9 New Books We Recommend This Week
Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.
'We Are A Haunting' is a stunningly original, beautiful novel of devotion
Tyriek White's debut novel is a triumph; it's a gorgeous book about loss and survival that gives and gives as it asks us what it means to be part of a family, of a community.
(Image credit: Astra House)
Should a Biographer Have Boundaries? Jeff Benedict Says Yes.
While writing about LeBron James, the veteran author chose not to probe the identity of his subject’s father. His reasons were personal.
By the Book: The Novel That Led Abraham Verghese to Medicine
“I’m ashamed to say I picked up W. Somerset Maugham’s ‘Of Human Bondage’ because the title seemed promising,” says the doctor and novelist, whose new novel is “The Covenant of Water.” “While it didn’t have the lascivious content I’d imagined, it turned out to have something better: It was the book that … called me to medicine.”
New Military History Books
Three new books about the history of warfare have much to tell us.
‘Knowing What We Know,’ by Simon Winchester
In his latest work, Simon Winchester devotes his anecdotal powers to why, how and how often we know what we do.
'The Skin and Its Girl' ponders truths, half-truths, and lies passed down in families
Sarah Cypher's debut novel ponders how stories can unite or divide as narrator Betty considers a big decision with her great-aunt Nuha's own mysterious life — and the tales she told — in mind.
(Image credit: Ballantine Books)
Banned Bunnies
In 1959, the picture-book nuptials of a black rabbit and a white rabbit caused intense debate across the nation.
Book Review: ‘The Ugly History of Beautiful Things,’ by Katy Kelleher
In “The Ugly History of Beautiful Things,” Katy Kelleher considers her desire for rare or pretty objects, as both life-affirming and morally problematic.
Newly Published, From Rural Childhood to Anti-Ableist Parenting
A selection of recently published books.
'House of Cotton' is a bizarre, uncomfortable read — in the best way possible
Monica Brashears debut novel is peculiar and slightly surreal. But it's also dazzling, full of surprises, and told with a voice that's unpredictable and — more importantly — one that lingers.
(Image credit: Flatiron Books)
Book Review: ‘Wonder Boy,’ by Angel Au-Yeung and David Jeans
Tony Hsieh, the longtime chief of Zappos, descended into addiction and psychosis — and finally died — in the midst of a large entourage. “Wonder Boy” asks why.
Book Review: ‘Affinities,’ by Brian Dillon
In “Affinities,” his latest book of essays, the critic Brian Dillon meditates on images by photographers, filmmakers, dancers and other artists, exploring their attractions and affiliations.
Book Review: ‘Ascension,’ by Nicholas Binge
In Nicholas Binge’s novel “Ascension,” an expedition on a mystifying rock only turns up more enigmas.
Meadowlands & The Wild Iris
UnCovered review by Marina Smolens, ACLS Brigantine Branch
To celebrate National Poetry Month, I decided it necessary to revisit a favorite of mine: Louise Glück. Glück is one of America’s greatest contemporary poets. She won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2020 and held the position of U.S. Poet Laureate from 2003 to 2004.
What first made me fall in love with Glück was her collection titled THE WILD IRIS – a collection that combines the reverence of nature with the existentialism of humans. She is known for “her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.
MEADOWLANDS, the next book in her body of work published
five years after THE WILD IRIS,
certainly holds true to this statement. She utilized a retelling of the Odyssey to
explore the breakdown of a marriage. It shows the true power of storytelling;
how the ancient can be projected onto the modern, and how there is still so
much there for us in today’s world that lies within these old stories. Myths
uncover people’s truths, and Glück has harnessed their power in a contemporary
rendering to help establish the universality in her work, gaining her favor in
many of our hearts and on many of our shelves. Be sure to check them out from
one of ours!
Book Review: ‘Mott Street,’ by Ava Chin
Ava Chin’s memoir is an expansive family history encompassing perilous journeys, sensational crimes and social change
Review: ‘Small Mercies,’ by Dennis Lehane
His novel “Small Mercies” takes place in the tumultuous months after a 1974 order to integrate the city’s schools through busing.
Book Review: ‘The Rediscovery of America,’ by Ned Blackhawk
A new account by the Yale historian Ned Blackhawk argues that Native peoples shaped the development of American democracy while being dispossessed of their land.
Book Review: ‘Salvage This World,’ by Michael Farris Smith
A religious con woman, old grudges and nonstop hurricanes threaten the characters in Michael Farris Smith’s novel “Salvage This World.”
Book Review: ‘In the Orchard,’ by Eliza Minot
Unfolding over the course of a single October day, “In the Orchard” zooms in on beautiful and worrisome minutiae.
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