Atlantic County Library System

Nuruddin Farah’s “North of Dawn” bears witness to the tensions between fundamentalism and secularism, through the lens of a Somali-Norwegian family.

In which we consult the Book Review’s past to shed light on the books of the present. This week: Edward Gorey’s children’s books illustrations.

Sandeep Jauhar’s exploration of our most vital organ and favored metaphor is our January pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times book club, “Now Read This.”

The stories in “At the End of the Century” — all character studies — have an addictive, told-over-tea quality.