Poetry To Pay Attention To: A Preview Of 2017's Best Verse
2017 is turning out to be a year of big change. Critic Craig Teicher highlights some of the poetry that can help guide readers through it.
Books
Nothing Is Quite What It Seems In Surreal, Unsettling 'Twenty Days'
Giorgio De Maria's cult novel was first published in Italy in 1977. It's a spooky piece of magical realism that captures a chaotic time in Italian history, starting gently and getting seriously weird.
What's The Next Big Dystopian Novel? Margaret Atwood Has Some Ideas
Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale landed on top of Amazon's best-seller lists this week, following other classics like 1984 and It Can't Happen Here. She has some thoughts on our next great dystopia.
Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale' Soars To Top Of Amazon Bestseller List
Margaret Atwood's feminist classic, The Handmaid's Tale, is the latest dystopian novel to hit the Amazon bestseller lists, following 1984 and It Can't Happen Here.
Joyce Carol Oates' New Novel Begins With An Abortion Doctor's Murder
A Book of American Martyrs is told, in part, from the perspective of the murderer, a man who feels he's been called by God.
'Black Edge' Recounts The Biggest Insider-Trading Scandal In History
Sheelah Kolhatkar discusses the investigation of billionaire hedge-fund trader Steven A. Cohen. She says the ways Wall Street elites accumulate wealth often negatively affect the rest of the country.
It Was The Best Of Fries, It Was The Worst Of Fries: Charles Dickens, Food Scribe
Charles Dickens, born Feb. 7, 1812, was likely inspired by his own hunger to write some of the finest descriptions of Victorian food and cooking that have ever been recorded in literature.
'Glass House' Chronicles The Sharp Decline Of An All-American Factory Town
Once a bustling town, Lancaster, Ohio, is now beset by unemployment, low wages and drug abuse. Brian Alexander chronicles the rise and fall of his hometown in his new book, Glass House.
In 'Universal Harvester,' Mountain Goats Lyricist Reaps A Creepy Crop
John Darnielle used some tricks of the horror trade to write his latest novel, which is set in 1990s Iowa and involves some cornfields. What's scary about cornfields? Mostly, the unknown.
Culture Clash, Survival And Hope In 'Pachinko'
Min Jin Lee's sprawling family epic spans decades and two clashing cultures — Korea and Japan. It's honest, unadorned writing that acknowledges horror but ultimately carries a message of hope.