Profile: Surfer, Environmentalist, Novelist. Australia’s Living Legend.
In “The Shepherd’s Hut,” Tim Winton finds poetry and beauty in the country’s interior saltlands and in a young teenager hardened by life.
Nonfiction: What Two Writers Found When They Bought a Plane and Touched Down on Main Street, U.S.A.
James and Deborah Fallows, flying around in a small propeller airplane, embarked on a years-long journey to the heartland of America, which they recount in “Our Towns.”
Nonfiction: A President, a Chief Justice and the Politics of Segregation
In “Eisenhower vs. Warren,” James F. Simon asks whether stronger leadership would have led to wider acceptance of Brown v. Board of Education.
'Vera Kelly' Finds The Connections Between Deep Cover And The Closet
The personal is most definitely political in Rosalie Knecht's crisp, lively and subversive novel about a queer woman who discovers her early life in the closet makes her well-suited for espionage.
(Image credit: Tin House Books )
New & Noteworthy
A selection of books published this week; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading.
Fiction: The Merman of Her Dreams
In Melissa Broder’s novel, “The Pisces,” a depressed graduate student meets her fairy-tale prince — who happens to be half fish.
2 First-Rate Suspense Novels Deliver Chills, Thrills — And Stunning Endgames
In the relaxed days of summer, critic Maureen Corrigan reflexively reaches for a mystery. This year, she's settling in with The Dime, by Kathleen Kent, and The Death of Mrs. Westaway, by Ruth Ware.
Front Burner: A Book at the Intersection of Fire and Heat
Spicy Korean sauces provide the grilling inspiration in a new cookbook from Bill Kim, the Chicago chef and restaurateur.
Nonfiction: Is Our Obsession With Wellness Doing Us In?
In “Natural Causes,” Barbara Ehrenreich argues that our quest for perfect health is fundamentally misguided.
Nonfiction: It All Comes Down to Feelings
In “The Strange Order of Things,” Antonio Damasio makes a case for the centrality of emotion in our understanding of life on earth and how we came to be.
The Shortlist: From Expats to Fortunetelling Accountants, a Pile of Character-Rich Debut Novels
Whimsy, drama, art and Old World family epics: These authors prove there’s more than one way to write your first book.
Nonfiction: Misty Copeland Pirouettes Through Two Books on Dance
Henry Alford’s “And Then We Danced” and Laura Jacobs’s “Celestial Bodies” explore the cultural and personal resonances of the art of movement.
Sweet And Hot, 'The Kiss Quotient' Really Adds Up
Author Helen Hoang used her own experience on the autism spectrum to build the character of Stella, a straight-laced numbers whiz who falls for the escort she hires to help her work on relationships.
(Image credit: Berkley)
In 'Death Notice,' The Thrills Don't Quite Translate
Zhou Haohui's high-octane cop drama Death Notice aims for Dragon Tattoo-type thrills, but gets dragged down by flat characterizations and odd romantic flourishes.
(Image credit: Samantha Clark/NPR)
The Best of Anthony Bourdain
What to read, what to watch and what to listen to by and about the chef, TV host and author who died on Friday.
Fiction: A Debut Novel Where Nostalgia Softens Taboo Sex
The blurred lines and degrading sexual encounters in Eliza Robertson’s “Demi-Gods” tell a candid coming-of-age story.
Fiction: A Quixotic Hunt for Mammoth Creatures That Ends in Tragedy
After reading that ancient bones were discovered in Kentucky, the 19th-century protagonist of Carys Davies’s new novel, “West,” sets out to find the living creatures.
Fiction: Clarice Lispector’s Second Novel Charts a Woman’s Existential Awakening
In “The Chandelier,” the last of her novels to be translated into English, Lispector shows off her genius for description, uncanny dialogue and other extraordinary tricks.
The Book Review Podcast: Michael Pollan on Drugs
On this week’s podcast, Pollan discusses his new book about psychedelics, “How to Change Your Mind,” and Edward Tenner talks about big data and Silicon Valley’s “Efficiency Paradox.”
The Shortlist: 3 New Novels on the Perils of Digital Life
Cyberstalking. Revenge porn. Instagram influencers with a dark side. These books may persuade you to finally unplug.
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