View in browser|nytimes.com

April 28, 2026

The New York Times

	By Joumana Khatib

Dear readers,

Some Poetry Challenge, huh? I hope your gray matter is still alive and tingling with the words of W.H. Auden. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, you have a fun surprise in store — check it out here.)

We are back to our regularly scheduled programming this week. Please don’t miss this essay from our critic Dwight Garner about what A.I. and the decimation of literary coverage across American media might mean for book lovers. It also offers the excuse, not that you need one, to revisit a story by the brilliant writer Donald Barthelme, who was so funny and odd and something of an antecedent to George Saunders.

My colleagues compiled a list of the best books of the year so far — 13 novels and works of nonfiction — and I can all but guarantee you’ll find something to love there. Or something that will at the very least inspire a flood of passionate feeling.

And I thoroughly enjoyed this profile of the thriller writer Jordan Harper, whose noir novels expose the corruption and hypocrisy of Hollywood. Harper is described as a “sweetheart in person, deranged on the page,” which might explain how he came up with a devastating scene involving a drill.

As always, I’d love to hear about what you are reading. Please feel free to send me a note at books@nytimes.com.

See you on Friday.

LOOKING FOR YOUR NEXT BOOK TO READ?

Editors’ Choice 6 New Books We Love This Week Reading recommendations from critics and editors at The New York Times.

Author photo by Jessica Sample These Literary Thrillers Explore Hollywood’s Dark Side The best-selling author Kelly Yang recommends mysteries set in Tinseltown, from the down and dirty to the deliciously dishy. By Kelly Yang

Caroline Gamon New Historical Fiction, Lush and Lavishly Detailed Our columnist on the month’s best new books. By Alida Becker

RECENT BOOK REVIEWS

nonfiction The ‘Perfect Birthplace for a Writer’? She Says It’s West Virginia. A new book by Jayne Anne Phillips, a Pulitzer-winning novelist, recalling her childhood is a bittersweet triumph. By Sigrid Nunez

Fiction He’s Written Great Books About Sex in Suburbia. This One’s a ‘Ghost Town.’ A middle-aged novelist sifts through memories of growing up in New Jersey in Tom Perrotta’s frustratingly formulaic book. By Alexandra Jacobs

nonfiction Lessons From the Wild, Elusive Life of a Conservation Giant In her engaging, lyrical “Homesick for a World Unknown,” Miriam Horn tells the story of the famed naturalist George Schaller. By Gary Rosen

Nonfiction An Israeli-Born Scholar of the Holocaust Mourns for His Country In “Israel: What Went Wrong?,” Omer Bartov charts how a nation founded in the wake of trauma abandoned the emancipatory impulse of its origins. By Jennifer Szalai

nonfiction As the First Influencer Kids Come of Age, What Have We Learned? In her engaging, sympathetic book “Like, Follow, Subscribe,” the journalist Fortesa Latifi digs into growing up in the spotlight. By Natasha Singer

nonfiction You Can’t Always Get What You Want, Unless It’s a New Rolling Stones Biography The music journalist Bob Spitz, a keeper of numerous rock ’n’ roll flames, has turned out a colorful and authoritative new take on a much-documented band. By Leah Greenblatt

Nonfiction We Used to Compile Our Own Wartime Kill Lists. Now We Let A.I. Do It. In “Project Maven,” Katrina Manson shows us how close we are to artificial intelligence picking targets and dropping bombs without human input. By Fred Kaplan

Nonfiction Translating Shakespeare? This Be Madness — or Is It? The translator Daniel Hahn makes the case that Shakespeare can be appreciated “even if we don’t hear a single one of his words.” By John McWhorter

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.

Love this email? Forward to a friend.

Want this email? Sign-up here.

Have a suggestion for this email? Then send us a note at books@nytimes.com.

If you received this newsletter from someone else, subscribe here. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Books from The New York Times. To stop receiving Books, unsubscribe. To opt out of other promotional emails from The Times, including those regarding The Athletic, manage your email settings.

Subscribe to The TimesGet The New York Times app

Connect with us on:

Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices