Kurt asks: I'm a huge fan of Amor Towles, but he just doesn't write fast enough. What I love about his books is the language, the intelligence, the rich characters…
Tony asks: I am an art historian and early modernist, but I love contemporary literary fiction. Joan Didion and Alice Munro are my favorite writers; Kazuo Ishiguro, Sarah Waters, John…
Suroor asks: I find most of the books I read are fairly serious. I’m looking for some humor—nothing silly, just intelligent, funny books. I’ve read Paul Bettany and Gerald Durrell…
Sydney asks: I want a story that lasts, like subtle notes from a fine white wine. I want to mull over the characters and their actions and fall into the…
Andrea asks: I love books driven by the inner thoughts of smart women going a little bit crazy. I like autofiction and memoirs. I want to read a book that…
Samantha asks: I read really widely, from literary fiction to the canon to Heated Rivalry-type romance. I have been obsessed with Possession by A.S. Byatt since I read it…
Dody asks: My favorite books make me wonder how the characters are doing for a long time after I finish reading—characters that feel like real people I won’t forget. I…
Helaine asks: I’m refreshing my summer reading, those books for me to read now and then leave in guest rooms at the beach. I love capital-L Literary books where sentences…
Hamad asks: Hello, I’d love to get book recommendations for myself. I read a lot of historical fiction, fantasy (standalone mostly) and thrillers that prioritize character development. I’d like to…
Tim asks: I just finished Patrick Radden’s Keefe’s new book, London Falling, and loved it so much. I’m looking for more nonfiction books that tell big stories, and where…
Helene asks: Although I don't have a drop of Irish blood in me, I've always been drawn to historical fiction and mysteries set in Ireland by Irish writers because the…
Cristina asks: I like quiet, intelligent books where something slightly strange is happening inside a person’s mind. I read for atmosphere and intelligent narration—not for plot. I’m drawn to emotional…
Emily asks: Lately I’ve been reading books where it seems like if you say, in response to the text, “big same, my guy,” you should be calling your psychiatrist for…
Becky asks: I’m into weird fiction. The kind that gets under your skin without showing you the monster. I like stories that feel haunted or eldritch, unsettling in a way…
Taylor asks: I'm looking for books that focus on the seemingly small horrors and constraints of existing as a woman—whether that's the physical realities (pregnancy, menopause, etc.) or the social…
Alaina asks: I want a short story collection that will move and unsettle me the way Julia Armfield's salt slow and Nina MacLaughlin's Wake, Siren did. Do you have any…
Tom asks: I’m a simple guy; I’m looking for a book that will make me feel broken and devastated, but somehow oddly hopeful. Some of my favorite books (if it’s…
Elizabeth asks: I have been a fan of retold Greek myths ever since I read Jeanette Winterson’s Weight and Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad (still as relevant as ever after more…
