“CoDex 1962,” by the Icelandic cult writer Sjon, is a trippy, philosophical, shaggy-dog novel combining a love story, a crime mystery and a science-fiction thriller in one.
Susan Orlean’s “The Library Book” is an absorbing account of the 1986 fire that devastated the Los Angeles Central Library and a homage to libraries everywhere.
Los Angeles has long been the perfect backdrop from crime writers. This map of the city will help you find the setting for nine books, classic and new.
In which we consult the Book Review’s past to shed light on the books of the present. This week: Paula Giddings on Steven R. Carter’s “Hansberry’s Drama.