CHICAGO — The other day the author Sara Levine asked me to meet her at a dog beach in Evanston. I didn’t have a hard time finding her. She said she would be wearing an orange cap and she was. The problem — and here is where I felt as though I slipped suddenly into a Sara Levine novel — was that the beach was padlocked and Levine arrived ...Read more

V. T. Bidania describes her family as “pretty private” and “shy” but they better get used to attention because they’re the stars of her new book.

“I didn’t want to write about them,” said the Arden Hills-based writer of books for young people, including the autobiographical “A Year Without Home.”

“I like to read stories ...Read more

Writing about “99 Ways to Die: and How to Avoid Them” is an easy job, and not just because the descriptive title does so much of the work.

To give you an idea of what to expect from Ashely Alker’s hilarious, surprisingly useful book, the best bet is just to quote from it liberally. The emergency room physician writes with attitude, common...Read more

Here are the bestsellers for the week that ended Saturday, Jan. 17, compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide, powered by Circana BookScan © 2026 Circana.

(Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by PWxyz LLC. © 2026, PWxyz LLC.)

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. "The ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- Loretta Ellsworth needs to be careful when she picks up the Minnesota Star Tribune because, when she does, there’s a decent chance what she reads will turn into a novel.

It’s happened to her twice already, with the latest being “The Jilted Countess,” inspired by the true story of a Hungarian who came to Minnesota in 1948 ...Read more

Tim Sullivan’s screenwriting credits include the films “A Handful of Dust,” “Where Angels Fear to Tread,” and “Letters to Juliet.” He’s also directed TV, including episodes of “Sherlock Holmes.” His series of crime novels, which launched in the U.S. in late 2025 with “The Dentist,” features DS George Cross, who is on the ...Read more

There may be more style than substance in “The Infamous Gilberts” but it is very stylish, indeed.

I kept thinking of Shirley Jackson when I read Angela Tomaski’s debut novel because Jackson wrote both amusingly macabre books about families (“Life Among the Savages”) and darker works that hinted that the cracks in crumbling Gothic ...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota writer Sinclair Lewis’ “It Can’t Happen Here” may be on everyone’s lips these days, but is now really the time to read a dystopian novel about civilization collapsing?

May we suggest something with a little kindness and grace, instead, for a respite from the onslaught of terrible news? The following list ...Read more

Here are the bestsellers for the week that ended Saturday, Jan. 10, compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide, powered by Circana BookScan © 2026 Circana.

(Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by PWxyz LLC. © 2026, PWxyz LLC.)

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. "The ...Read more

If you’re looking for a brand-new mystery with a Sherlock Holmes vibe, you are — as the British heroes of two new books might say — spoiled for choices.

“Sherlock Holmes and the Real Thing” is the latest from Nicholas Meyer, who has been writing his series of (supposedly) newly unearthed mysteries featuring the great detective since ...Read more

Most books have a story of how they came to be, and so it is with Rep. Jim Clyburn’s latest book: “The First Eight.”

Some years ago Clyburn, 85, was in his office at the U.S. Capitol when visitors pointed to portraits on his conference room wall of eight African Americans dressed on 19th century garb. Clyburn explained they were the first...Read more

As Eric Lichtblau began research for a non-fiction book on the rise of hate crimes in the United States, he found that there was a seemingly unending array of horrific examples.

In 2022, a white supremacist shot and killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket. That same year, a Colorado Springs man, inspired by other hate-inspired mass ...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Dr. Arnold Gilberg's sunny consultation room sits just off Wilshire Boulevard. Natural light spills onto a wooden floor, his houndstooth-upholstered armchair, the low-slung couch draped with a colorful Guatemalan blanket.

The Beverly Hills psychiatrist has been seeing patients for more than 60 years, both in rooms like this and ...Read more

Acclaimed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, known for the bestselling novels “Half of a Yellow Sun” and “Americanah,” as well as a feature on Beyoncé’s “Flawless,” is mourning the loss of her 1-year-old son.

Reps for the award-winning Nigerian writer confirmed in a statement to the media on Thursday that Nkanu Nnamdi died on ...Read more

Here are the bestsellers for the week that ended Saturday, Jan. 3, compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide, powered by Circana BookScan © 2026 Circana.

(Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by PWxyz LLC. © 2026, PWxyz LLC.)

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. "The ...Read more

A cover blurb written by Stephen King had already proclaimed one upcoming book a contender for the best mystery of 2026, and I kept thinking, “Steve, it’s 2025. Settle down.”

But Mr. “Misery” is right that the book biz is plowing ahead, and that there is a lot to look forward to. I already have my eye on jam-packed April 5, when two ...Read more

A cover blurb written by Stephen King had already proclaimed one upcoming book a contender for the best mystery of 2026, and I kept thinking, “Steve, it’s 2025. Settle down.”

But Mr. “Misery” is right that the book biz is plowing ahead, and that there is a lot to look forward to. I already have my eye on jam-packed April 5, when two ...Read more