http://www.nytimes.com/section/books?partner=rss&emc=rss en-us Copyright 2016 The New York Times Company Sat, 30 Apr 2016 23:54:51 GMT https://static01.nyt.com/images/misc/NYT_logo_rss_250x40.png http://www.nytimes.com/section/books?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/listen-liberal-and-the-limousine-liberal.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/listen-liberal-and-the-limousine-liberal.html Nishant Choksi Two new books address the disconnect between the lives of liberal elites and the people they supposedly serve. BEVERLY GAGE Tue, 26 Apr 2016 15:05:43 GMT Books and Literature Liberalism (US Politics) United States Politics and Government Frank, Thomas Fraser, Steve (Author) Listen, Liberal: Or, What Ever Happened to the Party of the People? (Book) The Limousine Liberal: How an Incendiary Image United the Right and Fractured America (Book) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/30/books/walt-whitman-promoted-a-paleo-diet-who-knew.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/30/books/walt-whitman-promoted-a-paleo-diet-who-knew.html Walt Whitman Getty Images Found: a nearly 47,000-word journalistic series called “Manly Health and Training” that had been lost for more than 150 years. JENNIFER SCHUESSLER Fri, 29 Apr 2016 15:06:43 GMT Whitman, Walt Poetry and Poets Books and Literature Diet and Nutrition http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/29/books/review-graham-swifts-mothering-sunday-a-haunting-dayforever-relived.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/29/books/review-graham-swifts-mothering-sunday-a-haunting-dayforever-relived.html Mr. Swift’s slim new novel about a young maidservant’s coming-of-age features nods and bows to “Downton Abbey” in a story of love, war and loss. MICHIKO KAKUTANI Thu, 28 Apr 2016 18:02:30 GMT Books and Literature Swift, Graham Mothering Sunday: A Romance (Book) Mothering Sunday (Book) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/books/review-with-heat-and-light-jennifer-haigh-drills-below-the-surface.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/books/review-with-heat-and-light-jennifer-haigh-drills-below-the-surface.html Patricia Wall/The New York Times This new novel is populated with a large, completely believable cast of characters who lock antlers over fracking in the fictitious town of Bakerton. JANET MASLIN Wed, 27 Apr 2016 21:30:52 GMT Books and Literature Haigh, Jennifer Heat and Light (Book) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/louise-erdrich-by-the-book.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/louise-erdrich-by-the-book.html Louise Erdrich Illustration by Jillian Tamaki The author of “The Round House” and, most recently, “LaRose” thinks President Obama “deserves a diverting literary read filled with witchy sex, brutal greed, dark gods and innocence.” Thu, 28 Apr 2016 14:15:02 GMT Erdrich, Louise Writing and Writers Books and Literature http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/dan-fespermans-the-letter-writer-and-more.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/dan-fespermans-the-letter-writer-and-more.html Christoph Niemann Real-life gangsters appear in Dan Fesperman’s dynamic novel set in New York during World War II. MARILYN STASIO Fri, 29 Apr 2016 16:05:57 GMT Books and Literature The Letter Writer (Book) The Exiled (Book) Hard Light (Book) The Darkest Corners (Book) Charles, Christopher (Author) Fesperman, Dan Hand, Elizabeth Thomas, Kara (Author) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/my-struggle-book-5-by-karl-ove-knausgaard.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/my-struggle-book-5-by-karl-ove-knausgaard.html Karl Ove Knausgaard, 2012. Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times In the fifth volume of his autobiographical novel, Karl Ove Knausgaard struggles with shame and fear of failure. HARI KUNZRU Wed, 27 Apr 2016 17:59:53 GMT My Struggle (Book) Knausgaard, Karl Ove Books and Literature Bartlett, Don http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/are-we-smart-enough-to-know-how-smart-animals-are-and-the-genius-of-birds.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/are-we-smart-enough-to-know-how-smart-animals-are-and-the-genius-of-birds.html Effie, a western lowland gorilla in London in 2010, shortly after the death of a companion. Ruaridh Connellan/Barcroft Media — Getty Images Two books turn to recent revelations in the study of animal cognition. JON MOOALLEM Tue, 26 Apr 2016 15:24:46 GMT Books and Literature Animals Birds Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? (Book) The Genius of Birds (Book) Ackerman, Jennifer de Waal, Frans http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/paperback-row.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/paperback-row.html Seven new paperbacks to check out this week. JOUMANA KHATIB Fri, 29 Apr 2016 17:51:10 GMT Books and Literature http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/editors-choice.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/editors-choice.html Nine new books recommended by the editors of The New York Times Book Review this week. Fri, 29 Apr 2016 17:45:15 GMT Books and Literature http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/the-cosmopolitans-by-sarah-schulman-and-more-review.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/the-cosmopolitans-by-sarah-schulman-and-more-review.html John Gall New books by Sarah Schulman, Piers Paul Read, Alfred Alcorn, Jaime Clarke and Howard Jacobson. JAN STUART Fri, 29 Apr 2016 17:39:36 GMT Books and Literature Schulman, Sarah Read, Piers Paul Alcorn, Alfred Clarke, Jaime (1971- ) Jacobson, Howard The Cosmopolitans (Book) Garden Lakes (Book) Scarpia (Book) Shylock Is My Name: The Merchant of Venice Retold (Book) Time Is the Fire (Book) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/books/review/inside-the-list.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/books/review/inside-the-list.html Curtis Sittenfeld Curtis Sittenfeld, whose update of “Pride and Prejudice” is No. 5 on the hardcover fiction list, says the Darcy and Liz scenes “were definitely the most fun to write.” GREGORY COWLES Fri, 29 Apr 2016 17:31:58 GMT Books and Literature Sittenfeld, Curtis http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/inside-the-new-york-times-book-review-podcast-listen-liberal.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/inside-the-new-york-times-book-review-podcast-listen-liberal.html Thomas Frank talks about “Listen, Liberal,” and Lydia Millet discusses her new novel, “Sweet Lamb of Heaven.” Fri, 29 Apr 2016 16:23:58 GMT Books and Literature Frank, Thomas Millet, Lydia http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/detroit-resurrected-by-nathan-bomey.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/detroit-resurrected-by-nathan-bomey.html Derelict buildings flank an occupied residence in Detroit’s North End. Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times Detroit stages a comeback after years of corruption and financial crisis. STEPHEN EIDE Fri, 29 Apr 2016 15:33:20 GMT Books and Literature Detroit (Mich) Bomey, Nathan (1984- ) Detroit Resurrected: To Bankruptcy and Back (Book) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/the-midnight-watch-by-david-dyer.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/the-midnight-watch-by-david-dyer.html The Titanic shortly before leaving on her maiden voyage in 1912. A novel explores the mysterious failure of a nearby ship to come to the Titanic’s aid. GARY KRIST Fri, 29 Apr 2016 15:17:41 GMT Books and Literature Dyer, David (Author) The Midnight Watch: A Novel of the Titanic and the Californian (Book) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/the-brazen-age-by-david-reid.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/the-brazen-age-by-david-reid.html Financial district rooftops, on the eve of the Second World War. Berenice Abbott/Museum of the City of New York The years between the end of World War II and the Korean War raised many questions. ERIC BENNETT Fri, 29 Apr 2016 15:07:59 GMT The Brazen Age: New York City and the American Empire: Politics, Art and Bohemia (Book) Reid, David (Author) Books and Literature http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/whit-channels-jane.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/whit-channels-jane.html Joon Mo Kang The filmmaker Whit Stillman has a new movie and novel — both called “Love and Friendship” — based on Jane Austen’s “Lady Susan.” JOHN WILLIAMS Fri, 29 Apr 2016 15:01:13 GMT Stillman, Whit Books and Literature http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/letters-to-the-editor.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/letters-to-the-editor.html Readers respond to recent reviews of “America’s War for the Greater Middle East,” “American Amnesia” and more. Fri, 29 Apr 2016 14:51:50 GMT Books and Literature http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/nicholas-guyatts-bind-us-apart.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/nicholas-guyatts-bind-us-apart.html Maj. Gen. Andrew Jackson talks with the Muscogee chief William Weatherford (Red Eagle), 1814. Engraving by W. Ridgway after a painting by J.R. Chapan/Kean Collection, via Getty Images A historian argues that 19th-century citizens wanted to help Indians and slaves by deporting them. ERIC FONER Fri, 29 Apr 2016 14:40:26 GMT Books and Literature Guyatt, Nicholas S Bind Us Apart: How Enlightened Americans Invented Racial Segregation (Book) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/maurice-issermans-continental-divide.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/maurice-issermans-continental-divide.html Maurice Isserman looks at the history of America through the lens of a sometimes misunderstood endeavor. GREGORY CROUCH Fri, 29 Apr 2016 14:36:19 GMT Books and Literature Isserman, Maurice Continental Divide: A History of American Mountaineering (Book) Mountaineering http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/connectography-by-parag-khanna.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/connectography-by-parag-khanna.html Simon Landrein Parag Khanna offers a new theory of connected geopolitics. DANIEL W. DREZNER Fri, 29 Apr 2016 14:35:52 GMT Books and Literature Khanna, Parag Connectography: Mapping the Future of Global Civilization (Book) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-the-rabbit-who-wants-to-fall-asleep.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-the-rabbit-who-wants-to-fall-asleep.html Carl-Johan Forssen Ehrlin’s book makes explicit the hypnotic intentions most bedtime stories and lullabies keep hidden. Kyoko Hamada for The New York Times The children’s book makes explicit the hypnotic intentions most bedtime stories keep hidden. MARK O’CONNELL Fri, 29 Apr 2016 10:59:01 GMT Sleep Children and Childhood Books and Literature Ehrlin, Carl-Johan Forssen (1978- ) The Rabbit Who Wants to Fall Asleep (Book) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/29/books/jenny-diskiauthor-who-wrote-ofmadness-and-isolation-dies-at-68.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/29/books/jenny-diskiauthor-who-wrote-ofmadness-and-isolation-dies-at-68.html Jenny Diski at the London Review Bookshop in 2010. Writer Pictures, via Associated Press Ms. Diski’s novels included “Skating to Antarctica,“ “Stranger on a Train: Daydreaming and Smoking Around America With Interruptions” and “Rainforest.” WILLIAM GRIMES Fri, 29 Apr 2016 01:44:27 GMT Diski, Jenny Deaths (Obituaries) Writing and Writers Mental Health and Disorders http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/the-bad-ass-librarians-of-timbuktu-by-joshua-hammer.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/the-bad-ass-librarians-of-timbuktu-by-joshua-hammer.html A cache of African manuscripts stored in Abdel Kader Haidara’s home, 2009. Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage The story of the man who defied Al Qaeda to protect his nation’s cultural heritage. BEN MACINTYRE Thu, 28 Apr 2016 21:52:56 GMT Books and Literature Hammer, Joshua The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu: And Their Race to Save the World's Most Precious Manuscripts (Book) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/arts/music/warsan-shire-who-gave-poetry-to-beyonces-lemonade.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/arts/music/warsan-shire-who-gave-poetry-to-beyonces-lemonade.html Warsan Shire, whose poetry was adapted for Beyoncé‘s visual album “Lemonade.” In 2014, she was appointed the first Young Poet Laureate of London. Amaal Said Ms. Shire’s previously published verse forms the backbone of Beyoncé’s album and its exploration of family, infidelity and the black female body. AMANDA HESS Wed, 27 Apr 2016 22:12:40 GMT Music Shire, Warsan (1988- ) Poetry and Poets Lemonade (Album) Writing and Writers Knowles, Beyonce http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/books/newly-released-books-include-novels-by-dominic-smithand-marie-ndiaye.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/28/books/newly-released-books-include-novels-by-dominic-smithand-marie-ndiaye.html New or reissued works by Jane Hamilton, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Max Frisch and Mavis Gallant are also available. CARMELA CIURARU Wed, 27 Apr 2016 21:41:30 GMT Books and Literature Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee NDiaye, Marie Hamilton, Jane Smith, Dominic (Author) Gallant, Mavis (1922-2014) Frisch, Max (1911-91) The Excellent Lombards (Book) A Fairly Good Time (Book) Before We Visit the Goddess (Book) Ladivine (Book) Montauk (Book) The Last Painting of Sara de Vos (Book) Fairly Good Time, A (Book) Last Painting of Sara de Vos, The (Book) Excellent Lombards, The (Book) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/can-a-book-with-bad-politics-be-a-good-book.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/can-a-book-with-bad-politics-be-a-good-book.html Adam Kirsch Illustration by R. Kikuo Johnson Adam Kirsch and Zoë Heller discuss whether books can be judged by their politics. Tue, 26 Apr 2016 16:15:26 GMT Writing and Writers Books and Literature http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/travel/f-scott-fitzgerald-st-paul.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/travel/f-scott-fitzgerald-st-paul.html F. Scott Fitzgerald looms above the Fitzgerald Theater. Jenn Ackerman for The New York Times St. Paul shaped “The Great Gatsby” and other novels by a writer best known for his time in France. JASON DIAMOND Fri, 29 Apr 2016 05:17:50 GMT Fitzgerald, F Scott St Paul (Minn) Writing and Writers Historic Buildings and Sites Bars and Nightclubs Travel and Vacations http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/lydia-millets-sweet-lamb-of-heaven.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/lydia-millets-sweet-lamb-of-heaven.html Lydia Millet Jade Beall After giving birth, a woman starts hearing a mysterious interior monologue. LAURA LIPPMAN Tue, 26 Apr 2016 15:29:28 GMT Books and Literature Millet, Lydia Sweet Lamb of Heaven (Book) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/26/books/harper-lee-biographer-charles-shields-on-his-latest-edition.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/26/books/harper-lee-biographer-charles-shields-on-his-latest-edition.html “Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee,” due Tuesday, paints a more nuanced and in some ways perplexing portrait of Ms. Lee than a biography of 2006. ALEXANDRA ALTER Mon, 25 Apr 2016 18:55:59 GMT Lee, Harper The Mockingbird Next Door: Life With Harper Lee (Book) Shields, Charles J Writing and Writers http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/27/dining/olafur-eliasson-the-kitchen-cookbook.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/27/dining/olafur-eliasson-the-kitchen-cookbook.html Alessandra Montalto/The New York Times Recipes from Olafur Eliasson, who created the four waterfalls installation on the East River. FLORENCE FABRICANT Mon, 25 Apr 2016 14:47:42 GMT Cooking and Cookbooks Eliasson, Olafur http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/26/health/book-review-hoping-to-help-questions-value-of-volunteers.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/26/health/book-review-hoping-to-help-questions-value-of-volunteers.html Alessandra Montalto/The New York Times The sociologist Judith Lasker expresses wonder that such global health programs seem uninclined to seriously evaluate the effects of their work. ABIGAIL ZUGER, M.D. Mon, 25 Apr 2016 10:00:02 GMT Books and Literature Lasker, Judith N Volunteers and Community Service Third World and Developing Countries Hoping to Help: The Promises and Pitfalls of Global Health Volunteering (Book) Hoping to Help (Book) http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/robert-f-worths-a-rage-for-order.html?partner=rss&emc=rss http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/01/books/review/robert-f-worths-a-rage-for-order.html Rebel fighters fire at troops loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, April 14, 2011. Chris Hondros/Getty Images Robert F. Worth reports on developments in the Middle East following the Arab Spring. KENNETH M. POLLACK Mon, 25 Apr 2016 09:30:01 GMT Worth, Robert F Middle East and North Africa Unrest (2010- ) Books and Literature A Rage for Order: The Middle East in Turmoil, From Tahrir Square to ISIS (Book)