All Books
- 4 delightful new books for middle-grade readers
History, fantasy, humor, and drama mingle in these four wonderful new books for middle-grade readers – out just in time for summer reading.
- 'The Good Mothers' profiles the female prosecutor who took on Italy's mafia
Alessandra Cerreti took the unusual route of stalking southern Italy's Ndrangheta through the group's wives and mothers.
- 'Elmore Leonard: Westerns' celebrates Leonard's mastery of the genre
This collection of four shoot-em-up novels and eight short stories beautifully demonstrates Leonard’s gift for crisp dialogue, swift plotting, and flab-free storytelling.
- 4 audiobooks about families
Families of various kinds are at the heart of four audiobooks this month.
- 'Rome' tells the story of the Eternal City through seven moments of defeat
Like most very old and very storied cities, Rome has as many scars as trophies.
- Zora Neale Hurston explores the life of a slave trade survivor in 'Barracoon'
Hurston’s study of Lewis was conducted during her years as a Barnard College anthropology student under Dr. Franz Boas.
- 'The Wind In My Hair' is Iranian activist Masih Alinejad's gutsy story
Alinejad, creator of the My Stealthy Freedom campaign, celebrates 'the moments of small rebellion, the tiny acts of defiance that allow us to breathe, the guilty pleasure of breaking unjust rules.'
- Tony Hillerman's daughter Anne on keeping her father's mysteries alive
With new focus on a female character, Anne Hillerman is successfully reviving her dad's immensely popular novels.
- 'Kindest Regards' serves up the quietly subversive poetry of Ted Kooser
Former US poet laureate Kooser has the gift of discovering literary vignettes where others fail to see below the surface.
- 'Saving Central Park' recounts a love affair with a legendary green space
Former Central Park Conservancy president Elizabeth Barlow Rogers blends her own story with that of the park that she loves.
- 'The World-Ending Fire' collects 31 essential Wendell Berry essays
Who better than Berry to explain to us 'who we are, where we are, and what we must do to live'?
- 'When Einstein Walked with Gödel' is science writing at its best
Jim Holt's collected essays are like a series of dispatches from the larger scientific world inhabited by Einstein and Gödel.
- After decades of dwarfs and elves, writers of color redefine fantasy
Literature informs people's understanding of the world. That holds true even when the setting is a world unlike our own. Taking inspiration from places other than Europe, a diverse group of writers is finding mainstream success bringing fresh voices to the fantasy genre and offering glimpses into other cultures, histories, and perspectives.
- 'Atticus Finch' tackles tough questions about an American icon
Emory University professor Joseph Crespino uses the writings of real-life Atticus Finch (A.C. Lee, father of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' author Harper Lee) and Lee herself to bring context to a controversy.
- 3 books about planets
The more astronomy has learned about our solar system, the more fascinating the planets have become.
- 'Our Story' offers a graphic glimpse of a China that no longer exists
An illustrated memoir by a Chinese nonagenarian brings back images censored by state propaganda.
- 'The Way You Make Me Feel' follows a teen's journey from 'chill' to sincere
Clara Shin is a sardonic slacker for whom effort is the ultimate sin – until she meets over-achiever Rose Carver.
- 'Tyrant' examines the evidence of popular attraction to demagogues as seen in Shakepeare's plays
The Bard was no distant or indifferent observer of politics or power.
- Why it's time to cut translators some slack
'Sympathy for the Traitor' author Mark Polizzotti discusses the pitfalls and perils of translation.
- 'A Line in the River' tells the story of Khartoum, one of the world's most troubled cities
'A Line in the River' is a nuanced exploration of Sudan’s history of colonialism, religion, and politics.