A new history of ancient Rome’s great enemy

A new translation of the classic of Stoicism

In 2025, as in most other years, I offered up prayers of thanksgiving to whatever gods may be that general-interest nonfiction titles of all kinds continue to appear from mainstream publishers, easing...

As mentioned, 2025 wasn’t a particularly good year for fiction.

There are layers to every year’s Worst Books lists, of course.

As mentioned, 2025 was a rough year for fiction.

2025 was an excellent year for biographies despite all the cultural currents wanting to push things in the opposite direction.

It feels extraordinarily odd and ironic to be reading history, let alone recommending outstanding works in the field, at a time when the US government historical locations and websites are actively fa...

Another oasis of relief in the desert of 2025 fiction was another reliable genre, thrillers.

2025 was, as noted, a weak year for fiction, and this weakness even made inroads into the place where such weakness usually never goes: genre fiction.

2025 was a very nearly disastrous year for fiction in the US mainstream market, with publishers pumping out gallons of garbage in frantic pursuit of the steadily-shrinking fraction of the public that ...

Another book culture indicator I tend to use when looking back at the year in books is to look at how interesting and energetic was the year’s literature in translation.

Stevereads is a reader-supported publication.

A biographical deep dive into the three key players at Gettysburg

A memoir from the author Susan Orlean

A new one-volume history of Rome, from Romulus and Remus to the fall of Constantinople

An overlong and predictable suspense/thriller/horror novel riddled with political proselytizing.

The story behind the legendary change of dynasties

Previously unpublished stories illuminate the literary development of the author of an American classic.

A new look at the ambitions of a newborn British empire

A review of Anne Fadiman’s new collection of essays

A biographical reconstruction of the ancient Greek philosopher

A new intellectual biography of the great philosopher

A visually creepy novel perfect for the Halloween season.

A debut novel about table tennis

A collection of stories from the prize-winning Russian poet

An enjoyable hybrid of entwined genres, themes, and narrative styles.

A review of Ian McEwan’s ambitious new novel

An insightful if slightly uneven look at serial killers and their analysts

A dramatic account of the run-up to the English Civil War

The grim story of the end of Weimar Germany

A generous narrative history of the famous Lake Superior shipwreck

A prismatic new look at Columbus the man and Columbiana the legends.

A brilliant new biography of the legendary 20th-century author

Picket Line, a new posthumous Elmore Leonard novella, is a must-have for completists and a maybe-have for anyone else.

A gripping new history of the First Battle of Ypres

A review of the new novel from the legendary Thomas Pynchon

A wry look at the far-flung provinces of the gustatory world

Spencer Quinn's latest installment of his whimsical  Mrs. Plansky  mystery series.

The rousing conclusion to the historical fiction “Essex Dogs” trilogy

A classic Conan reprint from Titan Comics that sits somewhere between a graphic novel and a coffee table art book.

A biography of a groundbreaking volume of Chinese verse in translation

A new biography of the French king who fought with Plantagenets his whole life

A new volume of the famous posthumous verses of the famous Peruvian man of letters

A stunning reading experience by one of Ireland’s finest

A review of the complex new novel by James Elkins

A new historical novel about Jane Austen in love

A cultural history of New York Jewish culture and commerce.

A sweepingly comprehensive biography of the first “king of the English”

The new biography of Britain’s scandal-prone Prince Andrew