Book Reviews

“I’ve been waiting my whole writing career for a subject to grab me and insist that I make it into my first book,” Sam Anderson says, “and this was the one.”

In “The Day You Begin,” a picture book inspired by her great-grandfather, and “Harbor Me,” a middle-grade novel, Woodson explores the transformative power of storytelling.

Six new paperbacks to check out this week.

These books for the under-4 set brim with humor, great illustrations, lively storytelling and cheerful surprises.

Valerie Trueblood, Mark Slouka, S. Wystan Owen and Amy Bonnafoons offer glimpses into lives buffeted by violence, bad luck and sometimes just boredom.

Blair Hurley’s “The Devoted” and Aaron Thier’s “The World Is a Narrow Bridge” trace the complexities and consequences of contemporary faith.

“Katerina” oscillates between ’90s Paris and present-day L.A. to trace a washed-up writer’s midlife malaise.

In “Babylon,” the prizewinning French playwright and author explores the dark undercurrents of domesticity and marriage.

Two debut novels, “Cherry,” by Nico Walker, and “Open Me,” by Lisa Locascio, explore the dangers of young, ill-fated love.

Power struggles roil a wealthy Indian family in Preti Taneja’s debut novel, “We That Are Young,” a vivid reimagining of Shakespeare.

Deborah Baker’s “The Last Englishmen: Love, War, and the End of Empire” charts the adventures of some courageous and complicated British climbers.

An illustrated reminiscence of the variable fortunes, and complicated postwar politics, of a famed screenwriting duo.

Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review.

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

As Mark Leibovich demonstrates in “Big Game,” his book about the N.F.L., the Lords of the League can’t cope with minor embarrassments, much less serious scandals.

Simon Doonan celebrates the beloved New York Times photographer in this review of “Fashion Climbing,” a posthumous memoir of his early career.

The author of the forthcoming novel “Transcription” recoils at the idea of a literary dinner party: “I would never invite writers. They’re so competitive.”

They hold signs at protest marches, but they are also volunteering to strategize for a State Assembly race, and even running for office.

In “Lake Success,” a Wall Street finance bro, loaded down with troubles, hops on a Greyhound bus headed west.

A selection of books published this week; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading.