The 2018 International Dublin Literary Award longlist includes 150 novels nominated by worldwide librarians. Here are reading suggestions.
Longing for the unreachable past
"Katalin Street" by Magda Szabó offers a compulsive reading experience about three families who live side by side in 1934 Budapest.
Jennifer Egan’s remarkable storytelling
"Manhattan Beach" is one of the best novels I've read in a long time. Strong characters, plot complexity and a rich, wartime setting create deeply satisfying literature.
My two favorite memoirs this year
Benjamin Taylor and Joyce Johnson lived dramatically different young lives, but their stories similarly and movingly capture two iconic times in history: the Beat Movement and November 22, 1963.
The world will not take it
Espionage, betrayal and an ill-fated romance create a thriller-like narrative in "Dinner at the Center of the Earth" by Nathan Englander.
Five books not to miss this month
These new novels (and one non-fiction book) have received starred forecasts and promise to be great reads.
What was Lizzie thinking?
Author Sarah Schmidt impeccably reimagines the Lizzie Borden double-murder case in “See What I Have Done.”
The holy grail of contentment
"A Whole Life" by Robert Seethaler tells a memorable story about a mountain man with simple needs.
A city inspector’s book list
Every once in a while, a person I hire to work at my house will pause in front of the book cases. This is one of those occasions.
An old good book for the beach
"Birdsong" by Stephen Faulks is a powerful epic not to be overlooked and a stunning portrayal of courage and redemption.
An open house with poets
Why is poetry ignored by most Americans? And what if Jay Whitman read more poetry on the CBS drama "Madam Secretary"?
What we see — and don’t see
Mary Gaitskill's new essay collection "Somebody With a Little Hammer" peels down to that core of truth we tend to overlook.
This unhappy Greek family
In Colm Tóibín’s new novel, the Greek tragedy of Agamemnon’s murder by wife Clytemnestra is told with great power and vivid imagining. Here’s what you can expect.
All the world’s abandoned places
"Imagine Wanting Only This" by Kristen Radtke is a graphic memoir new this month.
Great books go a step further
What's the difference between a good book and a great one? Jonathan Safran Foer answers in an introduction to "The Fixer" by Bernard Malamud.
The Longest Chapter 