Mars, our reddish-hued neighbor in the solar system, oh how you have captivated us earthlings, fueling an obsession at the turn of the last century that David Baron documents in his oh-my-goodness-they believed-what? romp “The Martians.”

Hindsight is 20/20, as they say, and never more so than in recounting the endeavors of yesteryear’s ...Read more

Here are the bestsellers for the week that ended Saturday, Aug. 23, compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide, powered by Circana BookScan © 2025 Circana.

(Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by PWxyz LLC. © 2025, PWxyz LLC.)

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. "Quicksilver (...Read more

Gregory Galloway wasn’t sure he could write anything after the death of his father.

“He lived to be 94, so if you can have that, he had the sort of demise that he wanted,” says Galloway, recalling that he and his two siblings had gathered to be with their father at the hospital.

“We sort of knew it was the last day, and the nurse came ...Read more

Elaine Hsieh Chou’s clever and beguiling short story collection “Where Are You Really From” explores issues of identity and belonging with a speculative twist.

In six stories and one novella, Chou takes on Western-centered notions of beauty, mail-order brides, massage parlors, generational trauma and artistic license. She flips ...Read more

Walking in nature for as little as 15 to 20 minutes can improve your attention span — even if you don't always enjoy it.

In his new 324-page book, "Nature and the Mind: The Science of How Nature Improves Cognitive, Physical, and Social Well-Being" (Simon & Schuster), environmental neuroscientist Marc G. Berman lays out how our natural ...Read more

In structure, tone and theme, “Ruth” owes a debt to Evan S. Connell’s wonderful 1959 novel, “Mrs. Bridge” — a debt author Kate Riley freely acknowledges.

Like “Mrs. Bridge,” “Ruth” is written in close third person and structured in short, flat chunks of anecdote and description. The story follows a slightly baffled but ...Read more

As Americans quarrel in public squares, real and online, writers are looking back at our history to make sense of it all. Caleb Gayle rises to the challenge in his eloquent, if discursive, “Black Moses,” chronicling activist Edward McCabe’s struggles against post-Civil War racism.

Raised free in the Northeast, McCabe (1850-1920) came of ...Read more

Like the main character of his novel “I Become Her,” Joe Hart is married. Unlike her, he has not murdered anyone. Or, at least, he jokes, “None that they’ve caught me for.”

That’s not all Hart is cagey about. He lives in northern Minnesota, but prefers not to specify where, and he doesn’t want to name his wife or two children, a ...Read more

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Peter Ames Carlin first heard Bruce Springsteen’s single “Born to Run” in 1975 when the future music biographer was a 12-year-old kid in a car headed home from a hike with his Boy Scout troop.

He was, he admits, less than impressed.

“I remember the disc jockey saying, ‘Well, this guy is supposedly the savior of ...Read more

Here are the bestsellers for the week that ended Saturday, Aug. 16, compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide, powered by Circana BookScan © 2025 Circana.

(Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by PWxyz LLC. © 2025, PWxyz LLC.)

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. "For Richer ...Read more

Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.’s “The El” follows several members of a Chicago street gang as they traverse the city via the elevated train system that gives the novel its name. But while the story is loosely inspired by 1979’s “The Warriors,” a cult classic film set in New York City, this novel and the man who wrote it are distinctively �...Read more

Sometimes, being a dog — free to roam and sniff and run as you please — is easier than being a girl, always being monitored, with expectations of domesticity and meekness heavy on your shoulders.

Xenobe Purvis’ eerie “The Hounding” is the story of the five Mansfield sisters, whom the villagers of Little Nettlebed have pegged as ...Read more

The title of Jason Mott’s oddly riveting “People Like Us” refers to several groups: Black people (like its three narrators), Europeans, writers, Southerners, Americans, those who feel left out.

“I wonder what it feels like to be somewhere in this world and not feel like an outsider,” says a guy named Dylan in a poignant exchange late ...Read more

On July 8, 1877, the New York Herald declared that Deadwood, a South Dakota town near the Black Hills that had been established on land stolen from the Lakota Indians, “was beyond question the wickedest spot this side of the infernal regions.”

Writer Peter Cozzens’ “Deadwood” asserts that this view — which also appeared in the ...Read more

Elaine Castillo made the Financial Times’ “30 of the Planet’s Most Exciting Young People,” and her debut novel, “America Is Not the Heart,” was named a best book of 2018 by NPR, Lit Hub, Kirkus Reviews and more outlets.

Her new book is “Moderation.” Here, she takes the Book Pages Q&A.

Q. Please tell readers about your new ...Read more

As a child in Harlem, James Baldwin (1924-1987) hewed to his family’s strict Baptist beliefs and would have known I Corinthians 13, the New Testament’s famous “love chapter,” verse by verse.

Nicholas Boggs’ magisterial “Baldwin,” the first biography of the author in 30 years, employs love as the organizing principle, depicting his...Read more

Here are the bestsellers for the week that ended Saturday, Aug. 9, compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide, powered by Circana BookScan © 2025 Circana.

(Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by PWxyz LLC. © 2025, PWxyz LLC.)

HARDCOVER FICTION

1. "The Fallen and...Read more