Books
An eclectic round-up of the favorite books of the year from our critics.
Poet John Berryman’s choice of minstrelsy in his “Dream Songs” is not just a distraction that can be explained away by aficionados — it is impossible to excuse or forgive.
Throughout their anthology, Nayland Blake reminds readers of the importance of maintaining authenticity and self-representation in every facet of creative work.
Two new books and one reissued classic will teach, delight, and intrigue children.
Virginia Giuffre’s memoir is a grim indictment of Jeffrey Epstein and the cruel and powerful men (most of them still unnamed in public) who were his clients.
One of today’s most distinctive intellects wrestles with the internet and all its messy consequences.
A trio of holiday stories— two celebrate friendship, one features a stagestruck chicken.
Two good reads: Boston harmonica player Jerry Portnoy’s memoir is an unflinching look at life as a sideman musician; the other is a history that shows how, without the Black stars he heard in Memphis, there would have been no Elvis or rock ‘n roll as we know it.
Two uniquely American books that will give you unexpected pleasures just when you need them most.
If John Lahr could learn, even in his eighties, to cut back on his own self-adoration and stop being so damned star struck, the razzle in his profiles would dazzle all the more.

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