Lazy, Hazy Summer Days
Books about food (sort of), Japan (David Mitchell), and a tough sassy Havana cop. Plus, Hugh Trevor Roper on history and lots on comics. Don’t forget your sunscreen.
Current Reads
A collection of 72 issues
It’s a Mad, Mad World
Is there life after LeBron’s Decision? Lindsay Lohan’s blues? Birnbaum’s got the cure: Roger Maris’s story, Ben Greenman’s short fiction, and nearly everything by Charles McCarry.
Libraries of the Imagination
Grab bag for July: A dog story; more Borges; Duke Ellington; and whatever happened to Harper Lee?
A Listing Ship
Grafting authors onto lists may be a silly ceremony, but it does get people talking.
Of Ice and Men
The end of the Earth probably won’t mean the end of Old Man Keillor—unfortunately.
Summer Daze
Reasons to feel overwhelmed—meaningless lists; R.I.P. David Markson; the reign of Justin Cronin.
Where the Troubles Began
An astounding 1,000-year history of English anti-Semitism—but who cares?
Mother and Son Reunion
An intricate new thriller set in Pakistan.
Antwerp, Before and After
Bolaño’s first novel, now republished.
Stories for Real Readers
The 2010 PEN/O. Henry Prize stories include intense gifts.