The Saucy Polymath Who Scandalized 17th-Century London

In “Pure Wit,” Francesca Peacock makes a fresh case for the writer Margaret Cavendish’s place in the feminist canon.

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A Body, a Family and the Woman Who Changed Everything

In “Mercury,” Amy Jo Burns explores the conflicting loyalties and many secrets of a roofing clan in small-town Pennsylvania.

Mary Beth Keane | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

18 New Books Coming in January

A look at the Trump-DeSantis rivalry, a witty tribute to “Murder on the Orient Express,” a memoir of open marriage and an epic Swedish novel in verse, among others.

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Audiobook of the Week: How to ‘Contain’ the Threat of A.I.?

In “The Coming Wave,” the British social activist turned tech entrepreneur Mustafa Suleyman explores the existential risks of our new digital age.

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David Mamet Names the Books That Explain the Real Hollywood

“One must read between the lies,” he suggests, putting his own “Everywhere an Oink Oink” at the top of the list.

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The Fine Art of the Paperback Makeover

Redesign? Relaunch? Regret? Take a look at the ways publishers aimed to seduce new audiences by changing up the covers of notable books.

Scott Heller and Miguel Salazar | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

The Year in Graphic Novels

Remarkable new books from established masters and promising debuts from brilliant young artists.

Sam Thielman | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Can You Find These 12 Hidden Holiday Books?

This text puzzle conceals the titles of a dozen seasonal books that are waiting for you to discover them.

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Animal Magnetism — and Optimism

Four new books look to fauna to get us through tough times.

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Chloë Sevigny Reads a Steamy Audiobook Romance

In “Alice Sadie Celine,” Sarah Blakley-Cartwright’s first novel for adults, a lauded feminist becomes entangled with her daughter’s best friend.

Michelle Hart | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

9 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

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Kathy Hourigan Is Retiring, but Not From Robert Caro

“Caro’s works are masterpieces of research and artistry,” says the former vice president and managing editor at Knopf Doubleday, who looks forward to — what else? — more reading, after 60 years on the job.

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Dan Greenburg, Who Poked Fun With His Pen, Dies at 87

Women, sex and Jewish mothers were just some of the targets of his popular satirical writing in books, essays, screenplays and more.

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What Wonders Do Ray Bradbury’s Letters Reveal?

Not many, according to a new collection of correspondence from a science fiction master.

Dwight Garner | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

The Mostest for the Hostess: The Joy of Vintage Guides to Throwing a Party

Be wary of the recipes (all that glaze!), but there’s still delight in getting advice about etiquette, guest lists and fondue.

Alexandra Jacobs | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Two Pleasingly Compact Books

Slip these into your pockets.

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The Books Readers Loved in 2023

New York Times commenters share their favorite books of the year.

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6 Paperbacks to Read This Week

Including titles by Stacy Schiff, Paul Harding, Len Deighton and more.

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Night and Day in 3 New Picture Books

Corinna Luyken, Philip Stead and Isabelle Arsenault capture the unique brightness that comes after the dark.

Ben Hatke | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Listen to Ntozake Shange Like You’ve Never Heard Her Before

A new volume of the Black feminist’s previously unpublished writing is read in audiobook form by a full cast of Black women.

Omari Weekes | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

For Kate Christensen, Bad Prose Can Never Yield a Great Book

“A book is made of language,” says the author, whose new novel is “Welcome Home, Stranger.” “How can a house be great if it’s made of shoddy materials? How can a dinner be great if it’s made with terrible ingredients?”

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The Weirdos of the Star-Spangled Cosmos and What They Reveal

In “Things That Go Bump in the Universe,” the astronomer C. Renée James writes about what we can learn from the more exotic shapes and sounds in outer space.

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She ‘Review Bombed’ Other Writers. Then Her Book Got Pulled.

Cait Corrain, a debut fantasy author, admitted to creating fake accounts on Goodreads to bolster her own book and tank the ratings of others.

Alexandra Alter | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

A Poet of His Time, for Better and Worse

A new biography and a career-spanning collection of Anthony Hecht’s work show how fluent he was in his period’s style, and hint at the ways it might have restrained him.

David Orr | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Do You Know These Novels With Academic Settings?

Try this short literary geography quiz that tests your knowledge of books with college connections.

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David Mamet, a.k.a. ‘Embittered Dave,’ Would Like a Word

In a new memoir, the filmmaker and playwright shares his opinions on Hollywood past and present.

Dwight Garner | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

2 Books for Cooks

A Laurie Colwin classic and a modern chef’s posthumous memoir.

Sadie Stein | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

The Best Poetry of 2023

Five collections our columnist loved this year.

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The Right Book Can Make Sigrid Nunez Miss Her Subway Stop

“A great story casts a spell,” says the author, whose new novel is “The Vulnerables.” “It can enthrall you so completely that you not only forget that you’re stuck between two manspreaders in a noisy, crowded, smelly subway car but miss your stop.”

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Read Your Way Through Madrid

Like many who call Madrid home, Elena Medel was born elsewhere, but forged her identity in the Spanish capital. Here, she recommends books about this city that “refuses to be reduced to an ideal.”

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When a Daughter Has a Lot to Learn From Her Mother

In “Flores and Miss Paula,” Melissa Rivero takes readers inside a Brooklyn apartment where family ties are uncomfortably snug.

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The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2023

From witch stories to near-future noir, here are the year’s 10 best speculative books.

Amal El-Mohtar | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

The Critics’ Picks: A Year in Reading

The Book Review’s daily critics — Dwight Garner, Alexandra Jacobs and Jennifer Szalai — reflect on the books that stuck with them in 2023.

Jennifer Szalai, Alexandra Jacobs and Dwight Garner | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

A Complicated Return for a Prodigal Daughter

In “Welcome Home, Stranger,” Kate Christensen takes readers inside the best kind of fictional family: a dysfunctional one.

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A Subversive Counternarrative to the Biblical Story of Jezebel

Perdita Weeks reads the audiobook version of Megan Barnard’s debut novel, reimagining the Israeli queen as a source of mythic, feminist anger.

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Snapshot of a Year in the Land of Best Sellers

Surprising ascensions, Hollywood migrations and daggers to the art — it’s all part of life at the top.

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A Masterpiece That Inspired Gabriel García Márquez to Write His Own

For decades, Juan Rulfo’s novel, “Pedro Páramo,” has cast an uncanny spell on writers. A new translation may bring it broader appeal.

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The 10 Best Books of 2023

They’re here!

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A French Thriller About a Kidfluencer Gone Missing

Delphine de Vigan’s “Kids Run the Show” skewers the phenomenon of parents exposing their children to the world for personal gain.

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Can You Find the 14 Hidden Food-Themed Book Titles in This Puzzle?

Just tap or click on the books you discover to learn more about them. You may even find some gift ideas for the foodie in your life.

J. D. Biersdorfer | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

When They Were Going Through Hell, They Kept a Record

Lauren Grodstein’s new novel takes place in the Warsaw ghetto, where a secret group of archivists made sure the truth survived.

Kim Hubbard | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

Another Battle Royale in the Windsor War

In “Endgame,” Harry and Meghan’s sympathetic biographer, Omid Scobie, takes on the in-laws — and takes no prisoners.

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Two Novels by Renegade Women

Leah Greenblatt recommends “Meg,” by Theodora Keogh, and “The Glass Cell,” by Patricia Highsmith.

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Magic Man: The Story of the Greatest Point Guard in N.B.A. History

Roland Lazenby’s big biography of Magic Johnson gives us a wealth of detail, a huge cast of characters and, in a way, the tapestry of our time.

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Reading Her Own Audiobook, Jada Pinkett Smith Slaps Back

In “Worthy,” the actor recalls her gritty Baltimore upbringing, her early stardom, her marriage and her mental health.

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9 New Books We Recommend This Week

Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times.

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Mark Kurlansky Wishes More Authors Would Denounce War

“There are too many books celebrating it,” says the author, whose new book is “The Core of an Onion.”

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Bob Contant, Dedicated Bohemian Bookseller, Dies at 80

A founder of the St. Mark’s Bookshop in the East Village, he prided himself on stocking titles that were not “too popular” and stayed in business for four decades.

Sam Roberts | NYTimes Books | Disclosure

A Political Convert in the Long Shadow of the Civil War

In “Longstreet,” Elizabeth R. Varon dissects the life and legacy of a Confederate general who became a devoted supporter of Reconstruction.

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100 Notable Books of 2023

Here are the year’s notable fiction, poetry and nonfiction, chosen by the staff of The New York Times Book Review.

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