NYT Books

Not all books tell readers what to call the main character. An editor recommends two that don’t.

Murder mysteries by the men who brought you Winnie-the-Pooh and Daniel Day-Lewis.

A look at the Trump-DeSantis rivalry, a witty tribute to “Murder on the Orient Express,” a memoir of open marriage and an epic Swedish novel in verse, among others.

From the pop supernova Olivia Rodrigo to a memoirist whose long-held ballet aspirations stalled at the barre, young women gave voice to their longing this year in memorable ways.

Fifty years on, Ernest Becker’s “The Denial of Death” remains an essential, surprisingly upbeat guide to our final act on Earth.

Corinna Luyken, Philip Stead and Isabelle Arsenault capture the unique brightness that comes after the dark.

With the publication of a new book about their influential teen drama, which debuted in 2003, Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage have learned to love “The O.C.” again.

Films, TV shows, albums, books, art and A.I.-generated SpongeBob performances that reporters, editors and visual journalists in Culture couldn’t stop thinking about this year.

A Laurie Colwin classic and a modern chef’s posthumous memoir.

This captivating adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s novel, a collaboration with Handspring Puppet Company, follows a man and his ailing mother during a civil war in South Africa.