NRPL Librarians

The Most Iconic Speculative Fiction Books of the 21st Century - Reactor

We surveyed some of our favorite writers and asked them to share their choices for the most iconic books of the 21st century (so far).

8 Salem Witch Trial Books Inspired by the Infamous Era

These Salem Witch Trial books show why the story of the Salem Witch Trials has captured the public imagination for centuries.

Nick Harkaway on Growing Up with Smiley and Carrying on His Father’s Legacy with a new le Carré...

In all of spy fiction, there’s no one more ostensibly average than George Smiley, he of the “soft face” and “pudgy” hands, the narrow shoulders and woeful posture, the perennial gloom and wonderful…

The 25 Best Celebrity Memoirs of All Time

Candid, intelligent books that reveal the humans under the headlines, the dark side of the spotlight, and the epic stories that the tabloids could never capture.

Disruption and Deliberation: A Conversation with Benjamin Resnick

Jaime Herndon speaks with debut novelist Benjamin Resnick about his engrossing book, Next Stop.

Dads, Domestic Suspense, and Overlooking the Sins of Our Children

Like a lot of writers, I’m always dreaming up hypothetical “what-if” scenarios—and sometimes I’ll run these situations past my wife, Julie, to ask how she would respond.  For example, I once asked …

The Best New Books Out This Fall, According to a Bookfluencer

From memoirs to fiction.

So, you want to read some horror? Here’s a spooky season starter kit for the genre-curious.

Ah, October: some might say it’s the best month of the year. (It is.) Certainly, it is the spookiest (although Charles Dickens might argue for December) and by the time you read this, I have …

6 Books About the Perils of Memory Manipulation

Our memories make us who we are. In his novella Story of Your Life (basis for the film Arrival), science fiction writer Ted Chiang describes memories forming in the narrator’s mind “like a column o…

7 Great Haunted House Novels Written by Women

I grew up reading horror. Okay, as a kid “horror” was pretty much Scooby-Doo and some children’s ghost stories, but I still devoured everything I could find, and as soon as I got my adult library c…

A Long, Vital Tradition: Nine Books That Imagine What a Black Utopia Could Be

When asked to free-associate upon hearing the phrase “Black utopia,” many people today might mention Black artists or fictional worlds—the Sun Ra Arkestra and P-Funk’s elaborate, out-of…

Thirteen Jew­ish Writ­ers Share Their High Holiday Read­ing Recommendations

In celebration of the High Holidays, we asked thirteen writers to share a book they would recommend reading during this season.

25 Independent Bookstores We Love

From coast to coast, our picks for the stores that are true literary experiences

The 2024 Cundill History Prize Shortlist

37 Life-Changing Books You Won't Be Able to Put Down

These reads will answer questions you didn't know you had.

How bookstores became cornerstones of American culture