Book Review

Highlights

  1. A Memoir That Delivers on Its Promise of ‘Sex, Drugs, and Opera’

    In “Seeing Through,” the prolific composer Ricky Ian Gordon shares the heroes, monsters, obsessions and fetishes that drive his art and fuel a dizzying life.

     By

    “If I had my way, the whole world would look like a carnival,” Ricky Ian Gordon writes in his new memoir.
    CreditVictor Llorente for The New York Times
    Nonfiction
  2. 15 New Books Coming in August

    New novels by Elif Shafak and Casey McQuiston, a biography of a gay cultural icon, a dystopian tale of A.I. gone awry — and more.

     

    CreditThe New York Times
  3. Gail Lumet Buckley, Chronicler of Black Family History, Dies at 86

    She wrote two books about multiple generations of her forebears, including her mother, Lena Horne.

     By

    Gail Lumet Buckley in 1973. In her book “The Hornes” (1986), she wrote of her family’s history from after the Revolutionary War to the Civil War, Reconstruction and the 20th century, when her mother, Lena Horne, began her show business career.
    CreditFairchild Archive/Penske Media, via Getty Images
  4. More States Are Passing Book Banning Rules. Here’s What They Say.

    Discussion about what books children should access has diminished on the national stage. But most rules pertaining to schools and libraries are made at the state and local level.

     By

    Protesters in Boise, Idaho show their opposition to a new law that limits access to books in the state. Restrictive laws have also gone into effect in Utah and South Carolina.
    CreditJames Dawson
  5. The Woman Who Beat the Boys of the French New Wave to the Punch

    A new biography surveys the prolific and pioneering career of the filmmaker Agnès Varda.

     By

    Agnès Varda at home in 2009.
    CreditOwen Franken for The New York Times
    Nonfiction

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  1. A Memoir That Delivers on Its Promise of ‘Sex, Drugs, and Opera’

    In “Seeing Through,” the prolific composer Ricky Ian Gordon shares the heroes, monsters, obsessions and fetishes that drive his art and fuel a dizzying life.

     By

    “If I had my way, the whole world would look like a carnival,” Ricky Ian Gordon writes in his new memoir.
    CreditVictor Llorente for The New York Times
  2. She Found Bounties in Small Towns, Local Talk and Everyday Life

    The simple pleasures keep coming in this keenly observed collection by the Argentinian writer Hebe Uhart.

     By

    Hebe Uhart (1936-2018).
    CreditNora Lezano
  3. The Misfit Wisdom of Harry, Barry and Larry

    Harry Crews, Barry Hannah and Larry Brown were part of a Southern writers’ movement that centered dissidents and outsiders. They’re still worth reading.

     By

    From left: Harry Crews, Larry Brown and Barry Hannah.
    CreditFrom left: The Florida Times-Union-USA Today Network; Nancy R. Schiff/Getty Images; Rollin Riggs
  4. The Art Critic Who Changed Many Tastes, Including His Own

    Peter Schjeldahl’s final book collects the essays and reviews he wrote in the years after a cancer diagnosis.

     By

    Peter Schjeldahl (1942-2022).
    CreditAda Calhoun
  5. On the Lam in the Wild West, With Bounty Hunters Trailing

    Kevin Barry’s new novel follows a fugitive couple from Butte, Mont., in the late 19th century.

     By

    The Montana badlands, where two lovers go on the run in Kevin Barry’s new novel.
    CreditEvelyn J. Cameron/Montana Historical Society
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