8 Literary ‘Classics’ to Enjoy With Your Spring Allergies
A tale of pollen and prejudice, and more. (Achoo!)
Books and Literature
A Jewish Promised Land in Texas Comes Alive in Rachel Cockerell’s New Book
One summer day 10 years ago, Rachel Cockerell gathered with dozens of family members for a cousin’s 80th birthday party in the North London house where her father had grown up. Among the guests were relatives from Israel. Cockerell had always known that alongside her impeccably Anglo ancestors, she had descended from Russian Jews through … Read more
A Packing List of Apps to Download Before You Travel
So you can whip together a weekend bag or fit a fortnight’s worth of outfits into a rolling suitcase, but does your status as “packing guru” extend to your phone or tablet? Think of your device as a second carry-on, with its own packing list of apps that are essential for entertainment, getting around, safety … Read more
24 New Books to Read in May: Stephen King, Ocean Vuong, Alison Bechdel and more
by Daniel Kehlmann; translated by Ross Benjamin This biographical novel centered on the Austrian filmmaker G.W. Pabst doubles as a study of art in the shadow of totalitarianism. After finding fame with silent films like “Pandora’s Box,” Pabst finds himself stuck in Europe as the Nazis come to power and compelled to make movies for … Read more
8 New Books We Recommend This Week
Ian Kumekawa’s new book, “Empty Vessel,” promises in its subtitle to tell “the story of the global economy in one barge.” Along those lines, you could think of our recommended books this week as the story of the global economy in one list: Besides Kumekawa’s book, we suggest fiction and nonfiction set in Mexico, Germany, … Read more
Book Review: ‘Empty Vessel,’ by Ian Kumekawa
EMPTY VESSEL: The Story of the Global Economy in One Barge, by Ian Kumekawa Container ships are designed to be blandly functional. Gigantic metal platforms, they chug along from port to port and are habitually taken for granted — until, that is, they run aground on the jagged rocks of catastrophe. When the pandemic arrived … Read more
Our Favorite Books for a Last-Minute Mother’s Day Gift
For the mom who likes dishy family sagas Vantage Point, by Sara Sligar An unthinkably rich brother and sister — heirs to a steel fortune — are haunted by a family curse and by compromising videotapes (possibly faked) that upend the brother’s Senate campaign. Also consider: “A Reason to See You Again,” by Jami Attenberg; … Read more
“James’ Won the Pulitzer, But Not Without Complications
In an unusual but not unprecedented move, the prize board chose a fourth option after it couldn’t agree on the three less-heralded finalists.
Book Review: ‘Eternal Summer,’ by Franziska Gänsler
ETERNAL SUMMER, by Franziska Gänsler; translated by Imogen Taylor When Ivan Turgenev left Paris for Baden-Baden, the German spa town famed for its casinos, vineyards and salubrious air, he urged his friend Gustave Flaubert to come visit. “There are trees there such as I’ve seen nowhere else,” he wrote in an 1863 letter. “The atmosphere … Read more
Pulitzer Prizes 2025: A Guide to the Winning Books and Finalists
Nineteen books were recognized as winners or finalists for the Pulitzer Prize on Monday, in the categories of memoir, poetry, general nonfiction, fiction, biography and history, which had two winners. Fiction WinnerJames, by Percival Everett Everett’s reimagining of “Huckleberry Finn” is a subversive homage to Mark Twain’s classic novel, as narrated by the enslaved man … Read more