Books Update: A Message to the Literary World

April 17, 2020

Ilya Milstein

Dear Reader,

What an unusual and terrible time this is for all of us. With people’s lives at risk, and many lost so far; with the vast majority of us confined to our homes or out of necessity, precariously trying to work outside our homes. There is much to mourn, much to be grateful for and much cause for worry and fear.

Apart from the obvious life and death matters at stake, we at the Book Review hold a special concern for those whose livelihoods depend on books. We think of the authors whose book tours have been canceled, authors who depend on income from teaching, authors who need money from speaking engagements to supplement their advances. All of those opportunities, temporarily — and in some cases, permanently — gone.

Our hearts go out to the debut authors of the season, many of whom spent years, perhaps a lifetime, waiting for the dream moment when their first book would make its way into the world. We think of the authors whose publication dates have been delayed, complicating not only their financial lives but all other plans, professional and personal. We think of the authors whose new books are coming out right now, at a moment when the realities of everyday life can feel all-consuming, and when libraries are shuttered and many bookstores have closed or laid off workers.

Continue reading the main story

We think of those dedicated booksellers and bookstore owners who fear for the future of their retail homes, which even in good times can be difficult to keep going. We are heartened to hear of stores that are maintaining and even beefing up their online presence and manning their phone lines, offering curbside delivery to customers in their communities.

We think as well of authors’ co-creators, the people who work in the publishing industry. Editors, copy editors, publicists, art directors, illustrators, salespeople, marketing executives and publishers who are now, like many of us, working from home offices with all their complications. Many in publishing have taken pay cuts, been furloughed or lost jobs.

Which brings us back to you, our readers. We know you share our concerns about the state of the literary world we all admire and cherish. We hope that you find time and space in this difficult moment to turn to books, to do what they have always done: challenge us, inform us, entertain us. Books offer us the chance to escape and they force us to engage. Books are among the great empathy builders, bridging gaps that divide us geographically, politically, philosophically and demographically. At a time when many people feel isolated and alone, books bring us together.

Please join us in support of all those in the literary world during this challenging time.

And please stay in touch to let us 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 read and ponder all of it. I even write back, albeit belatedly. You can email me at books@nytimes.com.

Pamela Paul

Editor of The New York Times Book Review

@PamelaPaulNYT

Continue reading the main story

Like this email?

Sign-up here or forward it to your friends. Have a suggestion or two on how we can improve it? Let us know at newsletters@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance.

THE BOOK REVIEW PODCAST

Samantha Irby Talks About ‘Wow, No Thank You’

Irby discusses her new essay collection, and Jon Meacham on three books about leadership during times of crisis.

FICTION & POETRY

crime

The Scenes of the Crimes: Landfalls, Stadiums and Creepy Blogs

In her latest crime fiction column, Marilyn Stasio travels to some decidedly strange places.

By Marilyn Stasio

fiction

The Hawaii of ‘Sharks in the Time of Saviors’ Is Modern, Yet Mystical

Kawai Strong Washburn’s debut novel envisions an archipelago of Indigenous peoples who refuse to be erased.

By Imbolo Mbue

poetry

Thinking About Empire and Economy, With a Poet’s Mind and a Lawyer’s Words

For almost 40 years, the poet and law professor Lawrence Joseph has embraced big questions. “A Certain Clarity: Selected Poems” shows the path his work has traveled.

By Paul Franz

Continue reading the main story

NONFICTION

nonfiction

Blurred Lines: An Essayist’s Dispatches on Slippery States of Being

In “Thin Places,” the queer half-Mexican-American former Christian writer Jordan Kisner offers 13 views of the “in between.”

By Lauren Christensen

nonfiction

Has Physics Lost Its Way?

In “The Dream Universe,” David Lindley argues that physicists have become too enamored of theoretical phenomena like parallel universes and black holes.

By Jim Al-Khalili

nonfiction

How the White Working Class Is Being Destroyed

“Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism,” by Anne Case and Angus Deaton, describes the growing dysfunction of blue-collar workers in white communities.

By Arlie Russell Hochschild

nonfiction

In a Time of Crisis, Her Voice Was the One That Galvanized Alaska

Genie Chance felt the earth move under her feet, and then she got to work. Jon Mooallem tells her story in “This Is Chance!”

By Timothy Egan

nonfiction

A Box of Secrets Led to the Story of Her Father’s Painful Wartime Past

Ariana Neumann’s father had nightmares and an ID card in a different name. In her memoir, “When Time Stopped,” she unspools the past he kept hidden for so long.

By Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim

nonfiction

How Big Pharma Grew Addicted to Big Profits

In “Pharma,” Gerald Posner tells the 150-year back story to the opioid crisis, a tale of addictive drugs and corrupt practices.

By Natasha Singer

nonfiction

Running Thousands of Miles in Search of Yourself

Noé Álvarez’s debut memoir, “Spirit Run,” chronicles the 6,000-mile marathon he undertook to connect with his Indigenous heritage — and his American present.

By Danielle Jackson

nonfiction

How Coffee Ruined a Country

Augustine Sedgewick’s “Coffeeland” demonstrates how the political and social structures of El Salvador were destroyed by its agricultural cash cow.

By Lizabeth Cohen

nonfiction

Samsung: The Tech Monster That Conquered the World

Geoffrey Cain’s “Samsung Rising” tells the full story of the giant corporation from its beginnings as a shop selling vegetables.

By Raymond Zhong

nonfiction

Three Views of Donald Trump

New books on the Trump administration offer varying assessments of the president, drawn from many different sources.

By Gabriel Debenedetti

CHILDREN’S BOOKS

children’s books

A Tragicomic Tale of Wanderlust and the Fur Trade, Told by a Squirrel

In Margi Preus’s middle-grade novel “The Littlest Voyageur,” a pesky red squirrel spars with eight men named Jean on a river journey in 18th-century French Canada.

By Lenora Todaro

children’s books

‘Wayside School’ Is Back, With Payoffs to Jokes That Began 40 Years Ago

Of all the volumes of Louis Sachar’s absurd and absurdist series, this newest installment reads most like a novel, with one prominent plotline tying most of the chapters together.

By Christopher Healy

FEATURES

by the book

For Loretta Lynn, Books Are ‘Friends That Keep Me Company’

“I used to read on the tour bus to keep from missing my family,” says the country music star. “Now I read at night. I live way out and it gets real quiet.”