Recent Reviews
Claudia Emerson, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, dies at 57
Ms. Emerson was honored for a collection of verses illuminating the complex legacy of divorce and death.
Emperor of Europe
In “Napoleon,” Andrew Roberts chronicles the life of the man who conquered Europe.
When looking is interfering
Two new books tell us a great deal about scientific phenomena we can’t understand.
Thinking beyond national identities
Toumani embarks on a journey to grapple with and find the meaning of the Armenian genocide.
America’s foreign-policy shortcomings
David Rothkopf outlines the dangers America faces from its repeated failings in foreign-policy foresight.
Why shouldn’t Ayelet Waldman complain?
More -- and more candid -- discussion of best books lists would enrich our literary culture.
A holiday story collection from popular YA authors
“My True Love Gave to Me” includes stories by Kelly Link, Rainbow Rowell and David Levithan.
Book review: ‘Hope’ by Richard Zoglin
The biographer takes an unflinching look at Bob Hope’s long career.
‘Twilight of the Eastern Gods,’ by Ismail Kadare
For the first time in English, the author’s reminiscence of the Gorky Institute for World Literature in 1958
Emily Dickinson birthday marathon
The Library of Congress and the Folger Library will celebrate the Belle of Amherst all day long on Dec. 8.
Michael Dirda reviews ‘Suspended Sentences’
Three novellas by the Nobel Prize winner are quiet, mysterious tales reminiscent of Paul Auster’s works.
Book review of ‘First Impressions,’ by Charlie Lovett
A Jane Austen mystery threatens to turn the literary world upside down.
‘How to Be Both,’ by Ali Smith
Two women, separated by 500 years, reflect on art, grief and — impossibly — each other.
Best new romance novels for December
Sarah Maclean chooses three powerful heroes who struggle with the burden of their duty.
Kent Haruf, novelist of small-town intrigue, dies at 71
Mr. Haruf drew acclaim for novels set in Colorado including “The Tie That Binds” and “Plainsong.”
Looking for a good book? Ask a penguin.
Inspired by the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line, Penguin Random House unveils the Penguin Hotline.
A new biography offers a fresh look at Eugene O’Neill
How the playwright’s life did — and did not — influence his work.
Mark Strand, acclaimed bard of absence and loss, dies a
Mr. Strand, 80, won a Pulitzer Prize and served as U.S. poet laureate from 1990-1991.
Gifts for book lovers — from a penny to Christian Grey’s bathroom
New York magazine’s big book of gifts includes modest and immodest ideas for the holidays.
President Obama — and everyone else — was buying books this weekend
Anthony Doerr’s “All the Light We Cannot See” and Atul Gawande’s “Being Mortal” were hot titles in Washington over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Crime fiction: ‘The Big Finish,’ by James W. Hall
When his son gets involved with a radical environmental group, Thorn sets out to bring him home.
Novelist Kent Haruf
In his celebrated novels “Plainsong,” “Eventide” and “Benediction,” he explored the struggles of ordinary people in eastern Colorado.
Friendship of titans
Thomas Maier details the shenanigans behind the power of Joe Kennedy and Winston Churchill.
The right man to remake the Church?
Austen Ivereigh traces the life of Pope Francis to illuminate the origins of his radical papal message.
Q&A with Steven Pinker
The author of ‘The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century’
‘De Niro: A Life,’ by Shawn Levy
With a marked ability to become whatever character he’s playing, who exactly is Robert De Niro?
P.D. James, renowned British crime novelist, dies at 94
In her many books, Ms. James showed a gritty mastery of the crime genre and of human nature.
‘Philip Larkin: Life, Art and Love,’ by James Booth
A valuable critical biography of the great poet that focuses on Larkin’s life as refracted in his writing.
‘The Book of Strange New Things,’ by Michel Faber
A Christian minister is sent to a distant planet to bring Jesus to the aliens.
‘The Frozen Dead’: Gruesome killings in a Pyrenees town
Stock characters and predictability undo a debut novel with a thoughtful take on the homicidal mind.
‘The Lodger,’ by Louisa Treger
A carefully researched novel about a neglected pioneer of 20th-century literature: Dorothy Richardson.
Three sci-fi novels imagine frightening alternate realities
See the world another way in ‘The Three-Body Problem,’ ‘Elysium’ and ‘Genesis Code’
‘Betrayed,’ by Lisa Scottoline, stars a modern Nancy Drew
Like “The Good Wife’s” Alicia Florrick, the heroine here fights for justice with pluck and high drama.
Book World: ‘The Girl Next Door’ by Ruth Rendell
Lives are pulled apart by the discovery of an old pair of severed hands.
Why abortion is a moral decision
Katha Pollitt seeks to cast abortion as a social good — a decision made by women who celebrate motherhood.
Marcus Samuelsson: Cooking the world, at home
Q&A: The chef and author on the global influences in an American kitchen.
Washington Post Bestsellers Dec. 7, 2014
The books Washington has been reading.
Why shouldn’t Ayelet Waldman complain?
More -- and more candid -- discussion of best books lists would enrich our literary culture.
Emily Dickinson birthday marathon
The Library of Congress and the Folger Library will celebrate the Belle of Amherst all day long on Dec. 8.
‘How to Be Both,’ by Ali Smith
Two women, separated by 500 years, reflect on art, grief and — impossibly — each other.
Michael Dirda reviews ‘Suspended Sentences’
Three novellas by the Nobel Prize winner are quiet, mysterious tales reminiscent of Paul Auster’s works.
‘Philip Larkin: Life, Art and Love,’ by James Booth
A valuable critical biography of the great poet that focuses on Larkin’s life as refracted in his writing.
Michael Dirda reviews ‘Jason and the Argonauts’
An amalgam of the mythic and the modern with a dash of Baron Münchausen or Marvel comics.
Literary Calendar
Going Out Guide: Upcoming events
Get the latest on readings, signings and author appearances in the D.C. area.
