NYT Books

“Flagrant, Self-Destructive Gestures,” a new biography of Denis Johnson, traces the life of a brilliant nonconformist.

In “Casanova 20,” a young Adonis and a renowned painter are forced to navigate Covid-19.

“American Canto,” published amid a scandal over the journalist’s alleged romantic entanglements with politicians she covered, offers many scenes but little sense.

Maggie O’Farrell’s historical novel, one of the Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2020, has just been adapted for film, making now a perfect time to revisit this story of family, grief and Shakespeare.

In “Girls Play Dead,” Jen Percy examines the ways women respond to sexual trauma.

For the obsessed protagonist of Marisa Kashino’s darkly comic debut novel, “Best Offer Wins,” real estate is blood sport.

Olga Tokarczuk’s “House of Day, House of Night” brings together a constellation of characters and legends in a Polish border region.

In December, the Book Review Book Club will read and discuss Ian McEwan’s latest novel, about a long-lost poem, the 2014 dinner party where it was read and the future dystopia that embraced it.

Jennifer L. Holm’s “Outside” and Rebecca Stead’s “The Experiment” both feature well-meaning grown-ups who do everything to protect their kids — and fail.

Reading recommendations from critics and editors at The New York Times.