Books Briefing: Deep Into the Omegaverse

May 26, 2020

Omegaverse stories typically feature characters arranged into a wolfpack-like hierarchy of dominant Alphas, neutral Betas and submissive Omegas — plus lots of lupine sex.Alamy

Hi readers,

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

The news:

Our reporter goes deep into the Omegaverse, a booming body of literature related to fan fiction. As the genre becomes more commercial, authors are scrambling to protect their copyright. But what does that mean when much of the work is based on crowdsourced material?
J.K. Rowling is releasing a new story in installments, starting today. “The Ickabog,” a story she wrote years ago and recently rediscovered in her attic, is aimed at younger readers, and will be released as a print book later this fall. Harry Potter, alas, does not feature.
Former President Bill Clinton and James Patterson are writing a second book together. “The President’s Daughter,” set to come out in June 2021, follows their best-selling novel “The President Is Missing.”
Eels are a breakout literary star in Sweden, where Patrik Svensson’s “The Book of Eels” has become a best seller. Combining natural history, memoir and metaphysical musing, the book is a “strange and nerdy” study of one of biology’s greatest enigmas — and it’s out today in the U.S.
In praise of the virtual reading party: At a time when we miss out on meals in crowded restaurants, movies in theaters and random encounters on the commute, online literary events can offer much-needed community.
Fiction out today: “The Death of Jesus,” by J.M. Coetzee; “Red Dress in Black and White,” by Elliot Ackerman.
Nonfiction out today: “Trumpocalypse,” by David Frum; “Fairest,” by Meredith Talusan; “The Cubans,” by Anthony DePalma.

The critics:

Dwight Garner reviews Bill Buford’s new memoir, “Dirt,” about his quest to master French cooking. As Garner writes: “When Buford picks up a subject — be it bread or language or culinary history or Italian versus French food or the nature of Lyon — that subject is simmered until every tendon has softened.”
Parul Sehgal examines how the notion of time — and how we describe it — has changed during the quarantine, turning to literature for the answers.
Jennifer Szalai writes about an exemplary new biography of John Maynard Keynes that argues for the economist’s enduring relevance. In “The Price of Peace,” Zachary D. Carter situates the development of Keynes’s economic thought in relation to his social milieu.
And John Williams considers a recent translation of “Life For Sale,” by the Japanese novelist Yukio Mishima, in which a young copywriter fails at suicide, offers his life up in the classifieds and has a series of misadventures.

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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