What to Read Now

The novelist played with reality and chance in tales of solitary narrators and mutable identities. Here’s an overview of his work.

His spare, icily precise books explore humanity’s most serious themes, including South Africa’s legacy of apartheid. And not all of them are downers.

Barbara Kingsolver, whose Pulitzer-winning “Demon Copperhead” offered a variegated portrait of the region, guides readers through a literary landscape “as bracing and complex as a tumbling mountain creek.”

Hanoi, long a city of storytellers, has been devastated and reborn time and time again. Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai guides readers through the literature that has played a part in that renewal.

Novels from Ann Patchett and James McBride, a biography of the Chinese American movie star Anna May Wong and a handful of edgy thrillers — including one about a scuba driver swallowed by a whale.

Reading and writing are deeply valued in Maine. The novelist Lily King recommends fiction, nature writing, memoirs, children’s books and inspiration for writers.

The writer Itamar Vieira Junior says that to “feel the intensity of life on the streets of Salvador” in Bahia, Brazil, a reader must start with Jorge Amado.

His clever, melancholic mind produced some of the most enduring heroes in spy fiction. Here are his best books.

The poet and novelist Luis Alberto Urrea thinks the borderlands are the most interesting book in the world, being rewritten every day. These are his recommendations.

Elliot Page discusses his gender transition in a new memoir, and S.A. Cosby returns with a police thriller. Also: New Lorrie Moore!

The acclaimed British novelist was also an essayist, memoirist and critic of the first rank.

The man behind the landmark reboot of “The Sandman” comic (and Netflix series) is going strong after decades of writing in just about every format. Here’s where to get started with his books for adults.

A landmark biography of Martin Luther King Jr., Tom Hanks’s debut novel, a dystopian work of fiction about the prison industrial complex and more.

A thrilling shipwreck tale by David Grann, newly translated fiction by Han Kang and plenty more.

New memoirs, a landmark biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., a look at the woman who helped halt the rise of a K.K.K. leader — and more.

Watch for reality-bending explorations of time and space, a Western horror novel from Victor LaValle and new fiction from Han Kang. Plus: Tom Hanks (yes, that Tom Hanks) releases his debut novel.

Known for her psychopathic antiheroes and novels such as “The Talented Mr. Ripley” and “The Price of Salt,” Highsmith was a tangle of contradictions.

A haunting horror novel set a century ago in the American West, Eleanor Catton’s first novel in a decade, a Ukrainian war diary and much more.

The author, considered by some to be the greatest French writer of her time, played with words and convention. Here’s where to start with her work.

A salty historical romp, two deep dives into the entertainment industry, a handful of memoirs and Salman Rushdie’s much-anticipated new novel, “Victory City.”

Paul Theroux, the quintessential travel writer, has also enshrined his Massachusetts roots in his writing. Here are his recommendations for those who come to visit.

Hiromi Kawakami, one of Japan’s most popular contemporary novelists, travels with books that help her immerse herself in her destination. Here, she suggests reading for those coming to her hometown, Tokyo.

Watch for a follow-up to Leigh Bardugo’s “Ninth House” and a damning investigation of cobalt mining. Oh, maybe you’ve heard about a new memoir coming from Prince Harry?

Edinburgh calls to readers, its pearl-grey skies urging them to curl up with a book. Maggie O’Farrell, the author of “Hamnet,” suggests reading that best reflects her city.

Jefferson Cowie’s powerful and sobering new history, “Freedom’s Dominion,” traces the close association between the rhetoric of liberty in an Alabama county and the politics of white supremacy.

“No one sound speaks for all” Jamaicans, the novelist Marlon James says. Here are the books he recommends for readers who want to see the island’s many facets.

Whether you’re looking for thrillers or romances, historical fiction or travel books, let us help.

In “Fit Nation,” Natalia Mehlman Petrzela charts the evolution of our national attitudes toward fitness.

The staff of The New York Times Book Review choose the year’s standout fiction and nonfiction.

During the pandemic, the New York Times architecture critic, Michael Kimmelman, toured parts of New York on foot with architects, urban planners and other experts. His book “The Intimate City” is a record of what they saw.

Four picture books show kids the infinite joys of building, sailing, restoring and just plain floating a boat.

New books by N.K. Jemisin, H.A. Clarke, Nathan Tavares and Isaac Fellman.

The year’s notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction, selected by the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

In “Aesthetica,” Allie Rowbottom imagines a 35-year-old ex-influencer who’s about to undergo an extreme surgery to undo every cosmetic procedure she’s endured to date.

In her new book, “The Light We Carry,” the former first lady shares coping strategies for surviving stress and uncertainty.

In Meg Howrey’s “They’re Going to Love You,” a choreographer looks back on her estranged family’s past.

Matthew Cobb’s “As Gods” questions the ethical — and financial — implications of genetic engineering.

Our reviewer even wanted to nibble a page or two.

Virtuosity and creativity with language are “everyone’s birthright” in the Irish capital, says Tana French, an award-winning mystery writer who has made it her home.

In a new memoir, “Novelist as a Vocation,” the Japanese writer reflects on his craft and his career.

“The Ruin of All Witches,” by Malcolm Gaskill, is a riveting history of life in a 17th-century New England frontier town, where the stress of isolation, foul weather, disease and death led inexorably to accusations of witchcraft.

In Simon Stephenson’s new novel, “Sometimes People Die,” patients at a London hospital are dying at a rapid clip — especially ones who shouldn’t be.

In a regional game, rap’s Southern contingent has come to dominate its counterparts in New York and L.A.

In a new memoir, “README.txt,” the former military intelligence analyst tells her life story and explains her decision to blow the whistle on U.S. actions in the Middle East.

When the actor appeared in the movie version of “Nobody’s Fool,” Richard Russo saw another side of him.

In her new memoir, “Newsroom Confidential,” Margaret Sullivan argues that traditional ideas about reportorial objectivity need to be re-examined in an era of constant assaults on truth.

In “Poster Girl,” Veronica Roth imagines life after a surveillance state. Its collaborators are excommunicated — with one exception.

The stories in Samanta Schweblin’s “Seven Empty Houses,” a finalist for the National Book Award in translated literature, tear down the delicate scaffolding of home.

In “Daughters of the New Year,” E.M. Tran explores assimilation, rebellion and the power of ancestry, as seen through the history of one Vietnamese family.

With his first story collection, “Illuminations,” the British writer and comic-book titan works his subversive power on a smaller scale.

Silicon chips power everything from cars and toys to phones and nukes. “Chip War,” by Chris Miller, recounts the rise of the chip industry and the outsize geopolitical implications of its ascendancy.

In “Looking for the Hidden Folk,” Nancy Marie Brown makes a strong case for everyday wonder.

In “The Rupture Tense,” Jenny Xie looks at silence surrounding the Cultural Revolution and explores its lasting impact on her own family.

In “Breathless,” David Quammen explores the predictable lead-up to the global Covid pandemic, and the frantic, belated attempts to stop it.

Set on an imaginary island at the twilight of the Ottoman Empire, “Nights of Plague,” by the Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk, is a chronicle of an epidemic, a murder mystery and a winking literary game.

In the studio, the best-selling author surrounded himself with people he loves. It shows in his audiobook.

Finding wonderful books that bring to mind old favorites is one of the genre’s greatest pleasures.

“Confidence Man,” Maggie Haberman’s biography of the former president, argues that it’s essential to grasp New York’s steamy, histrionic folkways.

Igiaba Scego, an author born in Rome to Somali parents, recommends books that draw readers through the rich layers that make up her hometown.

In Kim Hye-jin’s “Concerning My Daughter,” an unnamed mother laments her adult child’s life choices, even as she takes her back in.

A new history by Donald Yacovone examines the racist ideas that endured for generations in educational materials.

Jonathan Coe’s novel “Mr. Wilder and Me” explores the late career of a legendary Hollywood director.

Mantel’s body of work spanned memoir, short stories, essays — and, of course, historical fiction. Here’s a guide to her writing.

In “Lucy by the Sea,” Elizabeth Strout relocates a formerly married couple from Manhattan to Maine at the peak of the Covid pandemic.

In Deanna Raybourn’s “Killers of a Certain Age,” four female assassins, celebrating their retirement after 40-year careers, discover they’ve been marked for death.

For 50 years, her books have educated, entertained and connected young readers. Whether you want to revisit a classic or inspire a new fan, here’s what to read.

In “Who’s Raising the Kids?” Susan Linn’s searing indictment of corporate greed, tech companies targeting children are rivaled only by the lawmakers who let them get away with it.

In her Y.A. thriller “I’m the Girl,” Courtney Summers uses a murder mystery to explore pressing questions about female empowerment.

In “The Mosquito Bowl,” Buzz Bissinger examines the Pacific theater through the lives of several athletes who served.

John T. McGreevy’s exhaustive “Catholicism: A Global History From the French Revolution to Pope Francis” explains how debates within the church got so fierce.

Very hard, if Jonathan Dee’s new novel, “Sugar Street,” is any guide.

Good news, book lovers: This is a great season to be a reader. Let us help you find your next book.

“How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water” takes place in a career counselor’s office in Upper Manhattan, where a Dominican immigrant bares all.

Juan Villoro, who spent over two decades perfecting one book about Mexico City, recommends reading on the city he loves. “Mexico is too complex,” a visitor said. “It needs to be read.”

“The Unfolding” takes readers inside the homes and meeting rooms of a dyed-in-the-wool conservative with big plans for change.

The British Vogue editor wants to make the media — and the world — a more welcoming place.

In “The Arc of a Covenant,” Walter Russell Mead makes the case that U.S. support for the Jewish state has benefited America more than critics allow.

“Black Folk Could Fly,” a posthumous book of Randall Kenan’s collected essays, provides a window into his life and heart.

A British village wedding awakens some distinctly unpleasant spirits in “Small Angels,” Lauren Owen’s creepy second novel.

“The Stolen Year,” by Anya Kamenetz, is an account of Covid’s devastating effects on American youth.

Her latest novel uses horror and a privileged white protagonist as vehicles for social critique.

“Afterlives,” the new novel from the Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah, is set in colonial-era German East Africa.

With a reputation for having more authors per capita than any other country, Iceland is a destination for readers. Olaf Olafsson, whose most recent book is “Touch,” leads a literary stroll through its capital.

Elizabeth Hand’s “Hokuloa Road” brims with menace: vine-choked cliff-top highways, aviaries filled with strange birds, tanks of poisonous sea urchins.

In the new biography “Path Lit by Lightning,” David Maraniss details the enormous odds that a Native American hero had to overcome.

In “The Women Could Fly,” women are uniquely capable of magic, which leads the government to strictly monitor and regulate them.

In “Life on the Mississippi,” Rinker Buck takes a lengthy river trip to examine a uniquely American history.

In a quest to explore her own sexuality, Nona Willis Aronowitz hit the sheets — and the books.

Mark Braude’s biography of a bohemian icon makes a case for Kiki de Montparnasse as an artist in her own right.

Two eerie story collections depict the mundanity of human suffering.

Between the 1970s and 1990s, the photographer captured a nation at leisure.

In “Bonsai,” Alejandro Zambra tells the story of two young lovers whose lives, relationship and heartbreak intertwine with art and literature.

Yasmine El Rashidi, a journalist and novelist, guides readers through Cairo, a city whose presence is so powerful it is “the subject, the object and the main character” of many of its writers.

In Mohsin Hamid’s new novel, “The Last White Man,” the white protagonist awakes to find he has turned brown.

In his latest book, the French author celebrated for his deeply personal accounts of tragic events embraces meditation as a means of learning to write “without fabrication.” But telling the truth is complicated.

From a wildfire photographer to a teenage misanthrope, these authors reflect on pain, courage and belonging.

Our romance columnist found much to like in the latest crop of summer novels.

In Anthony Marra’s new novel, “Mercury Pictures Presents,” a studio makes it big once America decides to enter the war.

“The Boys” begins with a letter from a bike touring company, asking the main character not to sign up for another trip. Why?

Isaac Fitzgerald’s “Dirtbag, Massachusetts” is a memoir about male misbehavior and the struggle to make sense of oneself.