The somewhat un-PC compliment that keeps coming out of my mouth when I tell friends about Mischa Berlinski’s third novel, “Mona Acts Out,” is that I can’t believe it was written by a man! Both the character of Mona Zahid and the nuances of the #MeToo situation that unfolds in the novel could have led me to assume otherwise if I didn’t ...Read more

In an age when name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for college athletes have turned rosters into revolving doors, so that you barely know who’ll be the quarterback next season, fans may be wondering what’s next.

Rus Bradburd’s novel “Big Time” may contain the satirical answer.

Welcome to Coors State University in Colorado, where the...Read more

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Is “The Great Gatsby” really all that great? A year’s worth of events, a slew of new books and a bunch of teenagers in Scotland say “yes.”

The Friends of the St. Paul Library already has kicked off a year of events to celebrate the 100th anniversary of “Gatsby.” The book has been in the “great American novel�...Read more

Music is the most cannibalistic creative endeavor, with musicians not only drawing inspiration from predecessors and contemporaries, but often imitating specific techniques, stealing catchy riffs or covering entire songs.

For music historian Preston Lauterbach, Elvis Presley stands out as an artist who synthesized a remarkable range of styles �...Read more

VERSAILLES, Ky. — Erin Chandler hails from Kentucky political royalty. But she says her upbringing with her dad, Dan Chandler, brought her into the circle of Las Vegas entertainers, high rollers — and drug smugglers.

“My father raised us in an environment that was equal parts moral high ground and seedy criminality,” she writes in her ...Read more

Heather Bouwman has two children in their 20s and a new book — “Scattergood,” out Jan. 21 — that is technically older than both of them.

The University of St. Thomas creative writing professor, who publishes middle-grade books under the name H.M. Bouwman, has worked on and abandoned the book multiple times but it’s finally hitting ...Read more

Here are the bestsellers for the week that ended Saturday, Jan. 11, compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide, powered by Circana BookScan © 2025 Circana.

(Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by PWxyz LLC. © 2025, PWxyz LLC.)

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. "James: A ...Read more

Neil Gaiman, the bestselling fantasy author behind "The Sandman" comic books, and novels and shows "American Gods" and "Good Omens," has emphatically denied ever engaging in nonconsensual sexual conduct after several women accused him of sexual assault in a New York magazine article.

Eight women accused the 64-year-old British scribe of assault...Read more

Capt. Frederick Walker — accompanied by his wife, three adolescent sons and a crew of 24 — left Hong Kong in the fall of 1887, bound for the Midway Atoll, where they intended to hunt sharks.

After a stormy crossing, their ship, the Wandering Minstrel, ultimately settled off small and barren Sand Island, where it was suddenly buffeted by ...Read more

MEXICO CITY — He is among Mexico's most celebrated novelists, historians and left-wing activists. But Paco Ignacio Taibo II is best known for his fictional alter ego: Héctor Belascoarán Shayne, a one-of-a-kind private eye confronting injustice, corruption and crime in the noir depths of 1970s Mexico City. The gumshoe's exploits, punctuated ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- The sold-out crowd in the 400-seat Central Library auditorium erupted into applause on a recent Wednesday evening as Bill Clinton, dressed in a dapper chocolate brown suit, walked across the stage to his cozy, leather chair.

Philadelphia was the former president’s second stop on a five-city book tour touting his memoir, "...Read more

A tricky task faces Scott Turow and “Presumed Guilty,” his 38-years-later sequel to “Presumed Innocent”: Accommodate last year’s “Presumed Innocent” TV series or ignore it?

The Apple TV+ show starred Jake Gyllenhaal as attorney Rusty Sabich, charged with the murder of a colleague with whom he’d been having an affair. As he ...Read more

Childbirth is a beautiful thing — bringing life into the world, and all that — but it’s also scary as heck and pretty gross. Combine that with the dark arts, as Grady Hendrix does in “Witchcraft for Wayward Girls,” and you’ve got the makings of a fantastic body horror novel.

Actually, it’s so much more than that. Hendrix is a ...Read more

As you’re learning how to invest, one of the best strategies for advancing quickly is to learn from the masters. Rather than repeating the same old mistakes of new investors, it’s useful — and it saves money — to gain the insight and wisdom of the experts. For the cost of a book, you could save thousands of dollars by making smart ...Read more

Bestselling fantasy author Neil Gaiman is facing new and detailed accusations of sexual assault following a report published Monday.

Accusations against Gaiman, the author of “American Gods” and “Coraline,” among others books, were first reported in July 2024 in a podcast series titled, “Master: the allegations against Neil Gaiman.”...Read more

Here are the bestsellers for the week that ended Saturday, Jan. 4, compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide, powered by Circana BookScan © 2025 Circana.

(Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by PWxyz LLC. © 2025, PWxyz LLC.)

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. "James: A Novel...Read more

NEW YORK — Brooke Shields is revealing many private and sometimes painful moments in her new memoir, including that a doctor once performed a vaginal rejuvenation procedure without her consent.

The native New Yorker, 59, details the enraging experience in “Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old: Thoughts on Aging as a Woman,” out Jan. ...Read more

In his first semester at University of South Carolina Law School, Eric Bland showed up late to a lecture in sweatpants and a T-shirt, angering the professor who proceeded to embarrass him by asking him questions he couldn’t answer.

“Mr. Bland,” the professor said, “You should probably call your parents and tell them they are wasting ...Read more