Books

Dr. Alexa Hagerty, an associate fellow at the University of Cambridge and an anthropologist with a Ph.D. from Stanford, can read bones. In Still Life With Bones: Genocide, Forensics, and What Remains, Hagerty explores the close connection between bones and words. Like words, bones can be articulated (arranged into a coherent form, such as a

In the high school library that I manage, I run a manga club that is very popular with the students. In the past eight years I’ve seen it grow and evolve with the students. Manga is by far the most popular kind of book we have in the library, especially with those who claim they

These dazzling stories show a crime fiction veteran at the height of his career. In his first-ever collection, the award-winning author of the Billy Boyle World War II mysteries presents an eclectic mix of new and previously published mystery stories rife with historical detail and riveting wartime storytelling. “The Horse Chestnut Tree” explores betrayal and

If you’re looking for an anti-censorship group to get involved with, you’re in luck. There are dozens across the country, with more popping up all of the time. While there is certainly a need for a national push against censorship — we need politicians at the federal level to do something — work at the

Gardening isn’t just for the countryside! This exuberant picture book celebrates the joys of community gardening and sharing food with neighbors and friends in the city. Red gingham patterned endpapers set the table for City Beet, a reimagining of a Russian folktale commonly known as “The Gigantic Turnip.” The story begins when young Victoria and

The 2023 Women’s Prize longlist has been announced! After the 1991 Booker Prize shortlist was announced, then called the Man Booker Prize, and no women authors appeared on it, a group of journalists met and wanted more. Together, they founded the Women’s Committee and began the quest for starting a literary prize of their own,

I am a Weyward, and wild inside. 2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had

The 2023 PEN/Faulkner finalists were announced Tuesday. The award has been granted for over 40 years to American authors, and is judged by writers who see a peer’s work as being the “first among equals.” The author who wins first place will win $15,000, and each finalist $5,000. This year’s judges were R.O. Kwon, Tiphanie Yanique, and

Color: We can’t not see it, and yet we’re frequently unaware of the power of its strategic use, even as we feel the effects. But you’ll never take color for granted again after perusing Charles Bramesco’s Colors of Film, which explores the palettes used in 50 iconic films through four eras of cinema. Bramesco’s discussion

When I saw a social media post saying that Judy Heumann died, my first response was no no no, hopefully this is misinformation. I knew she had been in the hospital, and I hoped that this was one of those macabre false information posts about a celebrity’s death. But a few hours later, it was

In 1767, Phillis Wheatley arrived in Boston via a slave ship at the age of 7. In the years leading up to the start of the American Revolution in 1775, she became famous across New England and in London for her poetry. For all her talent and influence on the issues of her day, such

Illustrator, children’s author, and theatrical set designer Ian Falconer died Tuesday in Connecticut. The author is best known for his children’s book series Olivia, which is about a clever young pig. The award-winning series, with its stylish color scheme, debuted in 2000 and went on to include seven more books that altogether sold more than

In June 1994, the small town of Henley, Ohio, was devastated by a tornado, a flash flood and its first and only murder—still unsolved—all in the span of one week now known as “the long stretch of bad days.” Thirty-ish years later, aspiring journalist Lydia Chass learns that she is one history credit shy of

Here’s the thing that a lot of people may not realize about the United States: it may be recognized internationally as a singular country and culture, but it’s really more like a bunch of cultural regions dressed up in a trench coat and trying to pass itself off as one group, a la those kids

The acclaimed author of the “sweeping and beautifully written novel” (Woman’s World) The Light Over London weaves an epic saga of love, motherhood, and betrayal set against World War II. Liverpool, 1935: Raised in a strict Catholic family, Viv Byrne knows what’s expected of her: marry a Catholic man from her working-class neighborhood and have his children.

Economist Joel Waldfogel looked at how women and men have influenced the publishing industry for the last 70 years and found that since 2020 at least, women have been publishing more books than men. Data Waldfogel analyzed from “Goodreads, Bookstat, Amazon, and the National Library of Congress” revealed that the percentage of books published by

Katherine May’s essay collection Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age offers similar meditative pleasures as her previous collection, Wintering—though you don’t need to have read Wintering to enjoy Enchantment. “When I want to describe how I feel right now, the word I reach for the most is discombobulated,” she writes, going on to chart

Last year, as we waited with great anticipated for Ted Lasso season 2, I wrote Overanalyzing Every Book in Ted Lasso to Predict Season 2 as a transparent excuse to rewatch season 1 for the fourth time. I have to be honest with you, though: my predictions were not exactly accurate. I am proud of

In Act 1 of Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth questions his plan to commit regicide against King Duncan, saying, “I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself / And falls on th’other.” Vaulting ambition and the willful blindness that can accompany it form the tragedy

Love is in the air this March. For romance readers, March brings a magical fake dating story featuring witches and demons. It brings an adventure down the Pacific Crest Trail that turns into a journey to love. March has got stories about people falling in love in airports. It’s even got adventures at a comic

Tomiko Brown-Nagin pays tribute to a history maker in Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality. Born in Connecticut in 1921, Constance Baker Motley studied law at Columbia University and went on to serve as a federal judge, becoming the first Black woman to do so. She was instrumental in ending

It’s only 239 more days until Halloween — who’s ready??? Okay, maybe it’s a little early to start celebrating the biggest night of scares, but you can treat your brain to a happily horrifying time with books every day of the year! That’s why we present a monthly round-up of amazing upcoming horror books, including

Acclaimed children’s author Aida Salazar tells the story of Jovita Valdovinos, a revolutionary figure to whom she is distantly related and who is sometimes described as “Mexico’s Joan of Arc,” in Jovita Wore Pants. Molly Mendoza’s dazzling art enhances this thrilling picture book biography, which transports readers to early 20th-century Mexico as Valdovinos transforms from

For me, and I suspect for many of us, the best reading is the kind of reading that feels truly immersive. You’re not half-thinking about work, you’re not vaguely aware that a child needs your attention, you’re not bothered by some distant construction noise. You’re in the book, completely. And it might seem like a

Second-generation Syrian American Khadija Shaami lives to buck the expectations of others, especially her overbearing mother. She loves driving her huge, luxurious Mercedes-Benz G-wagon, has decked out her bedroom with Syrian flags and artwork and is the only Muslim girl who boxes at her gym. Leene Taher, a refugee from Syria, seems to embody all

I have always found the blank page of a notebook so very daunting. Everyone always talks about the virtues of keeping a journal, but I sit down to write and simply have no idea where to start. I was always that kid in school who couldn’t cope with an open topic essay or a vague

Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, the controversial first lady of 28th president Woodrow Wilson, had some impressive predecessors. There was women’s rights advocate Abigail Adams, wife of second president John Adams and mother of sixth president John Quincy Adams. During the War of 1812, Dolley Madison, wife of fourth president James Madison, rescued the nation’s treasured

Of the many Nobel Prize in Literature winners from the past two or so decades, who should you read — and where do you begin? Award-winners of this caliber can often feel inaccessible. Many of us have a small barrier in our heads that says that authors who are big award winners must also be

Canadian author Kathy Stinson and illustrator Lauren Soloy’s A Tulip in Winter is a vibrant biography of folk artist Maud Lewis from two creators familiar with the Nova Scotian landscape that Lewis called home.  Although Lewis had a happy childhood, she was also “teased . . . for how she looked, her crooked walk, and