All posts tagged: MustRead

A Must-Read Book By One of Our Sharpest Contemporary Voices

A Must-Read Book By One of Our Sharpest Contemporary Voices

Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino If you read The New Yorker with any kind of frequency, you’ve probably read a Jia Tolentino piece. I recommend “Elizabeth Gilbert’s Latest Epiphanies” as an amuse-bouche of her style and tone (it’s also just plain juicy). Beyond The New Yorker, Tolentino is often called-upon to deliver her thoughts on the zeitgeist because she so deftly articulates the collective vibes into punchy nuggets of truth. This is why I snatched up her debut collection when it first published in 2019, and why it became a bestseller and one of Barack Obama’s favorite books of that year. Thanks(?) to this book, I will always look at Lululemon leggings and indoor group workout classes with a faint, possibly unfair, hint of revulsion. Beyond this one squeamish scenario, Tolentino writes about big, meaty topics like identity in the age of the internet, reality television with which she has an intimate and personal connection that took me by surprise, and more of-the-moment topics still relevant today in nine exquisitely open and …

Five Must-Read Fantasy Picture Books

Five Must-Read Fantasy Picture Books

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Fantasy picture books have been around for a long time. As an ’80s child, I read many of Stephen Cosgrove’s fantasy children’s books–Serendipity was a favorite. I had my very own stuffed Wild Thing and frequently pored over a set of beloved fairytale picture books. I never did stop reading fantasy. But while they’ve always been around, fantasy picture books are having a bit of a moment right now. I recently attended a virtual class with children’s book agent Adria Goetz, who said many publishers are seeking high-fantasy picture books rich in world-building and themes. Of course, kids love these kinds of books because magic rocks, but I’d argue even adult fantasy readers would enjoy them, especially cozy fantasy readers. If you like the kind of fantasy that feels like a warm hug, then don’t sleep on picture books! Here are five fantasy picture books that exemplify this trend, from the most adorable owl ever to a dragon …

Greatest science books: Fermat’s Last Theorem is still a must-read about a 350-year maths secret

Greatest science books: Fermat’s Last Theorem is still a must-read about a 350-year maths secret

How does Simon Singh’s classic popular science book Fermat’s Last Theorem hold up today? Did you know the number 26 is rather special? It is the only number that sits directly between a square number (25 or 52) and a cube number (27 or 33). And to be clear, it’s not merely that we’ve never found another case of this square-cube sandwich. We know for certain that there isn’t another one between zero and infinity. Simon Singh’s 1997 book Fermat’s Last Theorem is an exploration of mathematical proof – what it means, how it’s obtained, and what drives those who so passionately seek it. It tells the story of the quest for one particularly beguiling proof, which makes it a compelling read. But given that this proof took 350 years to emerge, it also ends up being a wonderful history of mathematics. For many of us, the meat of mathematics lies in a realm of abstract reasoning far beyond us. But for me, what makes this book an absolute treasure, even almost 30 years after …

10 Must-Read New Queer Books Out in April 2026

10 Must-Read New Queer Books Out in April 2026

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. There are so many excellent queer books out this year, and that’s a comfort in these trying times. Today, I’ve rounded up ten to have on your radar, but that just scratches the surface. There’s queer and trans literary fiction, a campy murder mystery, M/M historical romance, sapphic romantasy, two takes on queer mermaids, a couple of LGBTQ middle grade and YA books for readers of all ages, and a biography of a groundbreaking trans woman author—to name a few. All Access members can find a bonus list at the end of ten new queer books out this week. Afternoon Hours of a Hermit by Patrick Cottrell (April 21) Dan Moran has made it: his autofictional trans novel was published, and he’s teaching writing while he works on his new psychological thriller. But when he receives a mislabelled envelope with a photo of his dead brother inside, he decides to play detective, returning to his estranged family’s home …

Belle Burden’s ‘Strangers’ is a must-read, and soon a must-watch with Gwyneth Paltrow

Belle Burden’s ‘Strangers’ is a must-read, and soon a must-watch with Gwyneth Paltrow

On the Shelf Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage By Belle Burden The Dial Press: 256 pages, $30 If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores. It is often the case that (to slightly amend a line from Joan Didion) we tell ourselves stories in order to love, crafting our own tidy narrative while papering over the danger signs and hidden trip wires that can untangle a relationship. Love is irrational and stands apart from reason, which might account for the nearly 40% divorce rate in this country; we often recognize the hairline cracks when it’s too late, when faith has dissolved and the hard truth is revealed. Such was the case with Belle Burden. She was a child of privilege, the daughter of Carter Burden, a Vanderbilt descendant and media executive, and Amanda Burden, the daughter of Babe Paley and an influential urban planner. An aspiring writer as a teenager, Burden turned her focus to law in college, earning a degree in …

12 Must-Read New Queer Books Out in March 2026

12 Must-Read New Queer Books Out in March 2026

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. March is one of the biggest, most exciting publishing months of the year; there are so many incredible queer books coming out that it was painful to try to narrow it down to just these 12. So, consider this a jumping off point, not a definitive list. I have a gay take on The Golden Girls, the new Cat Sebastian romance, not one but TWO queer Moby-Dick retellings set in space, a sapphic historical gothic, a trans time travel YA romance, a new Alexis Henderson YA horror novel, and so much more. Don’t forget to check out the Lit for Queer Liberation auction, running March 8-14th. There are hundreds of signed books by big name authors available to bid on, including from V.E. Schwab, Roxane Gay, Adam Silvera, and Becky Albertalli. Must-Read Queer Adult Books Out in March 2026 That’s What Friends Are For by Wade Rouse (March 3) It’s The Golden Girls, but with older gay men! …

Must-Read Modern Classics of Historical Fiction

Must-Read Modern Classics of Historical Fiction

This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission. Brought to you by Random House Children’s Books It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. Every winter, I love to dive into some excellent historical fiction; I prefer it to be long and epic. I don’t know what about the season makes me want to dive into the past and into stories that span generations. Still, the chilly wind, the cozy energy of a soft blanket, a pet snoozing nearby, and a nice hot cup of coffee or tea always make those books …

A Must-Read National Book Award Finalist That Can Be a Quick Read

A Must-Read National Book Award Finalist That Can Be a Quick Read

Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith In they’re stunning 2017 collection, Danez Smith explores being Black, being queer, being HIV positive. Heavy subjects for a heavy world concentrated into spare, potent lines. Not every kind of poetry works for everyone and I can’t always scry meaning from the lines the way I imagine great students of the form might but, as with Tracy K. Smith’s collection, Life on Mars, I got the sense that I was learning more about the author, identity, and the hard questions of life every time I re-read a poem. In “dear white america” Smith calls white Americans out for the enduring and penetrating racism in this country, from violence against Black people to professing color-blindness while upholding racism and the ideals of white supremacy. The normalization of harmful white supremacist beauty standards and racism disguised as personal preference, for instance, emerges in “a note on the phone app that tells me how far i am from other men’s mouth” followed by the poem “& even the black guy’s profile …

7 Must-Read YA Books by Latine Authors

7 Must-Read YA Books by Latine Authors

Our Shadows Have Claws edited by Yamile Saied Méndez and Amparo Ortiz Last but not least, this YA horror anthology of monster scares plucked from Latin American legends and folklore is absolutely stacked. Contributors include Julia Alvarez, Ann Dávila Cardinal, Racquel Marie, Yamile Saied Méndez, Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, Claribel A. Ortega, and Lilliam Rivera… and that’s only half the list! Through tales of vampires, zombies, shape-shifters, and more set across Latin America and the diaspora, this collection explores themes like racism, queerness, gender-based violence, and colorism. These are the stories that kept a lot of us up at night as kids, reimagined by some of the most brilliant YA authors of our time. Source link

Must-Read Celebrity Memoirs Hitting Shelves in 2026

Must-Read Celebrity Memoirs Hitting Shelves in 2026

The Make-Believe by Hannah Murray (The Dial Press, June 23) Actress Hannah Murray became a celebrity as a teenager when she joined the cast of Skins as Cassie, one of the British television series’s most beloved characters. Off-camera, Murray’s struggles with mental health sent her looking for solace, and at the age of 27, she joined a wellness organization that promised spiritual rewards. But the organization turned out to be much more controlling than Murray anticipated. As she fell deeper in love with the organization’s charismatic leader, she found it more impossible to escape his manipulation. In writing The Make-Believe, Hannah Murray tells People that she felt “empowered to be telling my own story and reclaiming my own narrative. I’m excited to share this story with readers, to let them inside a chapter of my life that was sometimes magical, sometimes chaotic, sometimes painful and dark.” Source link