Utility Worker No. 6691 on Life Inside a Steel Mill
Struggling to pay off her student loans, Eliese Colette Goldbach applied for a job as a steelworker. Her memoir, “Rust,” explores her “complicated love” for the mill that hired her.
Katie Roiphe Puts Her Romantic History Under a Microscope
In “The Power Notebooks,” the author known for her polemical feminism examines her relationships with men, exposing the ways in which she’s ceded power as often as taken it.
Before You Spit in That Vial, Read This Book
In “The Lost Family,” Libby Copeland considers the ramifications of consumer genetic testing.
Don’t Mind Me While I Wear My Dog
In “Separation Anxiety,” Laura Zigman introduces a novel approach to midlife ennui.
In ‘Barn 8,’ a Plot to Steal a Million Chickens
In Deb Olin Unferth’s latest novel, a Brooklyn teenager finds herself in unfamiliar territory: an Iowa egg farm.
Was Dorothy Day a Saint or a Subversive?
A new biography of the Catholic activist, by John Loughery and Blythe Randolph, examines her wholehearted commitment to radical politics and religion.
Frida Kahlo in ‘Gringolandia’
In the early 1930s, Kahlo visited San Francisco, New York and Detroit. “Frida in America,” by Celia Stahr, explores how the trip transformed the artist and her work.
An Actress Descends Into Madness, and Her Daughter Picks Up the Pieces
In Anne Enright’s novel “Actress,” a woman takes stock of her mother’s life, from stardom to obscurity.
Coming of Age, Whether She’s Ready or Not
In Lily King’s new novel, a young woman searches for meaning.
'The Mirror & The Light' Is A Triumphant End To A Spellbinding Story
In this new novel, Hilary Mantel brings her award-winning trilogy on the life of Tudor politician Thomas Cromwell to an end. And even though readers know how this story will end, it's still gripping.
(Image credit: Petra Mayer/NPR)
'Scratched' Spotlights The Value Of A Less Orderly Approach, Harm Of Perfectionism
Elizabeth Tallent writes: "For the sake of perfection, I took a voice, my own, and twisted until mischance and error and experiment were wrung from it, and with them any chance of aliveness."
(Image credit: Harper)
James McBride’s ‘Deacon King Kong’ is a Supercharged Urban Farce Lit Up by Thunderbolts of Rage
The National Book Award-winning author’s deeply felt new novel is an American crime story, just not the kind on TV.
'Finna' Warns: Beware Of The Fuzzy Chairs
Nino Cipri's magical multiworld adventure is set in a Swedish big box furniture store — no, not that one — where the showroom floor is prone to interdimensional wormholes that swallow shoppers.
(Image credit: Tor.com)
The Ties That Bind Deutsche Bank and Donald Trump
David Enrich discusses “Dark Towers,” and Kiran Millwood Hargrave talks about “The Mercies.”
Get a Job, Kid
In Cynthia L. Copeland’s graphic memoir “Cub,” an awkward seventh grader finds deliverance as a reporter for her local newspaper.
How Can a Kid Today Hear His Inner Voice?
In Sara Pennypacker’s “Here in the Real World,” an 11-year-old skips out on the horrors of noisy summer “Rec” to build a secret kingdom in an abandoned lot.
A Devastating (and Darkly Hilarious) New Novel From the ‘Westworld’ Writer Charles Yu
“Interior Chinatown” follows the story of an Asian-American actor struggling against clichéd roles and stereotypes, both at work and in his real life.
'Strung Out' Tackles Pain, Stigma And Shame Of Drug Use
Erin Khar's son, at 12, asked her if she'd ever used drugs; this book is her answer: "When we write the truth, when we write about our experiences, we reflect back what it means to be a human being."
(Image credit: Park Row)
Dystopian Novel 'The Resisters' Drives Home The Perils Of Our Wired World
Gish Jen weaves baseball into her inspired vision of how Americans bought into the fantasy of less stress and more free time. As speculative fiction goes, The Resisters hits close to the bone.
(Image credit: Petra Mayer/NPR)
52 Books for 52 Places
Can’t make it to all the destinations we recommend? Read about them.
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