Deadly Pleasures to Read and Watch
A Bonfire of the Vanities for our times, and a family drama that follows a wealthy patriarch’s sudden death
I Love Lucy’s Other Half
Raised as a prince in pre-Guevara Cuba, Desi Arnaz fled to America and revolutionized TV with Lucille Ball—but he couldn’t escape the trauma of his youth
Dog Days
With an essay by P. G. Wodehouse, a newly reissued coffee-table book collects 820 photographs of Elliott Erwitt’s most unexpected muse
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss a collection spotlighting Vietnamese voices, the story of a troubled American dynasty, and a Pulitzer Prize–winning funny guy’s new memoir
The Mouths of Babes
Imagine Lucy from “Peanuts” with the politics of John Lennon and you’ve got “Mafalda,” a comic strip whose millions of fans included Gabriel García Márquez
Dive In!
From Spain to India to Mexico, a new coffee-table book showcases the world’s most stunning swimming pools
Holding Court
Former tennis world No. 1 Rafael Nadal was as much a worrier in his sport as he was a warrior, his nervous habits extending from elaborate pre-point rituals to clocking issues with the courts he won Grand Slams on
The Missing Sister
Before #FreeBritney, there was Aimee Semple McPherson—an influential radio evangelist who fell victim to an abusive conservatorship
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss a provocative history of World War II atrocities, an investigation into pyramid schemes, and a foray into the ruins of Pompeii
The Pathological Ironist
Percival Everett, whose novel James won the Pulitzer Prize this month, talks Trump, Twain, and fighting darkness with humor
Hollywood in Bloom
From Come September to Love in the Afternoon, a look at the film industry’s most memorable celebrations of spring
Getting Lit
Literary salons are making a comeback in London, where live readings—complete with D.J.’s—are eclipsing nightclubs
The G-Man Writes Again
Former F.B.I. director James Comey on working for George W. Bush and Barack Obama; advice for the current director, Kash Patel; and the art of his second act: writing thrillers
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss a new boxed set of Jane Austen’s novels, an account of the fabled 1917 sighting of the Virgin Mary in Portugal, and a portrait of the Roman poet Horace
The Mean Girls Next Door
How Tina Fey turned a self-help manual for anxious mothers into the quintessential teen movie of the early aughts
The People’s Mother
From McDonald’s to Disneyland, mums’ races, and school drop-offs, no aspect of Princess Diana’s identity was more heavily scrutinized than her role as a mother to William and Harry
The Man Behind the Mustache
Ron Chernow discusses adapting his Hamilton biography into the hit musical, how to cure writer’s block, and the complicated, thrilling subject of his latest book: Mark Twain
Eighties Mania!
From the eruption of Mount Saint Helens to the rise of Madonna, Indira Gandhi’s assassination, and shoulder pads, two new books capture the bold, anarchic spirit of the decade
