“Utopia Avenue,” by the British master of intricate literary puzzles, features a band on the make, lots of inside jokes and references to the author’s previous works.
From long-lost friends, to a woman caring for her aging mom, to a biologist struggling with her maternal identity, these protagonists reveal facets of contemporary womanhood.
In their new book, “Big Friendship,” Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman make the case that platonic relationships deserve as much effort and tending as romantic ones.
In “The Rules of Contagion” the scientist Adam Kucharski turns to the nonbiological to understand the common features of a virus, whether physical or virtual.