From a house haunted by phantom children to younger siblings haunted by sexual trauma, three new novels feature protagonists struggling to be or raise kids.
John Adams reviews “Schoenberg: Why He Matters,” in which Harvey Sachs explores the artistic, academic and spiritual life of a 20th-century cultural giant.
Novels from Ann Patchett and James McBride, a biography of the Chinese American movie star Anna May Wong and a handful of edgy thrillers — including one about a scuba driver swallowed by a whale.
“My thinking is that reading will focus my mind, bring a hush over the chaos of the day so I can drift off,” says the author of the memoir “Educated,” one of the Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2018. “But from time to time a book takes hold in that peculiar way that a book can, and I end up reading through the night. ... Books are both the best and worst thing for my sleep.”
Reading and writing are deeply valued in Maine. The novelist Lily King recommends fiction, nature writing, memoirs, children’s books and inspiration for writers.
Angeline Boulley, the author of “Firekeeper’s Daughter” and “Warrior Girl Unearthed,” recommends exhilarating young adult books that explore important social topics.
“In the Blood” traces how an engineer and a salesman took on military leaders and Big Pharma to get a revolutionary clotting agent to those in dire need.
With a book-rating law set to take effect in September, a group of booksellers, along with publishers and authors, filed suit to argue that it is unconstitutional.
