by Andrew Sean Greer
In Less Is Lost--the follow-up novel to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Less, written by Andrew Sean Greer (The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells)--Arthur Less is on the road again. This time he travels the U.S. instead of overseas. Narrator Freddy Pelu, Less's lover, returns. Freddy, who is approaching 40, and 50ish "Minor American Novelist" Less live together in a San Francisco bungalow they call the Shack, previously owned by Less's former lover, poet Robert Brownburn. After Robert dies, Less learns he owes a
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by Ling Ma
Six of the eight stories in Ling Ma's debut short story collection, Bliss Montage, have already appeared in the usual prestigious publications (the New Yorker, Granta, the Atlantic). "They can just read them for free somewhere else?" a skeptical mother remarks to her about-to-be-published daughter over lunch in "Peking Duck," arguably the collection's standout story. But the bliss for fortunate audiences is to discover these gems gathered in a brilliant montage that begins with a story about Adam and concludes
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by Courtney Summers
Courtney Summers (The Project) is known for pushing boundaries and exposing the cruel realities young women face. I'm the Girl, her eighth YA novel, is no exception. This part murder mystery, part thriller, part queer romance is a brutal, raw account of truths behind power and privilege.
Sixteen-year-old Georgia "George" Avis finds the body of 13-year-old Ashley James, who was raped and murdered. When Ashley's 17-year-old sister, Nora, shows up at George's house wanting to be told everything, George is pulled
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by Amanda Svensson, trans. by Nichola Smalley
Sebastian, Clara and Matilda are triplets in their mid-20s and already familiar with how life can batter, a truth compounded by the revelation of a family secret that upends everything they thought was true. Amanda Svensson's brilliant A System So Magnificent It Is Blinding, translated from the Swedish by Nichola Smalley, is a sprawling family epic exploring complex questions about the power of one's mind and the impact of one's choices.
After recounting the details of the triplets' dramatic birth (one infant--no
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by Zora Neale Hurston, Ibram X. Kendi, illus. by Loveis Wise
Freedom forges a path to love in National Book Award-winner Ibram X. Kendi's lyrical picture book adaptation of Magnolia Flower, a short story by Zora Neale Hurston first published in 1925.
The Brook is desperate for a story and the Mighty River, knowing "brooks must be humored," tells one. "Long ago," the Mighty River begins, strong Bentley fled enslavement. "Soon a whole village of runaways" grew around him and he married "Swift Deer,/ a Cherokee woman who had fled/ her own trail of tears." They named their
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by R.B. Lemberg
Accolades for Birdverse, the diverse, inclusive fantasy series from R.B. Lemberg (The Four Profound Weaves), include Hugo and Nebula nominations for short fiction. In The Unbalancing, the urgent, bittersweet first novel of the series, a charismatic starkeeper and a shy poet confront the past in hopes of saving their home and their people.
Erígra Lilún has no desire to serve as starkeeper to the unquiet Star of the Tides, one of 12 magical stars the goddess Bird bestowed upon humanity. The star
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by David Rhodes
David Rhodes returns to the setting of Driftless and Jewelweed, as well as many of his fans' favorite characters, in Painting Beyond Walls, his probing and moving sixth novel. Through his 30-year-old hero, August Helm, Rhodes explores tension between economic classes, the tradeoffs of progress, love and sex.
It's 2027, and the Driftless area, dominated by hills and valleys more suited to family farms than industrial ones, has remained largely untouched by the larger technology-driven society. August
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by Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, Roy Schwartz
This book will change the way you write. Whether it's e-mails, memos, fiction, tweets or newsletters, Smart Brevity: The Power of Saying More with Less gives readers simple directives from the personal experiences of Jim Vandehei, Mike Allen and Roy Schwartz, co-authors and co-founders of Axios.
Here are a few "Tips & Tricks": subject lines should be no longer than 60 characters; one-syllable words are better than two-syllable words, two-syllable words are better than three-syllable; "active verbs
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by April Genevieve Tucholke, illus. by Khoa Le
In this deeply whimsical and dazzlingly illustrated picture book, two sisters with opposite interests love each other despite their different personalities.
White-blonde Beatrice enjoys "scurry[ing] into dark corners" like the spiders in the attic, while her straw-blonde sister, Roo, "likes sunshine and birthday parties and smashing crashing blasting noises." For Beatrice, Roo's love of "wearing pink and red and purple" is confounding, and Roo doesn't understand the "black clothes with little bats on them"
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