Summer’s Best Beach Reads
Elisabeth Egan curates a summer beach‑read list featuring three new novels slated for release in June 2026. Bobby Finger’s "We Are Gathered Here Today" (June 16) mixes wedding drama with sharp humor, while Courtney Maum’s "Alan Opts Out" (June 2) satirizes affluent social climbing. Jenny Jackson’s "The Shampoo Effect" (June 30) delivers a breezy, love‑filled escape. The selections aim at readers seeking light, escapist fiction for warm‑weather leisure.
Book Review: ‘Dekonstructing the Kardashians,’ by MJ Corey
MJ Corey’s new book, “Dekonstructing the Kardashians,” reframes the reality‑TV dynasty as a hyperreal media system worthy of scholarly analysis. Drawing on Baudrillard, McLuhan, Veblen and other theorists, the 448‑page manifesto blends TikTok‑style meme culture with academic rigor to map...
Books Our Editors Loved This Week
The New York Times Book Review released its weekly roundup of six newly published titles, hand‑picked by its editors and critics. The selections cover literary fiction, serious nonfiction, thrillers, romance, mystery and other genres, offering a cross‑section of the current publishing landscape....
Luminous New Historical Fiction
The latest literary roundup spotlights four new releases that fuse narrative flair with rigorous history. Priya Parmar’s *The Original* reexamines Katharine Hepburn’s rise in 1920s‑1930s Hollywood, while Karen Tei Yamashita’s *Questions 27 & 28* mixes fiction and archival material to illuminate Japanese‑American internment. Robert Seethaler’s...
Book Review: ‘Talking Classics,’ by Mary Beard
Mary Beard’s new book, Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old, argues that the ancient world can be made crave‑worthy through vivid, everyday artifacts rather than elite scholarship. She recounts personal moments—a 4,000‑year‑old bread roll and graffiti in Herculaneum—to show...
∫Book Review: ‘Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young,’ by Zayd Ayers Dohrn
Zayd Ayers Dohrn’s new memoir, Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young, offers a rare insider‑outsider view of the Weather Underground through the lens of his childhood. The book intertwines personal anecdotes with a meticulously researched account of the group’s shift from...
Best Enemies-to-Lovers Romance Books, According to Emily Henry
Emily Henry curates a list of standout enemies‑to‑lovers romance novels, from office‑centric "The Hating Game" to culturally nuanced "Ayesha at Last" and the emotionally layered "Seven Days in June." She highlights how each title transforms conflict into chemistry, often weaving...
Kennedy Ryan on ‘Score,’ Her TV Deal, and Finding Purpose
Kennedy Ryan, the bestselling Black romance author, secured a first‑look deal with Universal Studio Group to develop TV projects, including a Peacock adaptation of her breakout 2022 novel "Before I Let Go." Her upcoming book "Score," the second in the...
Book Review: ‘Take Me to Your Leader,’ by Neil deGrasse Tyson
Neil deGrasse Tyson’s latest title, “Take Me to Your Leader,” is a 230‑page, $26 paperback that strings together quick scientific tidbits with references to movies, TV shows and a handful of classic novels about extraterrestrials. The review argues the book...
Books Our Editors Loved This Week
The New York Times Book Review released its weekly Editors’ Choice, spotlighting five newly published titles spanning literary fiction, nonfiction, thriller, romance, and mystery. The curated list is designed to guide readers toward noteworthy releases and can be saved to...
Book Review: ‘Seek the Traitor’s Son,’ by Veronica Roth
Veronica Roth, famed for the *Divergent* YA series, releases her first adult novel, *Seek the Traitor’s Son*. Set in a post‑viral dystopia, the story follows Elegy Ahn, a reluctant heir caught between the fanatical Talusar and the resistant Cedre. The...
Book Review: ‘Men Like Ours,’ by Bindu Bansinath
“Men Like Ours,” Bindu Bansinath’s debut novel follows the Sharma family through a community crisis in New Jersey’s Little India. Set against the backdrop of Oak Tree Road’s bustling immigrant enclave, the story blends dark comedy with raw, visceral detail....
Amitav Ghosh Brings the Main Character of ‘Ghost Eye’ to Life, With the Help of a Sketch Artist
Amitav Ghosh, the New York‑based novelist, teamed up with forensic artist Stephen Mancusi to create a composite sketch of Varsha Gupta, the central child character in his upcoming novel Ghost Eye, due out in June 2026. Ghosh described Varsha in vivid...
Book Review: ‘When the Forest Breathes,’ by Suzanne Simard
Suzanne Simard’s new book, *When the Forest Breathes*, argues that Western forest science must adopt the holistic, relationship‑focused perspective of Indigenous stewardship. Drawing on her research into fungal networks that link trees, she portrays forests as collaborative, carbon‑rich ecosystems that...
New Books Provide Divergent Views of the Art Market
Three newly released titles—Valentina Castellani’s scholarly "Trading Beauty," Andrew Durbin’s memoir "The Wonderful World That Almost Was," and Daniel Arsham’s dual biography "Future Relic"—offer contrasting lenses on the art market’s past and present. Castellani traces transactions from Charlemagne to today,...
Book Review: ‘Look What You Made Me Do,’ by John Lanchester
John Lanchester’s latest novel, “Look What You Made Me Do,” is a dark domestic tale that fuses personal revenge with the cold logic of cryptocurrency. The story follows Kate, who obsessively targets her husband Jack, an architect, after a tangled...
Poetry Review: ‘Wellwater,’ by Karen Solie
Canadian poet Karen Solie’s seventh collection, *Wellwater*, blends deadpan humor with stark ecological observation. The poems navigate prairie and northern cityscapes, exposing glyphosate drift, fracking, and water scarcity while probing personal memory and collective responsibility. Solie’s anticapitalist undertones surface through...
Book Review: ‘Selling Opportunity,’ by Mary Lisa Gavenas
Mary Lisa Gavenas’s new book *Selling Opportunity* offers a dual biography of Mary Kay Ash and the cosmetics empire she built. The narrative traces Ash’s rise from a modest Houston upbringing to founding a multilevel‑marketing powerhouse that rewarded top sellers...
The Best Books to Read on American Empire
Alexis Coe’s column examines the uneasy marriage of American power and liberty, tracing the idea of an "empire for liberty" from Jefferson through the Mexican‑American War to modern debates. She highlights key titles that unpack this paradox, especially Amy S....
J.H. Prynne, Erudite and Elusive British Poet, Dies at 89
J.H. Prynne, the notoriously reclusive British poet, died on April 22 at age 89 in Cambridge. He spent five decades teaching and serving as librarian at Gonville and Caius College, becoming a cornerstone of the Cambridge School of poetry. Prynne’s work,...
Philip Caputo, Who Wrote Blistering Vietnam War Memoir, Dies at 84
Pulitzer‑winning journalist Philip Caputo, author of the seminal Vietnam memoir “A Rumor of War,” died at 84 from cancer. The 1977 book sold two million copies and was translated into 15 languages, cementing its place in war literature. Caputo’s vivid first‑hand...
How Children’s Picture Books Comfort Harried Parents
Lisa Owens reflects on how daily‑structured picture books have become a lifeline for her and her children, turning chaotic mornings and evenings into moments of calm. She notes that despite a household full of streaming subscriptions, the family consistently returns...
Book Review: ‘One Leg on Earth,’ by ‘Pemi Aguda
Pemi Aguda’s debut novel *One Leg on Earth* launches with a shocking suicide of a pregnant woman, setting a stark tone for the narrative. The story follows Yosoye, a fresh university graduate serving in Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps, as...
Book Review: ‘Screen People,’ by Megan Garber
Megan Garber’s new book "Screen People" explores how the internet turned everyday moments into public performance, using the 2015 viral dress debate as a starting point. Drawing on her tenure at The Atlantic, she charts the rise of meme wars,...
Historical Fiction Books That Illustrate the Bonds Between Mother and Child
The article highlights eight historical fiction titles that place mother‑child relationships at their core, illustrating how maternal bonds transcend time. It spotlights works like Anita Diamant’s *The Red Tent* and Kristin Hannah’s *The Four Winds*, showing how authors blend meticulous period detail...
Karen Tei Yamashita Writes About Japanese American Internment in Her New Novel
Novelist Karen Tei Yamashita uncovered a massive archive of 335 boxes documenting the Japanese American Evacuation and Resettlement Study (JERS) at UC Berkeley. The ethically fraught WWII project enlisted incarcerated youths to report on fellow prisoners. Inspired by the material and her...
Books Our Editors Love This Week
The New York Times’ editors highlighted seven new titles in their May 7, 2026 roundup, with a spotlight on Kathryn Stockett’s long‑awaited novel The Calamity Club. The book returns Stockett to the literary scene 17 years after the blockbuster debut The Help, and situates an unlikely cast of spinsters, sex...
Book Review: ‘Revenge for the Sixties,’ by Peter S. Canellos; ‘Alito,’ by Mollie Hemingway
Two new biographies—Peter S. Canellos' "Revenge for the Sixties" and Mollie Hemingway's "Alito"—reexamine Justice Samuel Alito’s rise from a Catholic‑rooted jurist to the architect of the 2022 decision that overturned Roe v. Wade. Canellos offers a historical, policy‑focused narrative, while...
Sizzling Summer Thrillers
The New York Times column "Sizzling Summer Thrillers" spotlights Ilona Bannister’s new novel Five, positioning it as a standout summer thriller. The piece highlights the book’s blend of psychological suspense and a sun‑soaked setting, noting strong early sales and positive...
In Her New Memoir, Siri Hustvedt Captures Life With, And Without, Paul Auster
Siri Hustvedt’s new memoir, Ghost Stories, confronts life after the death of her husband, novelist Paul Auster. The book, begun weeks after Auster’s lung‑cancer passing, opens with “I am alive. My husband, Paul Auster, is dead,” and delves into her...
Book Review: ‘From Life Itself,’ by Suzy Hansen
Suzy Hansen’s new book *From Life Itself* chronicles Turkey’s slide into authoritarianism under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, focusing on the 2016 failed military coup and its aftermath. By immersing herself in the historic Karagümrük neighborhood, Hansen reveals how Turkish, Kurdish...
Epic Fantasy and Sci-Fi Books for Adults
The article argues that speculative fiction is expanding beyond youthful heroes, highlighting a growing niche for protagonists in their 40s, 50s, and beyond. It showcases titles such as Shannon Chakraborty’s *The Adventures of Amina al‑Sirafi* and Nicholas Eames’s *Kings of...
The Books That Won the 2026 Pulitzer Prizes
The 2026 Pulitzer Prizes honored 19 books across fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry, biography, and history. Daniel Kraus’s Angel Down captured the Fiction award, a WWI‑set novel written in a single, unbroken sentence. The book earned high praise for its daring...
Book Review: ‘The Family Man,’ by James Lasdun
James Lasdun’s nonfiction book *The Family Man* chronicles the collapse of South Carolina’s influential Murdaugh legal dynasty, whose patriarch Alex Murdaugh allegedly embezzled millions and orchestrated the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul to hide his crimes. Drawing...
Book Review: ‘The Hill,’ by Harriet Clark
Harriet Clark’s debut novel “The Hill” follows 8‑year‑old Suzanna, who visits her mother’s life‑sentence prison cell each week, forging a fragile mother‑daughter bond across bars. The story intertwines dreamlike narration with the mother’s violent past as a Weather Underground activist, highlighting...
Book Review: ‘List of All Possible Desires,’ by Dylan Landis
Dylan Landis’s new novel *List of All Possible Desires* is structured as a series of interlinked stories that span from post‑war Paris in 1947 to an AIDS‑era death in 1987. The book follows Howard Royal, an awkward eleven‑year‑old, and later his...
Book Review: ‘Prestige Drama,’ by Seamas O’Reilly
“Prestige Drama,” the new novel by Derry‑born journalist Séamas O’Reilly, skewers the booming wave of Northern Irish post‑Troubles fiction that is being turned into high‑budget television. The story follows the disappearance of American actress Monica Logue while she researches a...
Book Review: ‘Ghost Stories,’ by Siri Hustvedt
Siri Hustvedt’s new memoir, *Ghost Stories*, weaves letters, journal entries, and emails into a lyrical collage that chronicles her life with the late novelist Paul Auster. The narrative pivots on the grief she endured after Auster’s 2024 death from lung...
Book Review: ‘The Things We Never Say,’ by Elizabeth Strout
Elizabeth Strout’s latest novel, *The Things We Never Say*, follows 57‑year‑old history teacher Artie Dam in coastal Massachusetts as he battles profound loneliness and suicidal thoughts. A near‑fatal sailing accident triggers the revelation of a long‑buried family secret, upending his...
Book Review: ‘John of John,’ by Douglas Stuart
Douglas Stuart’s new novel "John of John" returns to the Hebrides to tell a tense family saga spanning three generations. The story follows 22‑year‑old Cal, a gay art student summoned home to a remote croft where his Calvinist father and...
Kathryn Stockett Has Finally Followed Up ‘The Help’
Seventeen years after the runaway success of *The Help*, which sold 15 million copies and spent more than two years atop bestseller lists, Kathryn Stockett is returning with a new novel, *The Calamity Club*. The 656‑page, 2.2‑pound work follows two white...
Book Review: ‘The Calamity Club,’ by Kathryn Stockett
Kathryn Stockett returns with "The Calamity Club," a Depression‑era novel set in a Mississippi orphanage. The story follows 11‑year‑old Meg Lefleur and 24‑year‑old bookkeeper Birdie Calhoun as they transform a mold‑filled roof into a haven of fresh air and hope....
Book Review: ‘True Crime,’ by Patricia Cornwell
Patricia Cornwell’s new memoir, “True Crime,” shifts from her forensic thrillers to a candid life story, blending meticulous detail with Southern‑Gothic recollections. The book recounts a prophetic dream about Agatha Christie, high‑profile friendships with George H.W. Bush and Orrin Hatch,...
Book Review: ‘The Successor,’ by Mikhail Fishman
Mikhail Fishman's new biography "The Successor" examines what Russia might have looked like if liberal reformer Boris Nemtsov, not Vladimir Putin, had become president after Yeltsin. The 778‑page work, translated by Michele A. Berdy, portrays Nemtsov as a charismatic physicist‑turned...
Book Review: ‘Backtalker,’ by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw
Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s memoir *Backtalker* traces her evolution from a debate‑driven childhood in 1960s Ohio to the scholar who coined “intersectionality” and helped shape critical race theory. The book intertwines personal anecdotes—particularly her mother’s vigilance against discrimination—with the intellectual milestones that propelled...
Book Review: ‘Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters,’ by Yevgenia Nayberg
Yevgenia Nayberg’s graphic memoir *Chernobyl, Life, and Other Disasters* chronicles her childhood in Kyiv during the late 1980s, blending vivid illustrations with a personal narrative that unfolds just before the Chernobyl catastrophe. The book reveals the challenges faced by a...
Books Our Editors Love This Week
The New York Times Book Review’s weekly roundup spotlights six fresh titles, including debut author Lori Inglis Hall’s historical novel The Shock of the Light. Set against World War II, the book follows fraternal twins—children of a pacifist British don—whose paths diverge as they enlist. Hall twists classic war‑hero tropes by...
New Romance Books
Olivia Waite highlights two standout romance releases in April 2026. E.M. Caro’s pirate‑themed "Rears & Vices" (Tides & Troth, 367 pages, $18.99) mixes naval history with a polyamorous love triangle set on the Great Lakes and Caribbean. Amy Coombe’s "Stay...
Book Review: ‘Cave Mountain,’ by Benjamin Hale
Benjamin Hale’s new nonfiction work "Cave Mountain" intertwines the 2001 disappearance of his cousin, six‑year‑old Haley Zega, in the Ozark wilderness with a 1978 murder committed by a fringe religious cult nearby. The book uses Hale’s personal connection to explore...
Book Review: ‘Prophecy,’ by Carissa Véliz
Carissa Véliz’s new book Prophecy argues that today’s AI‑driven prediction engines function more as fortune tellers than truth tellers, extending the power of Big Tech. She traces the lineage of prophecy from ancient oracles to modern algorithms that assess credit risk,...