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Starred Review

Talking with Boys

by Tayyba Kanwal

Author/editor Tayyba Kanwal's stellar Talking with Boys crisscrosses Houston, Dubai, and Lahore (and nearby surrounds) over seven decades in 15 intriguingly linked stories centering mostly Muslim characters searching out, albeit not always finding, other options for how to live less stagnant lives. While each story easily stands alone, connecting various narrative threads, of course, provides additional satisfaction.

"The Girl Who Ran" opens in 2015 Houston when high school senior Amal defies traditional expectations

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What a Small Cat Needs

by Natalia Shaloshvili, trans. by Lena Traer

Of course, ailurophiles (cat lovers) are the perfect audience for author/artist Natalia Shaloshvili's enchantingly whimsical picture book, What a Small Cat Needs, but it's also likely to attract anyone and everyone who opens their hearts to animals. As in Miss Leoparda, Shaloshvili's text is once again smoothly translated from the original Russian by Lena Traer.

"What does a small cat need?" Shaloshvili queries. Her furry protagonist here has two small eyes, two small ears, four small paws, and "a body, with

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Carthage: A New History

by Eve MacDonald

Eve MacDonald's enthralling Carthage: A New History employs archeology and scientific evidence to tell the fullest story yet of the mighty African empire's rise and fall.

The old maxim that history is written by the victors is never truer than in the case of Carthage, which was defeated and destroyed by the Romans in the Third Punic War; what is known of Carthage and its customs comes chiefly from Roman historians. Using revelations from recent archeological excavations and DNA analysis, MacDonald seeks to

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When the Museum Is Closed

by Emi Yagi, trans. by Yuki Tejima

Emi Yagi, who won Japan's coveted Osamu Dazai Prize with Diary of a Void, returns with another delightfully surreal novel, When the Museum Is Closed. Yuki Tejima smoothly translates, capturing Yagi's impressively matter-of-fact tone as inexplicably zany events continue to happen with unquestioning, quotidian ease.

Rika Horauchi is starting her new job: She's "been hired to talk to the ancient Roman statue of Venus" in the octagonal room of the titular museum every Monday, when doors are closed to the public.

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Better the Devil

by Erik J. Brown

In the unsettling YA psychological thriller Better the Devil by Erik J. Brown (All That's Left in the World) a gay teen escaping the threat of conversion therapy assumes the identity of a missing boy, only to discover that the boy's family might be responsible for his disappearance.

Eight months ago, the 16-year-old narrator ran away from his staunchly Christian parents when they signed him up for conversion therapy. Now, the police have apprehended him for stealing food and, desperate to hide his identity,

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Shelf Discovery

The Quiet Mother

by Arnaldur Indriðason

Former Reykjavík police detective Konrád continues to fail at retirement in this skillfully plotted and soulful crime novel centered on his search for a murdered woman's adult child.

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Hemlock

by Melissa Faliveno

A return to an isolated cabin sets a woman dangerously off balance in Hemlock, an otherworldly exploration of addiction, sexuality, and family history.

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Greta Gets the Girl

by Melissa Marr

Between its first fiery hookup and its final declaration of love, Marissa Marr's Greta Gets the Girl offers passionate bedroom scenes as well as romantic, honest communication.

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Missing Sam

by Thrity Umrigar

In this suspense-fueled drama, a same-sex couple living in Ohio undergo a terrible ordeal that tests their marriage as well as one partner's sense of belonging in the U.S.

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Eureka

by Victoria Chang

This melodic, transportive middle-grade novel-in-verse adeptly depicts the harrowing experience of Chinese Americans in 1880s California.

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Escape!

by Stephen Fishbach

This propulsive debut novel from a former reality television contestant and industry insider celebrates and skewers the genre.

Read Full Review »

Poisoned Pen Press: Dear Debbie by Freida McFadden
Shelf Awareness

Media Heat

Thursday, January 29, 2026

Fresh Air: Brooke Nevils, author of Unspeakable Things: Silence, Shame, and the Stories We Choose to Believe (Viking, $35, 9781984880185).

The View: Sarah Shahi, author of Life Is Lifey: The A to Z's on Navigating Life's Messy Middle (Regalo Press, $28.99, 9798895650288).

Kelly Clarkson Show: Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney.

Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Jacob Soboroff, author of Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America's New Age of Disaster (Mariner, $30, 9780063467965).

Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Good Morning America: Amy DuBois Barnett, author of If I Ruled the World: A Novel (Flatiron, $29.99, 9781250378125).

CBS Morning: Ben Crump, author of Worse than a Lie: A Beau Lee Cooper Novel (Bantam, $30, 9780593875704).

Today: Ali Rosen, author of The Slow Burn (Montlake, $16.99, 9781662535963).

The View: Spencer Pratt, author of The Guy You Loved to Hate: Confessions from a Reality TV Villain (Gallery, $30, 9781668211762).

Tamron Hall: Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price, authors of The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-filled World (Rocky Pond Books, $14.99, 9798217111916).

Fresh Air: Jason Zengerle, author of Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind (Crooked Media Reads, $28, 9781638932932).

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

CBS Mornings: Beatrice Dixon, author of The Soul Instinct (Gallery, $30, 9781668049730).

The View: Marc Shaiman, author of Never Mind the Happy: Showbiz Stories from a Sore Winner (Regalo Press, $30, 9798895652244). He also appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Late Show with Stephen Colbert: George Saunders, author of Vigil: A Novel (Random House, $28, 9780525509622).

Monday, January 26, 2026

CBS Mornings: Spencer Pratt, author of The Guy You Loved to Hate: Confessions from a Reality TV Villain (Gallery, $30, 9781668211762).

Tamron Hall: Chris Appleton, author of Your Roots Don't Define You: Transform Your Life. Create Your Comeback. (Hanover Square Press, $30, 9781335001429).

Also on Tamron Hall: Sarah Vacchiano, author of Soft Launch: A Coming-of-Adulthood Novel (Little A, $16.99, 9781662536885).

Fresh Air: Heather Ann Thompson, author of Fear and Fury: The Reagan Eighties, the Bernie Goetz Shootings, and the Rebirth of White Rage (Pantheon, $35, 9780593702093).

Late Show with Stephen Colbert: Governor Josh Shapiro, author of Where We Keep the Light: Stories from a Life of Service (Harper, $30, 9780063463905). 

Thursday, January 22, 2026

Today: Jennifer Breheny Wallace, author of Mattering: The Secret to a Life of Deep Connection and Purpose (Portfolio, $30, 9780593850596).

Fresh Air: Quiara Alegria Hudes, author of The White Hot (One World, $26, 9780593732335).

CBS Mornings: Shadé Zahrai, co-author of Big Trust: Rewire Self-Doubt, Find Your Confidence, and Fuel Success (HarperOne, $29.99, 9780063378155).

The View: Dr. Tara Narula, author of The Healing Power of Resilience: A New Prescription for Health and Well-Being (S&S/Simon Element, $30, 9781982198848).

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