Books

While many of us are thinking of love this Valentine's Day, here are some of the best romance novels hitting shelves in the first half of the year to help plan your reading tour de romance in 2024.

Mariah Stovall manages to convey the essence of punk and emo through the prose itself; this is an excellent novel, compassionate and filled with a sparkling intelligence about the human condition.

The novel is an ambitious project, written by 36 authors yet achieving a unified voice of sorts, as every character narrates their story simply, casually, allowing themselves digressions and asides.

NPR's Debbie Elliott talks with photographer Kate Medley about her book, "Thank You Please Come Again," on eateries in Southern gas stations. She also speaks with Otha Campbell who helps run one.

NPR's Scott Simon asks writer Calvin Trillin about his new collection of reporting on reporters. It's called "The Lede: Dispatches from a Life in the Press."

A fox's spirit, able to take the form of a woman, hunts for the man who killed her daughter in Yangsze Choo's new novel. Choo talks with NPR's Scott Simon about "The Fox Wife."

These books, including Roxana Robinson's Leaving, which comes out on Tuesday, all concern older women — some in their 60s, others in their 90s — who fully intend to enjoy all their years.

The Secret History of Bigfoot is a smart, hilarious, and wonderfully immersive journey into the history of Bigfoot, the culture around it, the people who obsess about it, and the psychology behind it.