NYT Books

In her memoir “Thunderclap,” the British art critic Laura Cumming explores her passion for the virtuosic images of everyday life by painters from Dutch art’s golden age.

“The Fourth Turning” was a curiosity when it was published in the 1990s. Its influence has grown since then, and a sequel is on the way.

Her novella “In the Act” explores love and fantasy in unusual guises.

A selection of recently published books.

In “Ultra-Processed People,” Chris van Tulleken takes a close look at the franken-snacks that barely resemble what they’re imitating.

Complicated families abound in new books by Nathan Go, Lucian Childs and Elysha Chang.

MacNolia Cox speaks only one sentence in a picture book about her trip to the 1936 national spelling bee. Zaila Avant-garde, the 2021 champ, writes volumes.

A visit to a remote conservation park reveals the long-term impact on villagers of a crusade by the novelist Delia Owens and her husband to protect animals from poachers.

Lyn Hejinian’s sonnet proposes that liberation might be found in scattering and disorientation.

In “No Ordinary Assignment,” the correspondent Jane Ferguson is candid about the fears and frustrations that come with her calling.