Jon Krakauer, 30 years after surviving Everest’s deadliest day, still worries about the climbing season. Everest’s season is off to a “terrible start” due to a Khumbu Icefall closure, delaying acclimatization. Krakauer’s bestselling memoir, “Into Thin Air,” about the 1996 tragedy, has a new edition. It’s been 30 years since Jon Krakauer survived one of … Read more
Bestselling author Kathryn Stockett’s new novel, “The Calamity Club,” was inspired by a photo of an oyster shucker girl. The novel centers on 11-year-old Meg, an orphan at a Mississippi orphanage where the older girls are shipped off to work in Biloxi canneries. Stockett’s book delves into Mississippi’s bleak history, including sterilization laws targeting women. … Read more
Journalist Mary Lisa Gavenas’ new book details cosmetics titan Mary Kay’s rags-to-riches story. Born in Hot Wells, Tex., Mary Kay Ash overcame early hardship to build a billion-dollar empire. Her company, Beauty by Mary Kay, went public in 1968, a first for a woman-chaired firm on NYSE. A new biography of Mary Kay — the … Read more
Caroline Bicks, Stephen E. King Chair, got unprecedented access to Stephen King’s archives. Her new book reveals King’s meticulous crafting of fear, like in “Pet Sematary,” and his inspirations. King revealed “The Shining” was shaped by a Shakespearean tragedy, but it wasn’t “Macbeth.” Every morning during her sabbatical year serving as the Stephen E. King … Read more
Millennials and Gen Z are swapping wild party weekends for quiet reading retreats. Mackenzie Newcomb, founder of Bad Bitch Book Club, says people seek community at these popular getaways. Prominent literary figure Zibby Owens also hosts sold-out retreats, often with authors discussing books. Travel is booked. In the latest sign that younger generations are opting … Read more
Mommy influencers are shamelessly exploiting their kids’ most private, distressing moments for online content. Author Fortesa Latifi’s new book reveals sick or sad children’s content often earns parents the most money. Past scandals, like the Stauffer family’s adoption reversal, highlight the ethical minefield of child exploitation. “Something’s off with our son, something’s office with our … Read more
Lexicographer Kory Stamper’s new book, ” Truel Color,” was inspired by the wild, poetic color definitions in Webster’s Third Dictionary. These unique definitions were crafted by scientists I.H. Godlove and his wife Margaret Godlove. The US sought color standards after WWI, leading to a “color boom” and dictionary inclusion. It was the third definition of … Read more
FICTION Tana French (Viking) In the final installment of French’s acclaimed Cal Hooper trilogy, a girl who was set to marry into a powerful family goes missing in a small Irish village and is found dead in a river. As Hooper — the former Chicago detective who moved to Ireland to supposedly retire and relax … Read more
A few years back, Andrew McCarthy was having a conversation with his then 20-year-old son, Sam, who was telling him a funny story about a buddy’s dating life. Then the boy made a comment that struck a nerve. “You don’t really have any friends, do you, Dad?” In the days that followed, McCarthy — who rose … Read more
With her new book, history professor Helen Zoe Veit tackles a fraught, emotionally charged, controversial subject: kids being fussy eaters. The prevailing modern wisdom is that “children have biologically keen taste buds, that children are naturally sensitive to texture and color, and that children are evolutionarily cautious about new things,” she writes in “Picky: How … Read more
On August 7, 1963, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis delivered her youngest child via an emergency caesarean section at an Air Force Base Hospital in Massachusetts. Baby Patrick was five and a half weeks premature, and doctors immediately knew there were problems with his labored breathing. “The infant had a translucent grapelike coloring, warning of … Read more
Jonas Kaufmann will no longer sing at London’s Royal Opera House — because, of all things, the pay is too low. “I don’t know how you do it,” the tenor recently told BBC Radio 3. In the same interview, he revealed that he won’t bother singing at the Metropolitan Opera anymore, either, though that’s about … Read more
David Bowie’s had a vigorous afterlife since dying in New York 10 years ago. He conquered Billboard’s album chart for the first time in his career with the dark jazzy masterpiece “Blackstar,” released Jan. 8, 2016 — just two days before his death. His best-known singles surged back into the top 100 on both sides … Read more
Nine-year-old Stefan Merrill Block hated his new school in Plano, Texas. It was boring, stifling. His homeroom teacher shook him by the shoulders in front of all his classmates when he asked too many questions one day. He even started a novel about a boy who escapes from school. He would come home and sulk … Read more
From gripping thrillers, witty satires and poignant epics to captivating histories and juicy memoirs, 2025 was full of great books. Read on for 30 of our favorites. FICTION Karen Russell (Knopf)The latest from the Pulitzer finalist and MacArthur fellow is set in Nebraska during the Great Depression — a very real backdrop for a very surreal … Read more
Since the first Winnie-the-Pooh book was published in 1926, the tales of a honey-loving bear and his animal friends have sold more than 50 million copies worldwide. But, as Gyles Brandreth writes in “Somewhere, a Boy and a Bear: A. A. Milne and the Creation of ‘Winnie- the-Pooh’ ” (St. Martin’s Press), behind the children’s … Read more
Barbie is not who we think she is. For nearly seven decades, Mattel has sold Barbie as a true original: a revolutionary and empowering alternative to the baby dolls before her. In her new book, “Barbieland: The Unauthorized History” (Atria/One Signal Publishers), Tarpley Hitt provides a surprising counternarrative. Barbie, per Hitt’s lens, was not a groundbreaking novelty. … Read more
On a chilly January night in 1924, fledgling publisher Richard Simon was having dinner with his Aunt Wixie when she asked if he knew where she could buy a book of crossword puzzles. None existed. At the time, the crossword was little more than a decade old and it had only appeared in newspapers, namely … Read more
Non Fiction Andrew Ross Sorkin (Viking), $35With his bestseller “Too Big to Fail,” Andrew Ross Sorkin dramatically portrayed the 2008 financial crisis. Now, across nearly 600 pages, he thrillingly brings the big crash to life, using newly recovered historical documents to give readers an inside account. Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns (Knopf), $80For history … Read more
Having practiced medicine for four decades, Dr. Marc Siegel knows the healing power of faith. Indeed, the Fox News senior medical analyst has always had miracles on his mind. They’ve been everywhere — from his fateful on-the-job meeting of his neurologist wife, Luda Bronfin, to the birth of his miracle son, Samuel, who overcame health … Read more