Newly Published, from Children’s Books to 1970s Counterculture
A selection of recently published books.
Audiobook Review: ‘How to Write About Africa,’ by Binyavanga Wainaina
A new recording revisits the late Binyavanga Wainaina’s rhetorical strength and disarming humor in a collection of essays, stories and satire.
Review: ‘Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz,’ by Luca Debus and Francesco Matteuzzi
Rather than treading on sacred ground, Luca Debus and Francesco Matteuzzi’s “Peanuts”-style biography brings Charles M. Schulz and the strip together as one.
9 New Books We Recommend This Week
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
What Can Literature Teach Us About Forgiveness?
American fiction has always grappled with sin, atonement and mercy. In the second installment of an essay series on literature and faith, Ayana Mathis examines what we can learn from forgiveness.
Imprinted by Belief: An Essay Series on American Literature and Faith
An essay series on American literature and faith.
Interview: R.J. Palacio
Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” got to her: “Sure, it’s a novel full of unbelievable violence and apocalyptic nightmare stuff,” says the best-selling author of “Wonder,” “Pony” and “White Bird,” soon to be a feature film. “But the humanity and love is there right from the first line.”
Untitled poem from ‘Starlings’
Art is long, life is short and starlings are immeasurable. It is a sensible thing to want to be one.
James McBride Doesn’t Read Reviews. Here’s Why.
His latest novel, “The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store,” has received a number of raves, but the veteran novelist will respectfully avoid them.
'Trail of the Lost' is a gripping tale of hikers missing on the Pacific Coast Trail
Andrea Lankford delves deep into the cases of three men who vanished while hiking, but also explores the history of the PCT and the rich, nuanced subculture, practices and literature that surround it.
(Image credit: Hachette Books)
After 122 Years, a Lost Edith Wharton Play Gets Its Debut
The Shaw Festival in Canada is staging the novelist’s 1901 script, discovered only a few years ago. But how to get its mix of satire and melodrama just right?
Book Review: ‘Happiness Falls,’ by Angie Kim
In Angie Kim’s new novel, “Happiness Falls,” Adam Parson’s wife and children question everything they thought they knew about him.
Book Review: ‘The Breakaway,’ by Jennifer Weiner
In “The Breakaway,” a woman at a crossroads agrees to lead a cycling trip that turns out to be more than she bargained for.
Review: “Daughter of the Dragon,” by Yunte Huang
A new biography of Anna May Wong, “Daughter of the Dragon,” is intended as a form of reclamation and subversion.
A Biography of Anna May Wong, the Original Chinese American Movie Star
Yunte Huang, who has written two other books on Asian American cultural icons, said he is drawn to complex characters whose contradictions reflect the country’s fault lines.
Beasts of No Nation
UnCovered Review by Debbie Brahmi, ACLS Pleasantville Branch Librarian
BEASTS OF NO NATION is a disturbing, but sadly realistic novel, about a young schoolboy from an unknown, war-torn African country, who is forced to join a band of ragtag guerilla fighters after witnessing the death of his father. Agu quickly becomes a “favorite” of his commanding officer, which results in the loss of his innocence, along with the happy, carefree life he used to know. He no longer has a family (his mother and sister have fled with the other women from his village) and memories of school friends and church services are fading fast. His daily routine now consists of marching from morning till night with his fellow soldiers in search of food and villages to plunder and pillage. Agu is slowly losing his sense of self amidst the brutality of war.
Uzodinma Iweala is a Nigerian-American, Harvard-educated author and medical doctor. BEASTS OF NO NATION, Iweala’s debut novel, was published in 2005 and was later adapted as an award-winning movie in 2015, starring Idris Elba. His second novel SPEAK NO EVIL, published in 2018, is a coming-of-age novel about a Nigerian-American high school student who must deal with the trials and tribulations of his homosexual lifestyle.
Book Review: ‘Empire of the Sum,’ by Keith Houston
In his lively “Empire of the Sum,” Keith Houston looks at the best — and worst — years of the pocket calculator’s life.
Book Review: ‘Quiet Street,’ by Nick McDonell
In “Quiet Street,” Nick McDonell reflects on America’s most entrenched elite and his place within it.
Book Review: ‘Live to See the Day,’ by Nikhil Goyal
In “Live to See the Day,” the sociologist Nikhil Goyal tracks the lives of three teenagers as they try to balance school and survival in Philadelphia.
Book Review: ‘Necessary Trouble,’ by Drew Gilpin Faust; ‘Up Home,’ by Ruth J. Simmons
In “Necessary Trouble,” by Drew Gilpin Faust, and “Up Home,” by Ruth J. Simmons, the former presidents of Harvard and Brown recount their unlikely paths to leadership at two of America’s most elite universities.
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