NYT Books

The author of the Divergent series recommends books that explore human nature and disintegrating reality.

In Dan Fesperman’s new novel, the C.I.A. tries celebrity diplomacy to infiltrate a dictatorship.

Examining artifacts from the archive of British Romanticism, a scholar finds evidence of intimate, if often overlooked, connections to slavery.

Two darkly amusing graphic novels for kids pit machine learning and rocket science against good old-fashioned humanity.

“Empire of the Elite,” by Michael M. Grynbaum, is a story of (mostly) insider-outsiders who helmed the glossiest American magazines in their heyday.

“Bonding,” by Mariel Franklin, is a love story charged by the absurdities of a market-driven culture.

In Kerry Cullen’s uncanny debut, “House of Beth,” a queer 20-something finds that “straight” life comes with serious strings (and spirits) attached.

In Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s “The Bewitching,” a graduate student stumbles into a haunting conspiracy while researching a cult writer.

In “The Club,” Jennifer Dasal investigates a refuge for (some) expat artists in the City of Light.

The journalist Tim Weiner investigates the mishaps that ensued when American intelligence scrambled to remake itself after the fall of communism.