Friday 31 July 2020

Stabbed in the Convent, Murdered in the Yard

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In the newest batch of crime novels, bodies accumulate at a rather alarming rate.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/books/review/crime-fiction-megan-miranda.html

Isabel Wilkerson’s ‘Caste’ Is an ‘Instant American Classic’ About Our Abiding Sin

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Wilkerson’s new book makes unsettling comparisons between India’s treatment of its untouchables, Nazi Germany’s treatment of Jews and America’s treatment of African-Americans.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/books/review-caste-isabel-wilkerson-origins-of-our-discontents.html

The ‘Seductive Lure’ of Authoritarianism

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Anne Applebaum discusses “Twilight of Democracy,” and Barbara Demick talks about “Eat the Buddha.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/books/review/podcast-twilight-democracy-anne-applebaum-eat-buddha-barbara-demick.html

Why the Working Class Votes Against Its Economic Interests

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Two new books, Robert B. Reich’s “The System” and Zephyr Teachout’s “Break ’Em Up,” examine the impact of economic inequality in America.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/books/review/the-system-robert-reich-break-em-up-zephyr-teachout.html

New Books Take You Through the Microscope to the World of Pathogens

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Authors explore the way the invisible world impacts our lives, from bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics to the beneficial biodiversity on our skin.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/books/review/biography-of-resistance-muhammad-zaman-clean-james-hamblin-the-sensitives-oliver-broudy.html

Monsters vs. Aliens

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In “Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything,” a Mexican-American girl lights candles in the desert for her deported mother. Then a spacecraft arrives.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/books/review/sia-martinez-and-the-moonlit-beginning-of-everything-raquel-vasquez-gilliland.html

A Native American Coming-of-Age and the Uses of Enchantment

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In James Bird’s “The Brave,” a boy bullied for his numeric mind undergoes a metamorphosis when he’s sent to live on a reservation with his Native American mother.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/books/review/the-brave-james-bird.html

Raven Leilani, a Flâneur Who Is Going Places

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The novelist’s debut, “Luster,” is winning accolades for its unfiltered depiction of sex, failure and a Black woman adrift in work and life.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/books/raven-leilani-luster.html

New Books Take You Through the Microscope to the World of Pathogens

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Authors explore the way the invisible world impacts our lives, from bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics to the beneficial biodiversity on our skin.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/books/review/biography-of-resistance-mohammed-zahan-clean-james-hamblin-the-sensitives-oliver-broudy.html

New in Paperback: ‘This Land Is Our Land’ and ‘Your House Will Pay’

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Six new paperbacks to check out this week.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/books/review/new-paperbacks.html

On Hamlet’s Origins and Other Letters to the Editor

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Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/books/review/on-hamlets-origins-and-other-letters-to-the-editor.html

Thursday 30 July 2020

What If You Could Just Program a Robot To Write a Novel?

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Imagining all the reasons an automaton might not be writing the next Great American Novel.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/31/books/tom-gauld-robot-novelist-.html

12 New Books We Recommend This Week

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Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/books/review/12-new-books-we-recommend-this-week.html

Isabel Wilkerson Loves Books. That Doesn’t Mean She Treats Them Gently.

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“Many of them are not only dog-eared, but often double-cornered-dog-eared, the margins marked up with my own commentary.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/books/review/isabel-wilkerson-by-the-book-interview.html

The Reading List Behind ‘Nice White Parents’

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Everyone wants what’s best for their children’s education. But who gets to decide what’s best? The reporter behind our new podcast from Serial shares the books that helped her answer that question.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/podcasts/nice-white-parents-reading-list.html

‘Memorial Drive,’ by Natasha Trethewey: An Excerpt

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An excerpt from “Memorial Drive,” by Natasha Trethewey

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/books/review/memorial-drive-by-natasha-trethewey-an-excerpt.html

13 Books to Watch For in August

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Stephenie Meyer’s retelling of “Twilight,” Isabel Wilkerson’s examination of American racism, a biography of the drug kingpin El Chapo, and plenty more.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/books/new-august-books.html

Poem: Beatific

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Respect for the other whom you do not know, but with a slightest stretch of mind, imagine you do. A poem that shrinks the distance between us.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/magazine/poem-beatific.html

Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman Wrote a Big Best Seller

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In “Big Friendship,” the best friends and podcast co-hosts rediscover their bond across a different kind of social distance.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/books/review/aminatou-sow-ann-friedman-big-friendship.html

In ‘Memorial Drive’ a Poet Evokes Her Childhood and Confronts Her Mother’s Murder

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The new memoir by the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Natasha Trethewey is an aching investigation of trauma and art.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/books/review/memorial-drive-natastha-trethewey.html

Wednesday 29 July 2020

New Looks at the Fate of Foreigners in America, From the Privileged to the Most Vulnerable

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Taken together, Julia Rose Kraut’s “Threat of Dissent” and Jacob Soboroff’s “Separated” give a sense of how U.S. immigration laws can be weaponized.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/30/books/review-threat-dissent-julia-rose-kraut-separated-jacob-soboroff.html

Black Book Clubs, From Oprah to Noname

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Noname and other Black thought leaders have taken what Oprah built and made something new.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/style/self-care/black-book-clubs.html

The Essential Tana French

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If you want to brush up before her new novel arrives this fall, here’s your guide.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/29/books/the-essential-tana-french.html

Tuesday 28 July 2020

In Yiyun Li’s Latest, a Grieving Mother Desperately Clings to Memory

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“Must I Go” follows Li’s previous novel, “Where Reasons End,” in examining what it means to survive the death of a beloved child.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review-must-i-go-yiyun-li.html

Book Review: "The Death of Vivek Oji," by Akwaeke Emezi

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In Akwaeke Emezi’s poetic mystery, “The Death of Vivek Oji,” a community mourns a young person whose life contained multitudes.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/death-vivek-oji-akwaeke-emezi-group-text.html

Time for a Literary Road Trip

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If you’re feeling nostalgic for the quintessential summer vacation, pick up one of these books.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/time-for-a-literary-road-trip.html

New & Noteworthy Poetry, From a Hungry God to a Fake Shepherd

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A selection of recent poetry books of interest; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/new-this-week.html

A Forgotten Town at the Center of the Manhattan Project

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In “The Apocalypse Factory,” Steve Olson tells the story of Hanford, a small rural town in Washington State that played an outsize role in America’s nuclear ambitions.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/the-apocalypse-factory-steve-olson.html

‘Afterland,’ by Lauren Beukes: An Excerpt

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An excerpt from “Afterland,” by Lauren Beukes

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/afterland-by-lauren-beukes-an-excerpt.html

The Chinese Town That Became the Self-Immolation Capital of the World

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In “Eat the Buddha,” Barbara Demick tells the story of Tibetan resistance to Chinese rule through the stories of the people who have seen it up close.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/eat-the-buddha-barbara-demick.html

A Métis Woman’s Husband Disappeared — or Did He?

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Cherie Dimaline’s new novel, “Empire of Wild,” calls on old tropes of myths and folklore, only to make them new.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/empire-of-wild-cherie-dimaline.html

Why the United States Invaded Iraq

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Robert Draper’s “To Start a War” provides the deep background on the decisions that took America into war in the Middle East.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/to-start-a-war-robert-draper.html

The Groundbreaking Scientist Who Risked All in Pursuit of His Beliefs

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“A Dominant Character,” by Samanth Subramanian, recounts the turbulent life of J.B.S. Haldane, the great British biologist and political activist.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/a-dominant-character-haldane-samanth-subramanian.html

Why Is Hillary Clinton So Hated?

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Michael D’Antonio’s “The Hunting of Hillary” recounts the efforts by the right to discredit Clinton and bring her down.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/the-hunting-of-hillary-michael-dantonio.html

These Celebrities Can Change Your Life

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From big picture advice to helpful hints, survivors of the spotlight have some words of wisdom for you.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/hustle-harder-hustle-smarter-curtis-jackson.html

Aimee Bender’s Latest Is a Proustian Reverie

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In “The Butterfly Lampshade,” objects are as alive as human beings.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/aimee-bender-the-butterfly-lampshade.html

Staring Into the Eye of a Whale and Seeing the Whole World

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In “Fathoms,” Rebecca Giggs ranges far and wide as she explores what our relationship to these enormous mammals reveals about ourselves.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/fathoms-whale-rebecca-giggs.html

This Movie Star’s Only Hope Is Help From Her Personal Assistant

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Byron Lane’s novel, “A Star Is Bored,” is influenced by his experience working for Carrie Fisher.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/a-star-is-bored-byron-lane.html

Trying the Japanese for War Crimes

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Michel Paradis’s “Last Mission to Tokyo” explores the injustices and ironies of war crimes trials by looking at one example from postwar Japan.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/28/books/review/last-mission-to-tokyo-michel-paradis.html

Monday 27 July 2020

Hilary Mantel and Anne Tyler in Running for Booker Prize

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“The Mirror and the Light,” the conclusion to Mantel’s Thomas Cromwell trilogy, is one of 13 books nominated for this prestigious British literary award.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/books/hilary-mantel-booker-prize-longlist.html

‘Memorial Drive’ Powerfully Recalls a Southern Childhood and a Mother’s Murder

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In her new memoir, the former poet laureate Natasha Trethewey writes about her upbringing and her mother’s violent death at the hands of an abusive husband.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/books/review-memorial-drive-memoir-natasha-trethewey.html

Coming of Age on Mars

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In a new book, planetary scientist Sarah Stewart Johnson recalls how the Red Planet drew her to become a scientist.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/science/mars-sarah-stewart-johnson.html

The Celebrity Bookshelf Detective Is Back

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We peer over the shoulders of Gwyneth Paltrow, Regina King, Charlamagne tha God, Yo-Yo Ma and others for a glimpse at their reading habits.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/27/books/tom-hanks-gwyneth-paltrow-bookshelves.html

Sunday 26 July 2020

Saturday 25 July 2020

Richard Gelles, Scholar of Family Violence, Is Dead at 73

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He believed in reuniting families even if parents had abused their children — until he saw how often that approach threatened children’s safety.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/25/us/richard-gelles-dead.html

Things To Do At Home This Week

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This week, tie-dye with veggies, listen to Michelle Obama’s new podcast and celebrate the singer and activist Mavis Staples.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/25/at-home/coronavirus-things-to-do-at-home.html

Friday 24 July 2020

Brad Watson, 64, Dies; His Southern Upbringing Animated His Books

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In his acclaimed novels and short stories, most of them set in his native Mississippi, he wrote about characters who had to transcend difficult moments.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/brad-watson-dead.html

A Guide to Nordic Noir

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Want to read something cold and dark on a hot summer day? We’ve got recommendations.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/review/nordic-noir-guide.html

Bring Your Flamethrower. In This Novel, Art Feels the Burn.

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In “Alice Knott,” Blake Butler tells a twisting story in which famous paintings are destroyed and a woman wrestles with the elusive memories of her past.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/review/alice-knott-blake-butler.html

The Yearning for the Unexplained

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Colin Dickey talks about “The Unidentified,” and Miles Harvey discusses “The King of Confidence.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/review/podcast-colin-dickey-unexplained-miles-harvey-king-of-confidence.html

Novels of Suspense and Isolation

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Riley Sager’s “Home Before Dark,” Anna Downes’s “No Safe Place” and Eve Chase’s “The Daughters of Foxcote Manor.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/review/novels-of-suspense-and-isolation.html

When a Bookish Girl’s Imagination (Truly!) Takes Flight

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With nods to Narnia, Hogwarts, E. Nesbit and Frances Hodgson Burnett, Hilary McKay’s “The Time of Green Magic” is a love letter to the literary canon.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/review/hilary-mckay-the-time-of-green-magic.html

Meet the Brave but Overlooked Women of Color Who Fought for the Vote

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In “Finish the Fight!,” excerpted here, New York Times journalists tell the stories of lesser-known figures in the battle to make the 19th Amendment a reality.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/finish-the-fight-excerpt.html

Living With Edmund White

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He has survived H.I.V. and a heart attack, and while the influential gay novelist acknowledges that he is “hyper-vulnerable,” he intends to make it through this pandemic as well.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/edmund-white-a-saint-from-texas.html

The Lies That Bind, and Break, a Friendship

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In Araminta Hall’s “Imperfect Women,” three old pals find they don’t know one another quite as well as they once did. And then one of them is murdered.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/review/araminta-hall-imperfect-women.html

Stephen King on Lauren Beukes’s ‘Splendid’ New Thriller

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“Afterland,” a neo-noir, coast-to-coast chase novel, takes place after a pandemic has wiped out 99 percent of the men in the world.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/review/lauren-beukes-afterland.html

New in Paperback: ‘The Memory Police’ and ‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’

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Six new paperbacks to check out this week.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/review/new-paperbacks.html

A Spellbinding Debut Leaps Across Genres to Recreate the Confusion of Trauma

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Kate Reed Petty’s “True Story,” focuses on the rippling, decades-long impact from a high school sexual assault.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/review/kate-reed-petty-true-story.html

Does ‘His & Hers’ Mean Cozy Domestic Bliss? Not in This Book

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Alice Feeney’s detective story shows just how small the world is for people who would rather not find each other.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/review/his-and-hers-alice-feeney.html

On the ‘Mitchellverse’ and Other Letters to the Editor

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Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/review/on-the-mitchellverse-and-other-letters-to-the-editor.html

Refugee and Author Long Detained by Australia Gets Asylum in New Zealand

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Behrouz Boochani, a Kurdish-Iranian exile, said the news showed the vast differences between the two neighboring countries on human rights.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/world/australia/behrouz-boochani-asylum-new-zealand.html

H.G. Wells and George Bernard Shaw Fight Over Socialism

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In his latest installment of The Literati, Edward Sorel illustrates the epic battle for control of the Fabian Society, an elite group of socialists, at the turn of the last century.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/books/hg-wells-and-george-bernard-shaw-fight-over-socialism.html

Thursday 23 July 2020

10 New Books We Recommend This Week

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Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/books/review/10-new-books-we-recommend-this-week.html

Constance Curry, 86, Author and Ally in Civil Rights Fight, Dies

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She was a bridge between Black activists and white Southerners, worked for Andrew Young and chronicled a Black Mississippi family’s struggle against racism.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/us/constance-curry-86-author-and-ally-in-civil-rights-fight-dies.html

Juan Marsé, Who Wrote of Spain’s Dark Years, Is Dead at 87

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His novels chronicled the difficult days after the Spanish Civil War. He was, his biographer, said, “the reference writer of the anti-Franco movement.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/books/juan-marse-dead.html

8 Things to Do This Weekend

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How can you get your cultural fix when many arts institutions remain closed? Our writers offer suggestions for what to listen to, read and watch.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/arts/things-to-do-weekend-coronavirus.html

Gerald Williams, Poet, Essayist and Editor, Dies at 85

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Bronx-born and Boston-educated, he also worked as a translator in Paris and Amsterdam before settling in New York in the late 1960s. He died of Covid-19.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/obituaries/gerald-williams-dead-coronavirus.html

Looking at Epic Poetry Through 21st-Century Eyes

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New translations of the “Aeneid,” “Beowulf” and other ancient stories challenge some of our modern-day ideas.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/books/epic-poem-boewulf-aeneid-faerie-queene.html

Jacob Soboroff Saw Kids in Cages. Then He Started Talking — and Writing.

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In his new best seller about the practice of family separation, the NBC News correspondent does not mince words.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/books/review/separated-jacob-soboroff.html

An Elegant, Ice-Cold Thriller Served Straight Up With a Twist

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In Stan Parish’s new novel, “Love and Theft,” a Vegas jewel heist goes off perfectly. Or does it?

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/books/review/stan-parish-love-and-theft.html

The Last Book That Made Aimee Bender Laugh Out Loud

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“Especially the most amazingly weird and right sentence with ‘lasagna’ in it.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/books/review/aimee-bender-by-the-book-interview.html

Wednesday 22 July 2020

Constance Curry, 86, Ally in Civil Rights Fight and Author, Dies

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She was a bridge between Black activists and white Southerners, worked for Andrew Young and chronicled a Black Mississippi family’s struggle against racism.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/us/constance-curry-86-ally-in-civil-rights-fight-and-author-dies.html

‘The Pull of the Stars,’ by Emma Donoghue: An Excerpt

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An excerpt from “The Pull of the Stars,” by Emma Donoghue

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/books/review/the-pull-of-the-stars-by-emma-donoghue-an-excerpt.html

‘The Unidentified,’ by Colin Dickey: An Excerpt

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An excerpt from “The Unidentified,” by Colin Dickey

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/books/review/the-unidentified-by-colin-dickey-an-excerpt.html

In ‘Intimations,’ Zadie Smith Applies Her Even Temper to Tumultuous Times

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This short essay collection includes Smith’s recent thoughts on the coronavirus pandemic, race relations in America and other subjects.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/books/review-intimations-essays-zadie-smith.html

Where Evil Lurks

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The latest crop of horror fiction includes “Malorie” — Josh Malerman’s sequel to “Bird Box” — as well as “Mexican Gothic,” “Wonderland” and more.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/books/review/malorie-josh-malerman-new-horror-novels.html

How to Sell Books in 2020: Put Them Near the Toilet Paper

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Book sales jumped at big box stores this spring, which stayed open and stocked with essentials while other shops closed.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/books/books-coronavirus-retail-walmart-target-costco.html

A Woman Who Resisted the Japanese Military

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Robert J. Mrazek’s “The Indomitable Florence Finch” is the story of a Filipino woman who saved American lives, survived torture and lived to be 101.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/books/review/the-indomitable-florence-finch-robert-j-mrazek.html

Tuesday 21 July 2020

The Biases We Hold Against the Way People Speak

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In “How You Say It,” Katherine Kinzler focuses on linguistic discrimination, how your accent can determine the way you are perceived.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/books/review/how-you-say-it-katherine-kinzler.html

In Alex Trebek’s Reluctant, Moving Memoir, Life Is All About the Next Question

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The longtime “Jeopardy!” host writes about his struggle with pancreatic cancer in “The Answer Is...,” but saves most of the room for gratitude and enthusiasms.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/books/review-answer-is-alex-trebek-jeopardy-memoir.html

Zooming In on Bill Buford’s Latest Obsession

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The author spent more than a decade seeking the heart of French cuisine for his new book, “Dirt.” But in quarantine, he just wants to make the perfect chicken.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/dining/bill-buford-dirt-book-chicken-recipe.html

Two Syrian Brothers, One Longing to Stay, the Other Determined to Leave

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“The Road From Raqqa,” by Jordan Ritter Conn, retraces the divergent paths of two siblings through Syria’s civil war.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/books/review/road-from-raqqa-jordan-ritter-conn.html

Did America Use Bioweapons in Korea? Nicholson Baker Tried to Find Out

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“Baseless,” the novelist’s new work of nonfiction, is the record of a frustrated investigation and an indictment of government secrecy.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/books/review/baseless-nicholson-baker.html

New & Noteworthy, From Free Speech to True Crime

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A selection of recent titles of interest; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/books/review/new-this-week.html

An American Poet Shaped by the Futility and Sadism of War

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In “The Beauty of Living,” the scholar J. Alison Rosenblitt delves into E.E. Cummings’s formative experiences as an ambulance driver and prisoner during World War I.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/books/review/beauty-of-living-ee-cummings-j-alison-rosenblitt.html

Remembering the Time Meat Fell From the Sky

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In “The Unidentified,” Colin Dickey looks at phenomena that science seems unable to explain, and at the cults that have developed around them.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/books/review/the-unidentified-colin-dickey.html

The Consolations of Jane Austen

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Through the trials of new motherhood and the loss of a parent, Rachel Cohen read the English novelist exclusively. “Austen Years” is her memoir of the experience.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/books/review/austen-years-rachel-cohen.html

Where the Sick Get Sicker and the Sane Are Driven Mad: Behind Bars

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In “Waiting for an Echo,” Christine Montross, a psychiatrist who works in prisons, catalogs the devastating effects of incarceration on the mentally ill.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/books/review/waiting-for-an-echo-christine-montross.html

Why Is Women’s Work Still Undervalued and Unacknowledged?

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In “The Double X Economy,” Linda Scott sums up years of research on the vast shadow economy of female workers and ways to change it.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/books/review/the-double-x-economy-linda-scott.html

An Unidentifiable Stranger Plunges a Community Into Crisis in ‘Pew’

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The new novel by Catherine Lacey features a narrator of no discernible gender, race or past and a Christian town whose tolerant posture is sorely tested.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/books/review/pew-catherine-lacey.html

Don’t Believe History Repeats Itself? Read This Book

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Emma Donoghue’s “The Pull of the Stars” takes readers inside an ill-equipped Dublin hospital during a viral pandemic — in 1918.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/21/books/review/the-pull-of-the-stars-emma-donoghue.html

Monday 20 July 2020

Oliver Stone’s Reel History

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In “Chasing the Light,” the Oscar-winning director and screenwriter has finally found a historical figure he can portray with all the bias he desires: himself.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/20/books/review/oliver-stone-chasing-the-light.html

Jackie Robinson’s Inner Struggle

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Books by an American icon tell the story of his battle against bigotry from the inside.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/20/books/review/jackie-robinson-inner-struggle.html

Sunday 19 July 2020

Why Intellectuals Support Dictators

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Anne Applebaum’s “Twilight of Democracy” examines the role of thinkers and writers who back modern authoritarians.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/19/books/review/twilight-of-democracy-anne-applebaum.html

‘Demagogue’ Remembers a Vintage American Bully

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Larry Tye talks about his new biography of Joseph McCarthy, the senator whose name is synonymous with reckless accusation and fear-mongering.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/19/books/demagogue-joseph-mccarthy-larry-tye-interview.html

Saturday 18 July 2020

Learning to Heal, With a Little Fur Machine

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In Joan Bauer’s “Raising Lumie,” training a future guide dog helps a newly orphaned girl navigate loss.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/books/review/joan-bauer-raising-lumie.html

Learn to Write Fiction

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It’s time to stop talking about writing and write. The best-selling author of “Prep” and “Rodham” offers a plan.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/at-home/coronavirus-fiction-writing.html

The Horror Novel Lurking in Your Busy Online Life

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The genre relies on solitude and isolation to generate fear. But virtual connection is an illusion that cyber-horror writers are beginning to exploit.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/18/books/review/cyber-horror-virtual-life-uncanny-valley.html

Friday 17 July 2020

Newt Gingrich and the Dawn of an Era

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Julian E. Zelizer talks about “Burning Down the House,” and Lacy Crawford talks about “Notes on a Silencing.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/books/review/podcast-julian-zelizer-burning-down-house-newt-gingrich-notes-silencing-lacy-crawford.html

Christopher Dickey, Longtime Foreign Correspondent, Dies at 68

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Mr. Dickey reported from war zones and published seven books, including a memoir about growing up with his famous father.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/business/media/christopher-dickey-dead.html

Alex Trebek Is Still in the Game

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In his new memoir, the longtime “Jeopardy!” host delivers clues and facts about himself, and looks back on his life as he struggles with advanced pancreatic cancer.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/books/alex-trebek-jeopardy-the-answer-is.html

New Work From Two Masters of the Graphic Novel

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In new books from Adrian Tomine and Joe Sacco, the range of the graphic novel is on display — from the highly intimate to the world-historical.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/books/review/adrian-tomine-the-loneliness-of-the-long-distance-cartoonist-joe-sacco-paying-the-land.html

Dripping Slow and Sweet, Four New Books About Honey and Bees

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In books about the art and science of beekeeping, writers explore all that is sublime about the natural production of honey.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/books/review/honey-and-venom-bee-people-and-the-bugs-they-love-show-me-the-honey-a-honeybee-heart-has.html

A Novel That Unfolds in a Day, and Other Historical Fiction

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In the midst of a tense time, these books will remind you of what humanity has survived.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/books/review/the-voyage-of-the-morning-light-marina-endicott-historical-fiction.html

Shakespeare Lost His Son to Plague. A Novel Asks How It Shaped His Art.

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The playwright’s son died at 11. “Hamnet,” by the novelist Maggie O’Farrell, considers the death’s reverberations on his family, and his work.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/books/review/hamnet-maggie-ofarrell.html

In Contemporary Trinidad, a Widow Rediscovers the Meaning of Home

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In Ingrid Persaud’s debut novel, “Love After Love,” a dark secret threatens to crumble a makeshift family.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/books/review/ingrid-persaud-love-after-love.html

A Roaring, Full-Throttle Thriller, Crackling With Tension and Charm

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In S.A. Cosby’s “Blacktop Wasteland,” which is laced with nonstop action, a small-town mechanic returns to crime one last time.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/books/review/blacktop-wasteland-s-a-crosby.html

New in Paperback: ‘Wildhood’ and ‘Beaten Down, Worked Up’

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Six new paperbacks to check out this week.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/books/review/new-paperbacks.html

Pressed Between the Pages of a Book, Flora Becomes Art

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During a recent move, an illustrator makes some beautiful discoveries as she packs and unpacks her books.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/books/pressed-between-the-pages-of-a-book-flora-becomes-art.html

Thursday 16 July 2020

Joanna Cole, Who Imagined Fantastical Bus Rides, Dies at 75

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Her “Magic School Bus” children’s books were wild, and wildly popular. They were also educational.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/books/joanna-cole-dead.html

10 New Books We Recommend This Week

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Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/books/review/10-new-books-we-recommend-this-week.html

Charlie Kaufman Is Sorry, He’s a Bit Distracted

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“I’m fairly certain I just swallowed a tooth.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/books/review/charlie-kaufman-by-the-book-interview.html

A Club of G.O.P. Political Heirs Push Back on Trump

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Mitt Romney, Larry Hogan and Liz Cheney — descendants of sometimes rebellious or resolute Republicans of the past — are dissenting voices on a president who has taken over their party.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/us/politics/trump-republicans.html

‘Flannery’ Review: Stories About a Writer

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Flannery O’Connor created a still-disturbing body of work; but this documentary is surprisingly flat.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/movies/flannery-review.html

Poem: The Body’s Uncontested Need to Devour: An Explanation

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We stayed inside so long. The moss is calling us. A poem's lush language invites us to feel close to something elemental again.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/magazine/poem-the-bodys-uncontested-need-to-devour-an-explanation.html

Are We Overreacting on Climate Change?

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In “False Alarm,” Bjorn Lomborg argues that the global attention on fighting climate change has been misplaced, and taken resources away from more pressing problems.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/books/review/bjorn-lomborg-false-alarm-joseph-stiglitz.html

Silvia Moreno-Garcia Has Crafts Covered. Bring Your Own Scissors.

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The author of “Mexican Gothic” offers a downloadable book club kit including a paper doll inspired by her main character.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/books/review/mexican-gothic-silvia-moreno-garcia.html

‘Putin’s People’ Documents the Ruthless and Relentless Reach of Kremlin Corruption

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Catherine Belton’s new book argues that Vladimir Putin has presided over the country and its resources like a czar, bolstered by a cadre of friendly oligarchs and secret service agents.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/books/review-putins-people-kgb-catherine-belton.html

Wednesday 15 July 2020

‘Eat the Buddha’ Reports From the ‘World Capital of Self-Immolations’

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Barbara Demick’s new book covers an awe-inspiring breadth of history — from the heyday of the Tibetan empire to the present-day Tibetan effort at cultural and spiritual survival.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/15/books/eat-buddha-life-death-tibetan-town-barbara-demick.html

How Do You Translate a Comic Book Into Audio? Ask Neil Gaiman

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In a new audio production, James McAvoy, Michael Sheen and a full cast give voice to “The Sandman.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/15/books/review/the-sandman-neil-gaiman-audio.html

In Publishing, ‘Everything Is Up for Change’

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A wave of deaths and retirements prompted publishers to name new leaders. Now the industry is in a rare moment of transformation that promises to influence the books put out into the world.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/15/books/book-publishing-leadership.html

‘White Fragility’ Is Everywhere. But Does Anti-Bias Training Work?

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Robin DiAngelo’s best seller is giving white Americans a new way to talk about race. Do those conversations actually serve the cause of equality?

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/15/magazine/white-fragility-robin-diangelo.html

The Herculean Effort to Build an American Army

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Paul Dickson’s “The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940-1941” tells the remarkable story of how the United States created an effective military from scratch.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/15/books/review/the-rise-of-the-gi-army-paul-dickson.html

Tuesday 14 July 2020

The Fight Over the Future of the Democratic Party

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Thomas Frank’s “The People, No” and Gene Sperling’s “Economic Dignity” offer differing prescriptions for America’s liberals.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/books/review/the-people-no-thomas-frank-economic-dignity-gene-sperling.html

‘Filthy Beasts,’ by Kirkland Hamill: An Excerpt

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An excerpt from “Filthy Beasts,” by Kirkland Hamill

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/books/review/filthy-beasts-by-kirkland-hamill-an-excerpt.html

His Mother Was Neglectful, Drunk and Absolutely Riveting to Him

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Kirkland Hamill’s memoir, “Filthy Beasts,” proves that the apple can indeed fall far from the tree.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/books/review/filthy-beasts-kirkland-hamill.html

Young, in Love and Trying to Bring Down the Third Reich

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“The Bohemians,” by the German historian Norman Ohler, recounts the lives of Harro and Libertas Schulze-Boysen, an idealistic young couple, who helped lead the anti-Nazi resistance.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/books/review/the-bohemians-norman-ohler.html

New & Noteworthy, From French Pancakes to a Bipartisan Road Trip

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A selection of recent books of interest; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/books/review/new-this-week.html

Meet the Man Who Spun the Media, Scammed Followers and Named Himself King

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Miles Harvey’s “The King of Confidence” recounts the fascinating history of the 19th-century grifter who ruled over a breakaway religious colony.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/books/review/king-of-confidence-miles-harvey-james-jesse-strang.html

When Miami Was Awash in Drugs, Crime and Social Unrest

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“The Year of Dangerous Days,” by Nicholas Griffin, delves into the refugee crisis, race riots and drug trade that dominated the city in 1980.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/books/review/year-of-dangerous-days-nicholas-griffin.html

The Housing Boom and Bust, Seen From the Front Lines

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In “Underwater,” Ryan Dezember, a Wall Street Journal reporter, reckons with how the 2008 financial crisis changed American homeownership.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/books/review/underwater-ryan-dezember.html

Monday 13 July 2020

‘Big Friendship,’ by Aminatou Sow: An Excerpt

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An excerpt from “Big Friendship,” by Aminatou Sow

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/13/books/review/big-friendship-by-aminatou-sow-an-excerpt.html

How I Came Out About My Disability

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Three writers share how they revealed their disability, to a family member, to a love interest on a dating app and to oneself.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/13/us/disability-reveal.html

In ‘Pew,’ a Mysterious Stranger Tests a Small Town’s Tolerance

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The genderless, racially ambiguous and seemingly mute narrator of Catherine Lacey’s third novel makes the people of a Southern town nervous.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/13/books/review-pew-catherine-lacey.html

Sunday 12 July 2020

Saturday 11 July 2020

Lucius Barker, Expert on Race in American Politics, Dies at 92

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He was a passionate Jesse Jackson delegate at the 1984 Democratic National Convention and, later, a mentor to future politicians like Senator Cory Booker.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/11/us/lucius-barker-dead.html

3 Picture Books: How to Hike, Camp, Relax in the Great Outdoors

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For families ready to roam free, these illustrated guides celebrate the physical joys of wide-open spaces.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/11/books/picture-books-the-camping-trip-jennifer-k-mann.html

Friday 10 July 2020

An Open Letter on Free Expression Draws a Counterblast

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A few days after more than 150 cultural luminaries warned of a growing “intolerant climate,” another group responded with a pointed letter of its own.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/arts/open-letter-debate.html

Murder, Murder, Everywhere

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In Marilyn Stasio’s new column, the bodies pile up so fast it’s hard to keep count.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/books/review/crime-fiction-jessica-barry-dont-turn-around.html

A Novel About 3 Generations of Cherokee Women (and No-Good Men)

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“Crooked Hallelujah,” by Kelli Jo Ford, spans decades and follows hardscrabble lives in Oklahoma.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/books/review/kelli-jo-ford-crooked-hallelujah.html

David Mitchell’s Vast and Tangled Universe

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Daniel Mendelsohn discusses Mitchell’s career and new novel, “Utopia Avenue,” and Maria Konnikova talks about “The Biggest Bluff.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/books/review/david-mitchell-utopia-avenue-daniel-mendelsohn-biggest-bluff-poker-maria-konnikova.html

David Mitchell Brings His Novelistic High Jinks to the Swinging ’60s

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“Utopia Avenue,” by the British master of intricate literary puzzles, features a band on the make, lots of inside jokes and references to the author’s previous works.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/books/review/utopia-avenue-david-mitchell.html

Gina Prince-Bythewood Made a Summer Blockbuster. It’s About Time.

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With “The Old Guard” on Netflix, the director of “Love & Basketball” becomes the first Black woman to make a comic-book film: “We don’t get the assumption we can do it, so we have to prove we can.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/movies/the-old-guard-gina-prince-bythewood.html

Modern Mothers and Daughters, in Three Novels

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From long-lost friends, to a woman caring for her aging mom, to a biologist struggling with her maternal identity, these protagonists reveal facets of contemporary womanhood.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/books/review/modern-mothers-and-daughters-in-three-novels.html

New in Paperback: ‘How We Fight for Our Lives’ and ‘Exhalation’

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Six new paperbacks to check out this week.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/books/review/new-paperbacks.html

Letters to the Editor

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Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/books/review/letters-to-the-editor.html

Behind the Legend of Butch Cassidy

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Charles Leerhsen’s biography gives readers the real man and not the Hollywood icon.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/books/review/butch-cassidy-charles-leerhsen.html

Keep Your Friends Close, and Keep Holding Them Closer

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In their new book, “Big Friendship,” Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman make the case that platonic relationships deserve as much effort and tending as romantic ones.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/books/review/big-friendship-aminatou-sow-ann-friedman.html

What Is the Hardest Part of Writing?

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A cartoonist gets down to the crux of what makes putting pen to paper so difficult.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/books/what-is-the-hardest-part-of-writing.html

Thursday 9 July 2020

With Stores Closed, Barnes & Noble Does Some Redecorating

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Retail locations shuttered during lockdowns, so the company spruced up hundreds of its stores as the first step in a bigger plan.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/books/barnes-noble-redecorating-virus.html

How Does Anything Go Viral?

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In “The Rules of Contagion” the scientist Adam Kucharski turns to the nonbiological to understand the common features of a virus, whether physical or virtual.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/books/review/adam-kucharski-the-rules-of-contagion.html

9 New Books We Recommend This Week

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Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/books/review/9-new-books-we-recommend-this-week.html

The Very Sweet Way Sarah Broom’s Mother Showed Her Love With Books

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“My mother used to buy me any and every book with the word ‘Sarah’ in the title.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/books/review/sarah-broom-by-the-book-interview.html

A Day-by-Day Re-creation of Truman’s Decision to Use Nuclear Weapons

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Chris Wallace’s “Countdown 1945” recounts in gripping detail the rush to develop the atomic bomb and the debate over whether to use it.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/books/review/countdown-1945-chris-wallace-mitch-weiss.html

Elin Hilderbrand Will See You Now, From a Safe Distance

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Coronavirus can’t keep this prolific author from her fans.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/books/review/28-summers-elin-hilderbrand.html

A Zombie Novel for Our Virus-Stricken Times

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Paul Tremblay’s “Survivor Song” follows a pregnant woman navigating an anarchic Massachusetts in the midst of an epidemic.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/09/books/review/paul-tremblay-survivor-song.html

Wednesday 8 July 2020

7 Takeaways From Mary Trump’s Book About Her Uncle Donald

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Growing up Trump wasn’t easy. There were feuds, grudges and spanking with a wooden spoon. Now, there’s the burden of the name.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/books/review/mary-trump-book-takeaways.html

All in the Family Dynamics: Donald Trump’s Niece on the President’s Clan

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In “Too Much and Never Enough,” Mary L. Trump says her uncle is turning this country “into a macro version of my malignantly dysfunctional family.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/books/review-too-much-never-enough-mary-trump.html

‘Far Side’ Cartoonist Gary Larson Shares First New Work in 25 Years

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In a note on his website, Mr. Larson thanked a clogged pen for pushing him to create digital cartoons on a tablet. “I’m just exploring, experimenting, and trying stuff,” he said. “New Stuff.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/arts/far-side-gary-larson-cartoons.html

In Charlie Kaufman’s Novel, a Comic Hero Is Haunted by a Lost Film

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“Antkind,” Kaufman’s hallucinogenic debut novel, features the madcap effort to reconstruct a masterpiece of outsider cinema.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/books/review/antkind-charlie-kaufman.html

Colin Jost Knows What He Has: ‘A Very Punchable Face’

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In a new memoir, the “Saturday Night Live” star and Weekend Update anchor contemplates a life and career that are still in flux.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/books/colin-jost-a-very-punchable-face-snl-weekend-update.html

Tuesday 7 July 2020

Prominent Artists and Writers Warn of an ‘Intolerant Climate’

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An open letter published by Harper’s, signed by luminaries including Margaret Atwood and Wynton Marsalis, argued for openness to “opposing views.” The debate began immediately.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/arts/harpers-letter.html

‘Notes on a Silencing,’ by Lacy Crawford: An Excerpt

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An excerpt from “Notes on a Silencing,” by Lacy Crawford

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/notes-on-a-silencing-by-lacy-crawford-an-excerpt.html

‘Burning Down the House,’ by Julian E. Zelizer: An Excerpt

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An excerpt from “Burning Down the House,” by Julian E. Zelizer

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/burning-down-the-house-by-julian-e-zelizer-an-excerpt.html

‘Want,’ by Lynn Steger Strong: An Excerpt

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An excerpt from “Want,” by Lynn Steger Strong

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/want-by-lynn-steger-strong-an-excerpt.html

“The Beauty in Breaking,” by Michele Harper: An Excerpt

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An excerpt from “The Beauty in Breaking,” by Michele Harper

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/the-beauty-in-breaking-by-michele-harper-an-excerpt.html

A Survivor of Sexual Assault Speaks Out

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Lacy Crawford told her story when she was a student at St. Paul’s School. Few people listened. Now she’s telling it again.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/notes-on-a-silencing-lacy-crawford.html

Cavorting in Hot Springs, Ark., During Its Sin-Soaked Heyday

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“The Vapors,” by David Hill, brings the mobsters, gamblers, drinkers and crooked politicians to life in an exuberant history of a now-forgotten capital of sleaze.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/the-vapors-david-hill.html

A Lakeside Family Vacation Goes Awry in This Debut Novel

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David James Poissant’s “Lake Life” tests the limits of a family’s capacity for love and forgiveness.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/david-james-poissant-lake-life.html

After a Copycat Murder, Reopening an Old Case and Old Wounds

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Take bored boys. Add lucid dreaming. Shake vigorously. Welcome to Alex North’s dark thriller, “The Shadows.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/the-shadows-alex-north.html

Who Saves an Emergency Room Doctor? Her Patients

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Michele Harper’s memoir could not be more timely. Also, if think your job is stressful, take a walk in this author’s white coat.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/the-beauty-in-breaking-michele-harper.html

A Novel of Sexual Obsession Has Something to Say About How We Tell Stories

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“22 Minutes of Unconditional Love,” by Daphne Merkin, muses on the process of making up stories while recounting a young woman’s torrid affair with an older man.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/22-minutes-of-unconditional-love-daphne-merkin.html

What Happens When Your Baby Isn’t Who You Expected?

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In “Raising a Rare Girl,” Heather Lanier writes about a daughter who has Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/raising-a-rare-girl-heather-lanier.html

In ‘Want,’ a Lost Friendship and the Anxieties of the Modern Family

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Lynn Steger Strong’s new novel follows a Brooklyn wife and mother through professional failure, bankruptcy and the legacy of her past traumas.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/want-lynn-steger-strong.html

In ‘The Golden Cage,’ a Kept Woman Grabs the Keys to the Kingdom

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Camilla Lackberg shows how stifled ambition never really goes away. It just bides its time.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/the-golden-cage-camilla-lackberg.html

What’s Wrong With Men in America?

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Two new story collections reveal the toxicities of (mostly white) masculinity, from the frat house to the Midwestern farm.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/michael-nye-until-we-have-faces-benjamin-nugent-fraternity.html

How Do You Tell Your Child He Is Undocumented?

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In Lysley Tenorio’s debut novel, “The Son of Good Fortune,” the Filipino-American journey is over before the story even begins.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/lysley-tenorio-the-son-of-good-fortune.html

The Moral of These Stories? ‘You Are Not as Special as You Think’

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In “Cool for America,” Andrew Martin’s characters are caught in a lingering post-adolescence, stretching for a certainty that eludes them.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/cool-for-america-andrew-martin.html

What if You Didn’t Know Who You Were? What if No One Did?

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In Robin Wasserman’s new novel, “Mother Daughter Widow Wife,” a young woman found on a city bus has no identification, no memory, and no one looking for her.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/mother-daughter-widow-wife-robin-wasserman.html

When Bonnie Met Clyde

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Christina Schwarz’s fifth novel tells the life story of half of the famous duo, showing the loneliness of life on the lam.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/bonnie-christina-schwarz.html

A Sudden Tragedy Leads to Unsinkable Family Secrets

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Set in Atlantic City in the 1930s, Rachel Beanland’s debut novel wades through heartbreak.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/florence-adler-swims-forever-rachel-beanland.html

Jeff VanderMeer’s Young Adult Novel Is a Madcap Magical Mash-Up

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Fans of his Borne trilogy, whether young or old, will find much to enjoy in “A Peculiar Peril.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/jeff-vandermeer-peculiar-peril.html

Who Is Duchess Goldblatt?

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A memoir from a Twitter celebrity doesn’t name names, but it does provide an entertaining back story.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/becoming-duchess-goldblatt-anonymous.html

On the Path to Recovery, One Step at a Time Is Easier Said Than Done

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Erica C. Barnett’s memoir, “Quitter,” chronicles her long and winding road to an alcohol-free life.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/quitter-erica-barnett.html

When American Politics Turned Toxic

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Julian E. Zelizer’s “Burning Down the House” sees Newt Gingrich’s rise in Congress as a turning point in political history.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/07/books/review/burning-down-the-house-julian-zelizer.html

Monday 6 July 2020

Cherokee Women Aim for a Better Life in ‘Crooked Hallelujah’

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In her debut novel, Kelli Jo Ford summons the details of minimum-wage existence in the last quarter of the 20th century.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/06/books/review-crooked-hallelujah-kelli-jo-ford.html

Newt Gingrich and the Dawn of a Toxic Political Era

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In “Burning Down the House,” Julian Zelizer shows how Gingrich was able to exploit the profound developments since Watergate to his lasting advantage.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/04/books/review-burning-down-house-newt-gingrich-julian-zelizer.html

Simon & Schuster Names Dana Canedy New Publisher

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Ms. Canedy, a former journalist at The New York Times and the administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes, will run the flagship imprint at one of the country’s largest book publishers.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/06/books/dana-canedy-named-simon-schuster-publisher.html

These Radical Black Thrillers Fantasized About Dismantling the Police

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In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a series of novels by Black authors married revolutionary politics with pulp fiction. Their plotlines remain distressingly relevant.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/06/books/review/blyden-jackson-operation-burning-candle-black-radical-thrillers.html

Saturday 4 July 2020

Friday 3 July 2020

Lonnie Wheeler, 68, Dies; Helped Ballplayers Tell Their Stories

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A longtime sportswriter, he collaborated with Hank Aaron, Bob Gibson and Mike Piazza on their autobiographies. “I was there,” he once said, “to make the subject more literary.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/03/books/lonnie-wheeler-dead.html

Rudolfo Anaya, a Father of Chicano Literature, Dies at 82

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His coming-of-age novel “Bless Me, Ultima” reframed the way many in New Mexico viewed their own history, even as school districts tried to ban it.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/03/books/rudolfo-anaya-dead.html

Jules Feiffer on His Long, Varied Career

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Feiffer talks about his new picture book and more, and Steve Inskeep discusses “Imperfect Union.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/03/books/review/podcast-jules-feiffer-smart-george-steve-inskeep-imperfect-union.html

Thursday 2 July 2020

How Do We See Each Other in a ‘Market Society’?

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A graphic review of Karl Polanyi’s seminal work “The Great Transformation,” which charted the social effects of capitalism.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/books/Ben-Katchor-Karl-Polanyi-Great-Transformation.html

Considering the American Voice

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Irving Howe wrote for the Book Review about American literature — “moving from visions to problems, from ecstasy to trouble, from self to society” — on July 4, 1976. “Land of the free? Yes, but also home of the exploited.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/books/review/irving-howe-considering-american-voice.html

New in Paperback: ‘The Yellow House’ and ‘Night Boat to Tangier’

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Six new paperbacks to check out this week.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/books/review/new-paperbacks.html

Feminists, Poetic Pretensions and Other Letters to the Editor

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Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/books/review/feminists-poetic-pretensions-and-other-letters-to-the-editor.html

What Keeps America Divided?

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“Let Them Eat Tweets,” by Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson, examines the ways in which the wealthy control the Republican Party.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/books/review/let-them-eat-tweets-jacob-s-hacker-paul-pierson.html

What Is the Status of Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Wall’?

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In “14 Miles,” his exploration of life on the border, DW Gibson reveals the reality and fantasy of the president’s desired wall.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/books/review/14-miles-dw-gibson.html

10 New Books We Recommend This Week

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Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/books/review/10-new-books-to-read-this-week.html

‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ Defies and Exceeds Expectations

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With a fresh voice and a winning cast, this Netflix update of the popular book series is the throwback that 2020 needs.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/arts/television/review-the-baby-sitters-club-netflix.html

This Profile of Charlie Kaufman Has Changed

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How do you write about Hollywood’s most self-referential screenwriter at a destabilizing moment in history? It takes more than one draft.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/magazine/charlie-kaufman.html

Descendants of Suffragists Reflect on the Fight for Women's Right to Vote

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One hundred years after the 19th Amendment, suffragists’ descendants consider how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/style/woman-suffrage-movement-descend.html

Poem: On Sullivan’s Island

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At this crucial time of reckoning in American racial justice, this poem asks “What work … besides witness?"

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/magazine/poem-on-sullivans-island.html

Can Political Satire Outpace Reality? 3 Books Toss Their Hats in the Ring

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Christopher Buckley’s “Make Russia Great Again,” Jessica Anthony’s “Enter the Aardvark” and the anthology “The Faking of the President” all have fun with American politics.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/books/review/christopher-buckley-make-russia-great-again-political-satire.html

Steve Inskeep Is Drawn to Books With Nuanced Female Characters

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“Years ago I read everything by Hemingway and Raymond Carver. It’s a different experience to read Elif Shafak and Lauren Groff.”

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/books/review/steve-inskeep-by-the-book-interview.html

Meet Vashti Harrison, Belle of the Best-Seller Lists

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This author and illustrator is a mainstay across multiple categories. She hopes her work broadens the horizons of young readers.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/02/books/review/little-leaders-vashti-harrison.html

Wednesday 1 July 2020

Duchess Goldblatt Is a Riddle, Wrapped in a Mystery, Inside a Twitter Account

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“Becoming Duchess Goldblatt” is a memoir by the writer behind a beloved fictional character whose fans include Lyle Lovett and Celeste Ng.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/books/becoming-duchess-goldblatt-memoir.html

‘A Conflicted Cultural Force’: What It’s Like to Be Black in Publishing

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An author, literary agent, marketer, publicist, editors and booksellers talk about how race affects their careers — and the books you read.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/books/book-publishing-black.html

The Baby-Sitters Club Taught Me Everything I Needed to Know About Literary Fiction

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The wildly popular series was marketed to girls. But its nuanced depiction of friendship provided a 9-year-old boy with an education that “boy books” did not.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/books/review/baby-sitters-club-ann-martin-raina-telgemeier-netflix.html

The Day the White Working Class Turned Republican

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David Paul Kuhn’s “The Hardhat Riot” recounts a little-remembered event and traces its significance to the politics of the present day.

via NYT > Books https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/books/review/the-hardhat-riot-david-paul-kuhn.html
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