The Weekly Reader

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new memoirs that examine the effects and aftermath of civil war and civil unrest: Wayetu Moore's The Giant, The Dragons, The Women, and Wes Moore's Five Days.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new memoirs that are very "of the moment": Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl and Becoming Duchess Goldblatt. 

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new novels that feature unexpected pregnancies and their unintended consequences: Connie Schultz's The Daughters of Erietown and Emily Gould's Perfect Tunes.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, our book critic Marion Winik reviews two new novels perfect for summertime reading: Kevin Kwan's Sex and Vanity and Elin Hilderbrand's 28 Summers.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we celebrate the release of the Everyman's Library collection of 40 short stories by Lorrie Moore.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, Marion Winik reviews two new collections of short stories from authors Francesca Marciano and Stephen King.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new memoirs from authors whose lives read like adventure novels: Miss Aluminum by Susanna Moore and All the Way to the Tigers by Mary Morris.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, our book critic Marion Winik reviews three books, a novel and two poetry collections, that explore the complexity of black identity in America: Brit Bennett's The Vanishing Half, Morgan Parker's Magical Negro, and Jericho Brown's The Tradition.  

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, two new novels about the perils of trying to fit in: Marion Winik reviews Rufi Thorpe's The Knockout Queen, and Frances Cha's If I had Your Face.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new books about two very different wars. Marion Winik on Paul Yoon's Run Me to Earth and Ariel Lawhon's Code Name Helene.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new, dystopian novels that imagine a world in the throws of a pandemic: Marion Winik on Lawrence Wright's The End of October and Sarah Pinsker's A Song for a New Day.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, our book critic Marion Winik reviews two new great novels by two great writers: Anne Tyler's Redhead by the Side of the Road and Julia Alvarez's Afterlife.

Reading is often considered a form of escapism, a break from the real world around us, which, sounds pretty good right now. On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we present two new novels that will take you away from your own day to day reality, and maybe, remind you that things can always be a little worse. Marion Winik reviews Emily St. John Mandel's The Glass Hotel and Elizabeth Wetmore's Valentine. 

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new memoirs that remind us how important a sense of humor can be to surviving both trauma and drama. Marion Winik on Leslie Gray Streeter's Black Widow and Alia Volz's Home Baked.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, our book critic Marion Winik reviews Helen Fremont's acclaimed 1999 memoir After Long Silence and her newly released follow-up, The Escape Artist.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, our book critic Marion Winik reviews two new novels about lost loved ones and the pain of finding that we often don't know people as well as we think we do. Featured are Kevin Nguyen's New Waves and Alexis Schaitkin's Saint X. 

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, our book critic Marion Winik reviews two new books that add to the #metoo conversation: My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell and The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Dare.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we preview Douglas Stuart's debut novel Shuggie Bain, a profoundly affecting story about growing up amidst the poverty, violence, and alcoholism in a crumbling Glasgow housing scheme in the 1980s.

On this episode of The Weekly Reader, our book critic Marion Winik reviews two new novels that look at the dark side of the tech boom: Anna Wiener's Uncanny Valley and Megan Angelo's Followers.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, our book critic Marion Winik reviews two new novels that explore the delicate dance of girls in group settings and the dangers of getting what you think you want: Clare Beams The Illness Lesson and Kate Weinberg's debut novel The Truants.

Want to get away? On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new novels that take us to exotic locales, replete with intriguing characters and plenty of plot twists. Our book critic Marion Winik shares her thoughts on Isabel Allende's A Long Petal of the Sea and Christopher Bollen's A Beautiful Crime.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, book critic Marion Winik reviews Arcadia by Lauren Groff. The book tells the story of a fictional hippie commune in New York State in the 60s, 70s and 80s, and its slow devolution into a dystopian nightmare.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new books that explore important topics that will appeal to inquisitive readers. Marion Winik shares her thoughts on Peggy Orenstein's Boys and Sex, and Susannah Cahalan's The Great Pretender. 

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review Kiley Reid's debut novel Such a Fun Age. The book is a clever, thoughtful examination of race and racism in America, and, it's our selection for the next meeting of The Weekly Reader Book Club.  

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new, important memoirs that don't shy away from ugly truths: Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill and Chris Rush's The Light Years.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new memoirs about the extraordinary lives. Chanel Miller recounts the story of life after she was raped on campus at Stanford University in Know My Name, and Saeed Jones describes his life growing up black and gay in conservative Christian family in Texas in How We Fight for Our Lives.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review two new novels that might just make you appreciate your own family relationships a little bit more: Jami Attenberg's All This Could be Yours and Jacqueline Woodson's Red at the Bone.

On this edition of The Weekly Reader our book critic Marion Winik reviews the winners of this year's Booker Prize for Fiction, Bernadine Evaristo's Girl, Woman, Other, and Margaret Atwood's The Testaments.

Since news of the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse scandal broke in 2017, the phrase "Me Too" has become standard shorthand for inappropriate sexual behavior. On this edition of The Weekly Reader, we review Mary Gaitskills' This Is Pleasure, a new novel with a decidedly "fresh" take on the issue.

On this episode of The Weekly Reader, we preview Myla Goldberg's Feast Your Eyes, our pick for the December meeting of our Book Club, and we also review Kevin Wilson's latest novel, Nothing to See Here.