The 2022 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books
Take a peek at all 10 of this year’s winners.
6 Y.A. Fairy Tale Retellings to Add to Your Reading List
Elizabeth Lim, the author of “Six Crimson Cranes,” recommends some of her favorite retellings of classic fairy tales.
Book Review: ‘Small Game,’ by Blair Braverman; ‘When We Were Sisters,’ by Fatima Asghar; ‘The Mountain in the Sea,’ by Ray Nayler
From a wilderness reality show to an octopus society in Vietnam, three debut novels explore the complexities and comforts of human connection.
Tom Felton Auditioned for ‘Harry Potter’ Without Reading the Books
In his memoir, “Beyond the Wand,” the actor who played Draco Malfoy opens up about family, fame and how he landed the role of a lifetime.
How ‘Dead Souls’ Taught Mel Brooks What Comedy Writing Could Be
“I’d never read anything like it,” says the actor and director, whose memoir “All About Me!” is newly out in paperback. “It was hysterically funny and incredibly moving at the same time. It’s like Gogol stuck a pen in his heart, and it didn’t even go through his mind on its way to the page.”
Sorcery of Thorns
UnCovered review by Marina Smolens, ACLS Brigantine Branch
Elisabeth Scrivener knew
for sure of two things: that sorcery was evil, and that, more than anything,
she wanted to become a warden for the Great Libraries of Austermeer. But after
someone began sabotaging the libraries and turning grimoires into Maleficts
(demonic manifestations of damaged grimoires), and her life as she knew it was
turned upside down, she had to team up with a demon and a sorcerer, her
previously sworn enemies, to make things right again. She learned the world was
not as black and white as she had thought, and all of her beliefs and
aspirations were thrown into question.
Although SORCERY OF THORNS by Margaret Rogerson is encased in the structure of a young adult fantasy novel set in a Victorian time period, and it brings about all the joy and wonder that the genre has to offer, it feels much more nuanced than that. It evokes reflection on contemporary issues but does so in a subtle way that does not distract from the demon-slaying or the spell-casting magic. As with any great story, it feels timeless and relevant, despite being set in a completely fictional world hundreds of years ago.
The book was fast-paced, genuinely never slow or boring. I couldn’t wait to return to it whenever life asked of me to do things other than to read it. I fell in love with all of the characters and the world that the author had built. It was a classic good vs. evil tale with fantasy and magic and a bit of romance, but with the strangely optimistic reminder that good and evil can, and do, coexist, inside the world, and inside ourselves, and that we must always be open to shifting our perspectives, allowing the pre-existing narratives to change. It seems the only real evil in this story is the inability to empathize, change, and adapt. Redemption is possible, even for monsters.
'Fatty Fatty Boom Boom' details podcaster's battle with weight
Atypical of inspirational weight-loss books, Fatty Fatty Boom Boom by Rabia Chaudry — an advocate of Serial podcast subject Adnan Syed — is a love letter to the author's native cuisine.
(Image credit: Algonquin Books)
Book Review: ‘Beyond Measure,’ by James Vincent
“Beyond Measure,” by James Vincent, tells the story of human civilization through its systems of measurement, showing how they have promoted knowledge, social control and ongoing conflict.
Books to Kindle Children’s Curiosity About Classical Music
Book Review: “Seen and Unseen,” by Elizabeth Partridge and Lauren Tamaki; “My Nest of Silence,” by Matt Faulkner
Two books for young readers shine a light on the experiences of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Book Review: “Toad,” by Katherine Dunn
The beloved author of “Geek Love,” who died in 2016, left behind an unpublished novel, “Toad,” about a self-loathing hermit. It’s finally available.
New Bedtime Books for Children
Five luminous new children’s books to help little ones wind down at night.
Book Review: ‘The Lion House,’ by Christopher de Bellaigue
Christopher de Bellaigue’s “The Lion House” is a history of the 16th-century Ottoman sultanate that reads like a novel, overflowing with naval battles, high-stakes diplomacy, opulence, avarice and brutality.
Gabrielle Blair Embraces ‘the Least Sexy Way to Talk About Sex.”
In her book “Ejaculate Responsibly,” the home renovation guru encourages readers to revisit their thinking about unwanted pregnancies.
Book Reviews: ‘Like' by Annie Barrows and ‘I Can Explain’ by Shinsuke Yoshitake
“Like” and “I Can Explain” delightfully get inside kids’ heads as they puzzle out what it means to be human — and how to keep one step ahead of Mom.
Book Review: ‘Novelist as a Vocation,’ by Haruki Murakami
In a new memoir, “Novelist as a Vocation,” the Japanese writer reflects on his craft and his career.
Book Review: ‘Free Market: The History of an Idea,’ by Jacob Soll
Jacob Soll’s ambitious history takes us from Cicero to Milton Friedman, but is hobbled by questionable assertions.
Book Review: ‘Now Is Not the Time to Panic,’ by Kevin Wilson
The friends at the center of Kevin Wilson’s “Now Is Not the Time to Panic” hang photocopied posters around their small Tennessee town. Chaos ensues.
Book Review: ‘The Philosophy of Modern Song,’ by Bob Dylan
“The Philosophy of Modern Song” offers commentaries on a range of music, written in the singer’s unmistakable lyrical style.
Putting Writers’ Lives on the Reading List
It’s never too young to be inspired by Maya Angelou, Virginia Woolf and the “daring original” Ruth Krauss.
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