Books

Great works of art are great, in part, because they continue to have something to say to the present: They're both timebound and timeless. And, boy, does Gatsby have something to say to us in 2025.

Author Chris Whipple says Biden's family and closest advisers operated in a "fog of delusion" regarding his ability to serve another term: "There's no doubt that they were protecting the president."

A number of books out this week — a tale of tribal politics, a close-focus mystery, measured criticism and a unique relationship — are tied up in answering the question: How do we define ourselves?

When we worry about the declining rates of literacy and a lack of reading skills, it's often about children. But how often are adults reading these days? And what are we reading? A new NPR/Ipsos poll finds out.

Organized pressure groups, not individual parents, are leading the fight to remove books from shelves, according to a new report from the American Library Association.

The children's book author best known for her Oliver and Amanda Pig series has died at 87. Van Leeuwen wrote nearly 60 books, some of which sold millions of copies.

Our roundup of arts and culture to discover in San Diego this month: Visual art, music, theater, dance, outdoor festivals, books, film and more. Up next: Art Alive at San Diego Museum of Art; WOW Festival at UC San Diego; San Diego Symphony's "The Mountain That Loved a Bird"; San Diego Book Crawl, Fern Street Circus Neighborhood Tour; Natalie Gonzalez at Oceanside Museum of Art; Sídro Saturdays at The Front; "Harvest & Gather" at the Athenaeum and more.

A famed graphic novelist returns! A Southern-gothic crime-thriller inspired by The Godfather! An extremely in depth biography of Mark Twain! And more!

New on the shelves this week: An obit writer writes — and drunkenly publishes — his own obituary. A Hungarian teen stumbles into adulthood. And geriatric sleuth Vera Wong returns.

The staff of the Institute of Museum and Library Services was placed on administrative leave Monday morning, following a meeting between IMLS leadership and DOGE staff.