fiction
The Booker shortlist honors authors ‘in total command’ of their craft
The 2025 Booker shortlist is made up of works by veteran authors, many of whom have several books under their belts — and a couple that have been on this list before.
New books this week: Tales from Ian McEwan and Patricia Lockwood, and new translations
The truth doesn't come easy in the latest works of these two household names. Meanwhile, anglophiles now have access to newly translated works by France's Annie Ernaux and Japanese ex-pat Yoko Tawada.
New books this week: The case for the Constitution, and a celebration of chosen family
Jill Lepore writes about the strength and stability of America's founding document — and its capacity for change. And Angela Flournoy tracks the friendship of five young Black women over 20 years.
4 lives are upended by an impulsive kiss in the epic novel ‘Buckeye’
Patrick Ryan's novel focuses on two married couples and stretches from pre-WWII to the close of the 20th century, capturing both the sweep of history and the mundane particularity of everyday life.
Happy 75th birthday to Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby’s big-kid neighbor
Beverly Cleary's fictional third grader with an adopted dog named Ribsy made his debut in 1950. Cleary was praised for writing simple, humorous stories that kids wanted to read.
New books out today: A Dan Brown thriller, John Prine bio, and World Wide Web memoir
New books this week include Secret of Secrets — the sixth installment of The Da Vinci Code saga, plus a tech memoir from Tim Berners-Lee and a career-spanning anthology from Terry McMillan.
New books this week track John Williams’ life, future pandemics and NASA fiction
This week's publishing highlights are a bumper crop of biography, science and fiction — including new reads the from authors of The Sweetness of Water, The God of Small Things, and Deadliest Enemy.
If you loved ‘Yellowface,’ R.F. Kuang’s new novel ‘Katabasis’ is even better
Academia is a very special kind of hell, and Kuang clearly understands it. In her innovative new novel, a magical professor dies in a lab accident and two students descend into hell to find him.
This week sees a number of new books from seasoned heavy hitters
A number of seasoned veterans with a taste for big swings and clever premises have new novels out this week, including stories of gothic horror and dark academia from the likes of R.F. Kuang, Leah Stein and Helen Oyeyemi.
Did you love ‘Holes’ growing up? Good news, Louis Sachar is still writing for you
The author of the YA novel Holes and the Wayside School series has written his first novel for adults. It's a fairy tale involving a princess and potions – but one focused squarely on growing old.
Two genre novels offer entertainment — and plenty of wry social commentary
Dan Fesperman's spy caper Pariah follows a disgraced comic-politician who's recruited by the CIA. The Dancing Face, by Mike Phillips, is a crime caper that confronts the spoils of colonialism.
Publishing this week: A James Baldwin bio, the hope of solar, Snow White reimagined
Bill McKibben says solar is a "last chance for the climate." T. Kingfisher offers a dark retelling of Snow White. Nicholas Boggs tells James Baldwin's story. Plus new debut fiction.
Some John Grisham adaptations are better than others. We ranked them
A TV version of The Rainmaker is out this week, which gave critic Linda Holmes as good a reason as any to rank the on-screen adaptations of John Grisham's legal novels.
A dogged reporter takes on a mysterious cabal in ‘The Diary of Lies’
Philip Miller's sinister thriller is set in a Great Britain that's lost its bearings. But even when she's terrified, fictional journalist Shona Sandison will always risk everything to get the story.
New books this week: investigating rehab, fighting wildfires, and a Slaughter thriller
Just published this week: A portrait of the lucrative drug-treatment industry; a memoir of a female firefighter; debut fiction from an Emmy-winning TV writer; and a brand new Karin Slaughter thriller.
These ‘Blondes’ are turning 100, and they’re still a lot of fun
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is about two flappers on the prowl for sugar daddies. First published in 1925, Anita Loos' cheeky comic novel has now been reissued in paperback.
New books this week: unconventional novels and an oral history of Hiroshima, Nagasaki
An oral history of the atomic bomb detonations 80 years ago leads this week's list of publishing highlights, which also includes a handful of novels by authors including Louis Sachar and Jason Mott.
There’s magic at work in this new batch of books
We don't just mean literary sorcery by which words summon worlds for readers, but also literal, honest-to-goodness magic: angels, conjurers, otherworldly attractions and dances of mysterious power.
Here are the 13 books that made the Booker Prize longlist
The prize is one of the most prestigious awards in literature. This year's crop of nominees includes two debut novelists going up against a previous Booker Prize winner.
A young woman is caught between worlds in ‘The Tiny Things Are Heavier’
With this debut novel of an immigrant torn between the U.S. and Nigeria, Esther Ifesinachi Okonkwo takes her place among the writers who have ably investigated the idea of home.
Stacey Abrams warns of autocracy and voter suppression, doesn’t rule out another run
Abrams isn't running for office — but she's not ruling it out, either. "Politics is a tool ... for getting good done, but it's not the only one." Her new thriller is Coded Justice.
Where to start? This week’s new releases are an all-you-can-read buffet
This week, new horror from Silvia Moreno-Garcia, a funny college do-over from Jeneva Rose, and autofiction from Hannah Pittard. Plus, stories about the American South, and a deep dive into the Earth.
New books this week focus on Caitlin Clark, King Tut, and how ‘Democrats Lost America’
Plus: a new novel from Gary Shteyngart, a true story of a shipwreck, and a memoir from a wrongly incarcerated inmate who was exonerated after 28 years behind bars.
NPR staffers pick their favorite fiction reads of 2025 so far
After long days focused on the facts, our newsroom reads a lot of fiction at home. We asked our NPR colleagues what they've enjoyed reading so far this year. Here's what they told us.
6 new books out this week, including true stories of trailblazers
But for many working adults, the summer can often feel the same as the rest of the year. So, maybe our idea of a "summer read" should encompass a wider swath of books? Here are a few out this week.
‘Endling’ is a shape-shifting debut that takes on heavy themes with humor
Maria Reva's virtuosic novel starts out as a straightforward story about a Ukrainian biologist, but morphs into a comic take on war, the mail-order bride business and the plight of snails.
New books out this week offer catastrophes that at least profess to be just fantasies
The new books publishing this week may get quite heavy, laden as they are with family tragedy, psychopathy and heartbreak — but at least they are fiction.
5 dark tales hit shelves this week
Sometimes all it takes to make your day a little brighter is to remind yourself just how dark life can get. Here are four dark novels and a true crime tale.
New books this week cover problematic parents, the ultrarich, and a year without sex
Publishing this week: new fiction from Susan Choi, essays from Evan Osnos and memoir from Molly Jong-Fast. Plus, Melissa Febos reflects on her year of abstinence.
Brand new books: Stephen King’s latest, plus tales of a tired mom and a scary stalker
Holly Gibney is back in King's thriller, Never Flinch. The Stalker follows a manipulative man. Happily ever after is evasive in Consider Yourself Kissed. Plus, new work from Tash Aw and Etgar Keret.
‘Consider Yourself Kissed’ by this rich, relatable story of an overwhelmed mom
This novel stands apart from other tales of mothers stretched too thin. Jessica Stanley weaves family frustrations with British politics and global events because our life and our times are connected.
‘The Stalker’ is one of the most appalling characters in recent American fiction
Paula Bomer's dizzying book is a fascinating look at an absurdly stupid young man in the early 1990s who manages to sustain himself despite having no evidence of a soul.
