Books Briefing: Comfort books

March 25, 2020

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Hi readers,

Here’s your weekly catch-up on everything you need to know going on in the book world.

The news:

Looking for comfort in these unsettling times? We asked some famous writers about the books that bring them relief.
Writing a book can take years of work — often a very solitary time — and a book tour usually offers a joyous way to reconnect with the world. But those tours are just another part of life that’s been upended by the coronavirus. We spoke with a number of debut novelists whose books have recently come out or are slated to release soon about how the pandemic has affected them.
Woody Allen’s memoir has found a new publisher. Arcade Publishing released “Apropos of Nothing” Monday, with an initial first printing of 75,000 copies. Hachette originally planned to release the book but reversed course this month after it came under intense criticism.
If you’re staying at home and looking for activities to do with your kids, let these children’s authors help. From online readings to drawing lessons, writers and illustrators are coming up with inventive ways to keep children occupied in strange times.
Fiction out today: “The Glass Hotel,” by Emily St. John Mandel; “Then the Fish Swallowed Him,” by Amir Ahmadi Arian; “The City We Became,” by N.K. Jemisin.
Nonfiction out today: “This Is Chance!,” by Jon Mooallem; “Nobody’s Child,” by Susan Nordin Vinocour; “The Undocumented Americans,” by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio; “Lady in Waiting,” by Anne Glenconner; “Constellations,” by Sinead Gleeson.

The critics:

Dwight Garner reviews “Mitch, Please!” by Matt Jones, a new book about Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader. Jones crisscrosses McConnell’s home state, Kentucky, to understand why he is polling so poorly there yet is serving his sixth full term in Congress. The book is openly skeptical of (and even hostile to) McConnell, calling him “the most destructive force in American democracy.”
In “Hitler’s First Hundred Days,” Peter Fritzsche charts the audacious and swift changes that occurred once Hitler had been appointed chancellor. Jennifer Szalai calls it an “elegant and sobering book, which shows how an unimaginable political transformation can happen astonishingly quickly.”
And Sarah Lyall writes about a terrific new thriller, Chris Bohjalian’s “The Red Lotus.” The author’s quick pacing and compassion for his characters make for a fantastic read — but don’t let the scores of rats that prowl through these pages scare you off.

That’s all for now. Please stay in touch and let me know what you think – whether it’s about this newsletter, our reviews, our podcast, our literary calendar, our Instagram or what you’re reading. We on the Books desk read all of it, and I’ll make every effort to write back. You can reach me at books@nytimes.com.

All my best,

Joumana Khatib

Books at The New York Times

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