In his beguiling debut novel, What I Know About You, Éric Chacour delicately explores the complicated circumstances that create distance between people, and the limits of what anyone can know about those they love. In 1980s Cairo, Tarek, a doctor from a Levantine Christian family, begins a relationship with a young man. Up until this
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In Wild Girls: How the Outdoors Shaped the Women Who Challenged a Nation, Tiya Miles explores the lives of a group of remarkable women. As she tells the stories of Louisa May Alcott, Harriet Tubman, Pocahontas and other notable female figures, Miles looks at the ways in which the great outdoors impacted their personal development
In 2020, a long cypress barn near the tiny town of Drew, Mississippi, captured the attention of author Wright Thompson. Here, in the early morning hours of August 28, 1955, 14-year-old Chicagoan Emmett Till was kidnapped and then tortured and murdered by a gang of white men. His capital offense? Allegedly whistling at the wife
Pulitzer Prize-winner Louise Erdrich is adept at creating all-consuming domestic plots that adroitly reveal broader insights about society, power, economics and our natural world. She’s done so again, to great effect, in The Mighty Red. The Mighty Red encompasses so much—a community of wonderful characters and a riveting plot, plus a profound look at our
We are inundated by media updates about global warming, from statistical warnings and satellite images to news and weather reports on the latest storms, fires and floods. These ever-present alerts often focus on what’s happening to the land, but what about threats to the unique ecosystems of our oceans? This vast water world is the
R. Eric Thomas reflects on the experience of returning home in his funny, forthright Congratulations, The Best Is Over!. Accompanied by his partner, David, a Presbyterian minister, Thomas leaves Philadelphia and goes back to Baltimore, Maryland, where he grew up, only to find a once-familiar landscape very much altered. In this inspired collection, he showcases
Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more. Free George R. R. Martin from The Winds of Winter As part of “Spicy Takes Week” at Polygon, Maddy Myers takes a new angle on the unprecedented situation George R.R. Martin finds himself in. Rather
Who doesn’t love a friendly little ghost? Readers will fall in love with the delightful hero of Wolfgang in the Meadow, who yearns to be a master of causing fright, but whose happy place is basking in the wonders of a nearby meadow. When he’s not casting spells and “twirling in the air,” Wolfgang loves
How do you like your horror? Perhaps you’re a fan of creeping dread, or gory goings-on are more your speed? The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power, editor Terry J. Benton-Walker’s anthology featuring authors of color, explores a variety of tropes for readers who enjoy disturbing, thought-provoking fare. Despite their
Amazon Prime Days are happening July 16th and 17th, and they include a whole lot of book deals. Check out our guide to the best Amazon Prime hardcover and paperback deals as well as our ebook deals of the day for sales in all genres. If you’d rather skip to just the horror books, we’ve
Newbery Medalist Erin Entrada Kelly is having a big year. Following the March publication of her eighth middle grade novel, The First State of Being, she’s releasing a new illustrated chapter book, Felix Powell, Boy Dog. Fans of Kelly’s previous chapter book series featuring Marisol Rainey will instantly recognize Marisol’s friend, Felix Powell, and both
When I first saw Parachute: Subversive Design and Street Fashion, I didn’t think I was familiar with the Montreal-based brand, which was founded by American architect Harry Parnass and British designer Nicola Pelly in the late 1970s. But after spending only a few minutes with the book, I realized I was wrong. Parachute’s influence on
Alisa Alering’s debut, Smothermoss, is a novel of violence, trust and the landscape of Appalachia. The mountains and hollows, the moss, quartz, water and trees are all painted in their full aliveness. In the 1980s, Sheila, Angie and their mother are trying to figure out how to survive. Working long shifts at the asylum, their
On the first morning of preschool, Ravi comes downstairs wearing ladybug wings and antennae. When he refuses cornflakes for breakfast, his mother tells him that it’s actually a bowl full of “aphids,” leading him to slurp it down. Later, when she suggests that Ravi brush his teeth, he replies, “Ladybugs don’t have teeth . .
Drew Beckmeyer’s The First Week of School is a game changer, an exceptionally creative back-to-school book that practically turns the genre on its head. It’s full of droll humor that will appeal to readers young and old. As the title suggests, it chronicles a first week inside an elementary school classroom, offering a bird’s-eye view
January 7, 2025 would have been Zora Neale Hurston’s 134th birthday, and now it will be the publication date of The Life of Herod the Great, a novel Hurston was still working on when she died in 1960. Per a release, the novel “brings first-century BC Judea to vivid life, and portrays Herod the Great