Book Critics on What Stuck With Them in 2024

Dwight Garner, Jennifer Szalai and Alexandra Jacobs discuss highlights from their year in books.

10 Great Thrillers Set in Remote, Hard-to-Reach Places

Ruth Ware, the author of “The Woman in Cabin 10,” recommends locked-room mysteries and psychological horrors by Agatha Christie, Stephen King, Andy Weir and more.

Two’s a Crowd: 3 New Chapter Books Sing the Praises of Me Time

The protagonists of “A Day With Mousse,” “Little Shrew” and “Lone Wolf Goes to School” feel happiest on their own.

Big Tech Is Embracing Trump. How Long Will It Last?

Three new books explore the fraught relationships between tech companies and the U.S. government through close looks at Jeff Bezos’ Amazon and Elon Musk’s X.

The Best Book Covers of 2024

A Book Review art director selects the book jackets that made a compelling impression.

Match the Taylor Swift Song to the Poem Inspired By Her Music

Famous poets (tortured or not) have taken inspiration from Swift's music. Can you match the poem to the song?

6 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

Birth Control’s (First) Civil War

In “The Icon and the Idealist,” Stephanie Gorton tells the story of two women who fought a patriarchal system — and each other.

Our Book Critics on Their Year in Reading

Jennifer Szalai, Dwight Garner and Alexandra Jacobs look back at the books that “offered refuge from the wheels grinding in our heads.”

S.E. Hinton Leans on Dave Barry for Post-Election Comfort

“You can’t read a page without laughing,” says the author of “The Outsiders,” who’s watched the stage musical of the novel become a Tony Award-winning hit this year.

Holiday Romance Novels to Make Your December Merry and Bright

New festive stories center the many ways people celebrate the season, and each other.

Read Your Way Through Chicago

Chicago is a city of bookish abundance, home to countless literary giants past and present. The author Rebecca Makkai recommends works that capture its spirit.

6 Engrossing Historical Novels to Keep the Chill Away

Curl up with these transporting reads.

Nikki Giovanni: A Life in Pictures

The poet left a long visual record of a career in the public sphere.

What Can We Learn From the C.E.O. Shooting Suspect’s Goodreads History?

Like many Americans of his background, Luigi Mangione’s bookish aspirations were defined by what everybody else was reading, or thought they should be reading.

When Nikki Giovanni Was Young, Brilliant and Unafraid

The poet set the course for her revolutionary career early, and charted it faithfully for decades by staying true to her vision and herself.

What Were the Lives of Medieval Women Like?

In “Poet, Mystic, Widow, Wife” the historian Hetta Howes seeks to relate to figures of the past.

A Novel Inspired by Images of a Young Prisoner at Auschwitz

In “The Rest Is Memory,” Lily Tuck imagines the life of a Polish teenager during the Holocaust.

Sarah Jessica Parker Lands Her Dream Gig: Booker Prize Judge

The actress and publisher will help decide the 2025 winner of the prestigious British book award. It is “the thrill of a life,” she said.

How Netflix Made Magic Look Real in ‘One Hundred Years of Solitude’

The first-ever screen adaptation will be released this week — a feat even the author didn’t think possible. We traveled to the set in Colombia to see how it was done.

Do You Know These Winter Holidays and Popular Books of the Season?

Celebrate the literature of this festive month with with a five-question quiz that comes with its own reading list.

A Comedian’s Path From Small-Town Tennessee to Breakout Fame

Leanne Morgan went from helping her husband sell mobile homes to sudden success in her 50s.

Chiung Yao, Top Romance Novelist in Chinese-Speaking World, Dies at 86

Writing from Taiwan, she shaped her readers’ idea of romantic love with a raft of best sellers, many adapted for the screen. Newborns were named after her characters.

From Tarot Cards to Streamlined Design, We Can’t Stop Predicting the Future

In “A Century of Tomorrows,” Glenn Adamson offers a hurtling history of the art, science and big business of looking ahead.