Murder, They Wrote
Underdogs dominate this month’s best mystery books
A Bigger Splash
A new coffee-table book explores the design and history of the world’s most stunning seawater pools, ranging across South Africa, Australia, and Scotland
The Enforcer and the Maestro
In an excerpt from his new book, Rich Cohen reveals the closer-than-blood relationship forged between Michael Jordan and Charles Oakley
The Value of Tolkien
Having spent the majority of his life as a struggling academic, J. R. R. Tolkien, who died 50 years ago, would never have dreamed of the influence of The Lord of the Rings
The Golden Years
An homage to the expansive and hilarious world The Golden Girls offered during the buttoned-up Reagan era
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss a delicate exploration of privilege, a dissection of Russian writers’ tendency to write about existential questions, and a gossipy account of the publishing world
True Lies
Beware of the quotes on the backs of books, as publishers play fast and loose with critical reviews
Down the Memory Hole
An arresting new biography gives George Orwell’s intrepid first wife her due
Shark Tales
Restoring New England’s great-white-shark population presented conservationists with a new challenge: convincing beachgoers it was good news
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss a comic-strip biography of Charles M. Schulz, a look back at Germany’s turbulent 1923, and the story of how Borges, Heisenberg, and Kant challenged reality
Stands to Treason
A look back at the 1945 trial of Philippe Pétain, France’s World War II–era head of state who was accused of plotting to overthrow democracy
Picasso Unseen
Rare, intimate pictures taken by the Irish photographer Edward Quinn over the course of his 19-year friendship with Picasso capture the artist in his downtime
Low Shelf Esteem
In the last decade, “sad girl” literature, novels about well-off girls who drink, go to therapy, and are consumed by self-loathing, has taken over contemporary fiction
Editor’s Picks
This week, don’t miss a memoir from the legendary producer of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, an account of life as a lighthouse keeper, and a classical composer’s search for her birth parents
Better Fish to Fry
A look inside Toyosu, Tokyo’s largest fish market, where buyers congregate before dawn to bid on pricey bluefin tuna
Bad Romance
Set in the 19th century, William Boyd’s latest novel spans the life of a fictional writer who counts Percy Shelley and Lord Byron as friends
When Rome Stood Still
Pandemic-era photographs of deserted streets and empty monuments reveal a magical side to a city so often associated with the throngs of people it attracts
Making Trouble
In an interview, former Harvard president Drew Gilpin Faust discusses growing up in the American South, the ending of affirmative action, and her new memoir, Necessary Trouble
