Books

Book Review: ‘Mexico,’ by Paul Gillingham

Book Review: ‘Mexico,’ by Paul Gillingham

NYT > Book Review, Nov 19, 2025 - 06:38

In a new book, Paul Gillingham tells the story of a nation that has thrived beca...

Book Review: ‘The Butterfly Thief,’ by Walter Marsh

Book Review: ‘The Butterfly Thief,’ by Walter Marsh

NYT > Book Review, Nov 19, 2025 - 06:38

In “The Butterfly Thief,” Walter Marsh tells the story of a notorious crime and ...

Solvej Balle Took 30 Years to Write ‘On the Calculation of Volume.’ It’s a Sensation.

Solvej Balle Took 30 Years to Write ‘On the Calculation...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 18, 2025 - 16:43

The Danish author Solvej Balle’s experimental opus reframes the tedium of contem...

Dazzling New Historical Fiction Books

Dazzling New Historical Fiction Books

NYT > Book Review, Nov 18, 2025 - 11:06

Our columnist on four books that are worth your time.

Book Review: ‘A Certain Lucas,’ by Julio Cortázar

Book Review: ‘A Certain Lucas,’ by Julio Cortázar

NYT > Book Review, Nov 18, 2025 - 05:06

A newly reissued book by the Argentine writer Julio Cortázar highlights his most...

New to Cyberpunk Books? Here’s Where to Start.

New to Cyberpunk Books? Here’s Where to Start.

NYT > Book Review, Nov 18, 2025 - 05:06

The science fiction writer Chloe Gong recommends new and classic books that push...

The Secret to Getting Through Big, Dense, Difficult Books

The Secret to Getting Through Big, Dense, Difficult Books

NYT > Book Review, Nov 18, 2025 - 05:06

Learning is painful, pleasant and, above all, communal.

Book Review: ‘The Breath of the Gods,’ by Simon Winchester

Book Review: ‘The Breath of the Gods,’ by Simon Winchester

NYT > Book Review, Nov 18, 2025 - 05:06

In “The Breath of the Gods,” the prolific polymath takes on a force that’s power...

She Has Taken 30 Years to Write a 7-Part Novel About 1 Day. It’s a Sensation.

She Has Taken 30 Years to Write a 7-Part Novel About 1 ...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 18, 2025 - 05:06

The Danish author Solvej Balle’s experimental opus reframes the tedium of contem...

Broadway’s Radical ‘Oedipus,’ With Mark Strong and Lesley Manville

Broadway’s Radical ‘Oedipus,’ With Mark Strong and Lesl...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 17, 2025 - 08:07

Icke dusts off the classics the way a restorer brightens an old master painting....

Book Review: ‘Lovers and Haters,’ by Gilbert Hernandez

Book Review: ‘Lovers and Haters,’ by Gilbert Hernandez

NYT > Book Review, Nov 17, 2025 - 08:07

With “Lovers and Haters,” Gilbert Hernandez expands on the surreal storytelling ...

Book Review: ‘Baby Driver,’ by Jan Kerouac

Book Review: ‘Baby Driver,’ by Jan Kerouac

NYT > Book Review, Nov 17, 2025 - 08:07

Jan Kerouac’s 1981 novel “Baby Driver” chronicles a fearless and windblown life ...

Poetry Review: ‘The Poems of Seamus Heaney’ Is Complete, and Great

Poetry Review: ‘The Poems of Seamus Heaney’ Is Complete...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 16, 2025 - 05:04

Even the previously uncollected work in “The Poems of Seamus Heaney” shows a mas...

Creepy New Psychological Thrillers

Creepy New Psychological Thrillers

NYT > Book Review, Nov 16, 2025 - 05:04

Our columnist on three novels thrumming with menace.

Book Review: ‘The Pelican Child,’ by Joy Williams

Book Review: ‘The Pelican Child,’ by Joy Williams

NYT > Book Review, Nov 16, 2025 - 05:04

At its best, Joy Williams’s “The Pelican Child” is delightfully unhinged; at its...

“Convent Wisdom” Looks to Nuns from Yesterday to Help Make It Through Today

“Convent Wisdom” Looks to Nuns from Yesterday to Help M...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 15, 2025 - 05:30

The unlikely collaboration of two academics, “Convent Wisdom” provides unholy gu...

Book Review: ‘The Fire,’ by Cecilia Sala

Book Review: ‘The Fire,’ by Cecilia Sala

NYT > Book Review, Nov 15, 2025 - 05:30

In “The Fire,” the reporter Cecilia Sala travels to Iran, Ukraine and Afghanista...

James Baldwin’s Biographer on the Meaning of Love

James Baldwin’s Biographer on the Meaning of Love

NYT > Book Review, Nov 14, 2025 - 14:36

In “Baldwin: A Love Story,” Nicholas Boggs focuses on the writer’s romantic rela...

Book Review: ‘Crick,’ by Matthew Cobb

Book Review: ‘Crick,’ by Matthew Cobb

NYT > Book Review, Nov 14, 2025 - 12:26

In “Crick: A Mind in Motion,” the British biologist Matthew Cobb provides a biog...

Book Review: “The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze,” by Derrick Barnes

Book Review: “The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze,” by D...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 14, 2025 - 07:39

In Derrick Barnes’s fantastical tale, a 13-year-old Black football star is idoli...

Bryan Washington on His Favorite Books and His New Novel, ‘Palaver’

Bryan Washington on His Favorite Books and His New Nove...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 13, 2025 - 06:51

His new novel, “Palaver,” observes how an expat in Japan and his visiting mother...

New Mystery Novels

New Mystery Novels

NYT > Book Review, Nov 13, 2025 - 06:51

Our columnist on four new mysteries.

Book Review: ‘Helm,’ by Sarah Hall

Book Review: ‘Helm,’ by Sarah Hall

NYT > Book Review, Nov 13, 2025 - 06:51

Sarah Hall’s inventive new novel spans centuries, showing how Britain’s famed He...

No Lovers on These Covers: A New Look in Romance Publishing

No Lovers on These Covers: A New Look in Romance Publis...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 13, 2025 - 06:51

Thanks to distinct design, fresh approaches to the genre and the if-you-know-you...

Book Review: ‘The Slip,’ by Lucas Schaefer

Book Review: ‘The Slip,’ by Lucas Schaefer

NYT > Book Review, Nov 12, 2025 - 07:37

“The Slip,” by Lucas Schaefer, involves a missing teenager and a boxing gym full...

Book Review: ‘Terry Dactyl,’ by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore

Book Review: ‘Terry Dactyl,’ by Mattilda Bernstein Syca...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 12, 2025 - 07:37

Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore’s new novel, “Terry Dactyl,” follows a young trans w...

Book Review: ‘Unfettered,’ by John Fetterman

Book Review: ‘Unfettered,’ by John Fetterman

NYT > Book Review, Nov 11, 2025 - 15:34

The senator from Pennsylvania chronicles his stroke, unlikely election victory a...

Bookstore Food Drives Help Food Stamp Recipients

Bookstore Food Drives Help Food Stamp Recipients

NYT > Book Review, Nov 11, 2025 - 13:16

During the government shutdown, booksellers are collecting food for Americans wh...

Book Review: ‘The White Hot,’ by Quiara Alegría Hudes

Book Review: ‘The White Hot,’ by Quiara Alegría Hudes

NYT > Book Review, Nov 11, 2025 - 10:14

In her vivid epistolary novel “The White Hot,” the Pulitzer-winning playwright Q...

Book Review: ‘Without Consent,’ by Sarah Weinman

Book Review: ‘Without Consent,’ by Sarah Weinman

NYT > Book Review, Nov 11, 2025 - 06:37

In “Without Consent,” Sarah Weinman looks at a shocking 1978 case — and women’s ...

Book Review: ‘The Emergency,’ by George Packer

Book Review: ‘The Emergency,’ by George Packer

NYT > Book Review, Nov 11, 2025 - 06:37

George Packer, the author of multiple works on a divided America, tries his hand...

Book Review: ‘Fateful Hours,’ by Volker Ullrich

Book Review: ‘Fateful Hours,’ by Volker Ullrich

NYT > Book Review, Nov 11, 2025 - 06:37

In “Fateful Hours,” the road map to authoritarian disaster is laid out in gleami...

‘I Want It to Be Real’: Padma Lakshmi on Food TV and Her New Cookbook

‘I Want It to Be Real’: Padma Lakshmi on Food TV and He...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 10, 2025 - 13:47

The host and author discusses “Padma’s All American,” which sees immigrants at t...

Book Review: ‘The Ha-Ha,’ by Jennifer Dawson

Book Review: ‘The Ha-Ha,’ by Jennifer Dawson

NYT > Book Review, Nov 10, 2025 - 05:52

Now unjustly overlooked, “The Ha-Ha” is the prizewinning first novel by Jennifer...

Book Review: ‘Some Bright Nowhere,’ by Ann Packer

Book Review: ‘Some Bright Nowhere,’ by Ann Packer

NYT > Book Review, Nov 10, 2025 - 05:52

Ann Packer’s latest novel, “Some Bright Nowhere,” explores the unexpected ruptur...

In Padma Lakshmi’s Kitchen, the Key Ingredient Is Immigration

In Padma Lakshmi’s Kitchen, the Key Ingredient Is Immig...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 10, 2025 - 05:52

The TV chef discusses her new cookbook, “Padma’s All American,” which sees immig...

Book Review: ‘The Insider,’ by Gerald Howard

Book Review: ‘The Insider,’ by Gerald Howard

NYT > Book Review, Nov 10, 2025 - 05:52

By championing now-essential writers like William Faulkner, Malcolm Cowley helpe...

Book Review: ‘The Land in Winter,’ by Andrew Miller

Book Review: ‘The Land in Winter,’ by Andrew Miller

NYT > Book Review, Nov 9, 2025 - 06:08

Andrew Miller’s novel “The Land in Winter,” a finalist for the Booker Prize, obs...

Book Review: ‘The History of Money,’ by David McWilliams

Book Review: ‘The History of Money,’ by David McWilliams

NYT > Book Review, Nov 9, 2025 - 06:08

Learned, lively and often irreverent, David McWilliams’s “The History of Money” ...

Kate Atkinson’s Best Books: A Guide

Kate Atkinson’s Best Books: A Guide

NYT > Book Review, Nov 8, 2025 - 07:08

Surprising, versatile, dark and funny, the British writer has something for (alm...

50 Years Later, the Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald Lives On

50 Years Later, the Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald Live...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 7, 2025 - 13:42

John U. Bacon, author of “The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund ...

Book Review: ‘The Silver Book,’ by Olivia Laing

Book Review: ‘The Silver Book,’ by Olivia Laing

NYT > Book Review, Nov 7, 2025 - 05:47

“The Silver Book” follows one pivotal year in the life of the famed Italian cost...

Book Review: ‘Palaver,’ by Bryan Washington

Book Review: ‘Palaver,’ by Bryan Washington

NYT > Book Review, Nov 7, 2025 - 05:47

Bryan Washington’s latest novel, “Palaver,” chronicles a mother-and-son reunion ...

Book Review: ‘Who Knows You by Heart,’ by C.J. Farley

Book Review: ‘Who Knows You by Heart,’ by C.J. Farley

NYT > Book Review, Nov 7, 2025 - 05:47

In “Who Knows You by Heart,” a Black tech worker discovers that her company is h...

Why Japan Exiled a Film About Yukio Mishima for 40 Years

Why Japan Exiled a Film About Yukio Mishima for 40 Years

NYT > Book Review, Nov 7, 2025 - 05:47

“Mishima,” which explores nationalism, sexuality and ritual suicide, was screene...

The 2025 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books

The 2025 New York Times/New York Public Library Best Il...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 7, 2025 - 05:47

Take a peek at this year’s winners.

Books Our Editors Loved This Week

Books Our Editors Loved This Week

NYT > Book Review, Nov 6, 2025 - 16:52

Reading recommendations from critics and editors at The New York Times.

Bookstores on Edge as Kremlin Sets Sights on Policing Books

Bookstores on Edge as Kremlin Sets Sights on Policing B...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 6, 2025 - 13:08

Restrictions on publishers and sellers have grown more severe. Volumes are being...

Book Review: ‘Bread of Angels,’ by Patti Smith

Book Review: ‘Bread of Angels,’ by Patti Smith

NYT > Book Review, Nov 6, 2025 - 06:32

From cradle to late life, the godmother of punk remembers it all — including, es...

Fantasy Writers Celebrate the Anniversary of ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’

Fantasy Writers Celebrate the Anniversary of ‘The Lion,...

NYT > Book Review, Nov 6, 2025 - 06:32

Katherine Rundell, Christopher Paolini and other writers mark the 75th anniversa...