Books

Books

It may seem like they've been around forever, but the crossword as we know it is barely a century old. They started in the New York World in 1913, where it was originally called a "word-cross." Going on to obsess writers like T.S. Eliot and Vladimir Nabokov, who reportedly wrote the first Russian-language puzzle as a teenager, the crossword settled into a kind of urbane normalcy over the course of the 20th century, a feature of newspapers and cheap jumbo packs.

"Through playing her, I was able to get the courage to make the changes that I wanted to make in my life, to really go after the version of my life that I felt like I was meant to live. And when the show came out, I became acutely aware of women all over the world that were feeling very similarly,"

I know you probably have a bunch of unread books at home that you already own - maybe entire bookcases full of them - but what fun is that!? Our Scary Mommy team of voracious readers have done all of the research for you and compiled a list of the very best and most exciting new releases coming our way in 2026.

Many editors languish in the margins of history, their contributions largely invisible despite how much they shape whom and how we read. But in recent years, amid a wave of books unearthing overlooked figures, biographers have turned their sights to pioneering book and magazine editors-including Malcolm Cowley of Viking, Judith Jones of Knopf, Bennett Cerf of Random House, and Katharine S. White of The New Yorker -anointing them as the unsung architects of the American literary canon.

In her debut work of fiction, Half His Age, McCurdy continues to shake open a Pandora's box, shedding light on blurred parent-child boundaries and loss of identity due to over-enmeshment, with solid one-liners that feel straight out of a sitcom writers' room. Lead character Waldo is a high school senior whose life doesn't seem to be her own. She play-acts through sexual encounters and disassociates at the school disco (I stand off to the side watching, enveloped by a blanket of catatonia).

Human development is a lifelong, cumulative process. Midlife, however, is largely overlooked and misunderstood. When exactly is midlife? The general consensus is that midlife encompasses the years between 40 and 60, give or take. In a 2015 poll, people expressed the belief that midlife begins at age 44 and ends at age 59, however the roles and life circumstances that surround middle adulthood are perhaps more defining of this era than a specific age.

One of the best cyberpunk manga of all time is on sale for an incredible price at Amazon. Battle Angel Alita's Deluxe Edition Series Box Set collects the complete original run in premium hardcover format. The Deluxe Edition Series Box Set is on sale for $100 off, dropping the price from $180 all the way down to $80. This is the best deal ever for the six-volume, 2,392-page collection, and this says a lot considering it was published in December 2018 by Kodansha Comics.

Book Gossip, a newsletter about what the literati are really thinking, is entering a new chapter. I'm Jasmine Vojdani, a senior newsletter editor at New York, where I also cover books and culture. I first moved to the city to start a degree in creative writing, choosing the M.F.A. and NYC (and, naturally, debt) - and I have lots of thoughts about that.

The Polish poet Czesaw Miosz is famously credited with the line: When a writer is born into a family, the family is finished. In contemporary European literature, a book these days is often the beginning of a familial feud. With thinly disguised autobiographical accounts of family strife undergoing a sustained boom across the continent, it can increasingly lead to family reunions in courtrooms.

Not only had young John not written as much as he thought he had; his mother (who was his true soulmate) was now feeling self-conscious because she had written three letters to his every one. Two perfect paragraphs follow these opening sentences, addressing the situation as John has been led to believe the folks back home are experiencing it, after which he writes:

I was promiscuous With my feelings most of all. Under stars, I sprayed saline solution into two wineglasses And took out my contacts. I didn't want summer to end, but it did. Many lives Happened inside those walls, And, for a season, I wore a designer hoodie And got iced americanos every morning. I slept in men's beds: They took turns breaking Me. It felt good, but one's absence Weighed on me like a death.

Dream-Pedlary i. If there were dreams to sell. What would you buy? Some cost a passing bell; Some a light sigh, That shakes from Life's fresh crown Only a rose-leaf down. If there were dreams to sell, Merry and sad to tell, And the crier rung the bell, What would you buy? ii. A cottage lone and still, With bowers nigh,

Already she remembers scenes, so many- her mother walking in through the front door with her wrapped-up baby brother; that time the big dog gobbled up her toast before she could take a single bite; that day a bad man pushed her so hard on the swing she spun out, landing face down in the dust. Also, sometimes, some first happy thing she barely senses anymore- a soapy bath toy, warm in her baby hands?

I think there's a deep loneliness to her life that cohabiting with her brother kept at bay-and, now that he's gone, she is forced to face it. As more of Kim's letters are delivered, Helen becomes invested in the narrative they form, as if she were piecing together a puzzle, one that, in some ways, echoes her own past. Kim's family is Muslim, from Pakistan.

Born in San Francisco as John Griffith Chaney on January 12, 1876, he was an illegitimate child. His biological father never acknowledged paternity, shunning his mother while she was still pregnant. She would later marry Civil War veteran John London, who took him in as his stepson and gave him his surname. London grew up in severe financial hardship. From an early age, he left school and took up multiple jobs to help support his family.

Adults ages 18 and older are invited to welcome the season of renewal with a Jan. 17 watercolor session at the Milpitas Library inspired by fairytale mushrooms and spring landscapes. This guided workshop, part of this year's Silicon Valley Reads, is meant to help participants relax and create through watercolor art. The session is set for 10:30 a.m.-noon. All necessary supplies will be furnished. Registration is not required. Seating is limited to the first 30 attendees and is available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3LhOWPC.

Walk among evergreens The Sunnyvale Urban Forest Advocates will lead a tree walk around the Sunnyvale Public Library on Jan. 17, noon-1:30 p.m. Participants will learn the differences between deciduous and evergreen trees and about evergreens' resilience and their role in the ecosystem. The program will meet on the Library Plaza, 665 W. Olive Ave. Registration is required to https://bit.ly/4qEQTVd.

This year, Maltby, who was first hired by the Harper's editor emeritus Lewis H. Lapham, celebrates fifty years writing the magazine's monthly cryptic crossword. (To mark the occasion, I've included a cryptic clue below.) Maltby describes the puzzle as a "little universe on the back page," like a god estranged from his own intelligent design. It is "kind of lonely," he told me. But for his many loyal solvers, Maltby has always made this universe feel lively and large.

What's more rare than the first issue of Action Comics, the comic book that introduced the world to Superman? How about this: a copy of Superman's first comic book appearance which was once owned by an actor who almost (depending on how you feel about the film The Flash) played Superman on screen. The Man of Steel made his first appearance in the first issue of Action Comics; that issue, printed in 1938, is now a collectors' item.

For those not aware: intimacy coordinators gained prominence in the aftermath of the #MeToo movement, when assorted testimonies from actors (largely female) made public and unignorable the shocking fact that actors (largely male) and directors (largely male) will often (largely always) try to get away with more than has been contracted for once they are naked with A N Other person. An intimacy coordinator is there to help arrange scenes and advocate for actors. Think of them as somewhere between a bureaucrat and a contraceptive.

The comic - which sold for 10 cents when it came out in 1938 - was an anthology of tales about mostly now little-known characters. But over a few panels, it told the origin story of Superman's birth on a dying planet, his journey to Earth and his decision as an adult to "turn his titanic strength into channels that would benefit mankind." Its publication marked the beginning of the superhero genre.

For Christian booksellers, the good news about Bible sales has been few and far between. But in recent retail figures, there was a revelation. Sales of the good book reached a record high in the UK in 2025, increasing by 134% since 2019 the highest since records began according to industry research. Last year, the total sales of Bibles in the UK reached 6.3m in 2025, 3.61mup on 2019 sales.

"She wanted me to photograph the unseen, the unconscious, and this is something I am also very dedicated to," says Agata.

It's no secret that America is fascinated with cults and their scamming, grifting leaders. Viewers flock to TV series like Wild Wild Country, The Vow and Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, and elevate con artists like the Tinder swindler and Elizabeth Holmes as antiheroes who've found loopholes in American society and business. Paddison tells Harris' story from its beginning in upstate New York, at the time a hotbed of self-proclaimed seers and prophets, including Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism.

The promotion is live until January 21. Have a hankering for some audiobooks? Audible is holding one heck of a sale right now, giving users three months of access for $3. That's a dollar per month. This is something of a winter tradition for the Amazon-owned platform and the promotion ends on January 21. An Audible subscription grants one audiobook per month to keep. This can be selected from a massive catalog of new releases and bestsellers. The collection here has just about everything.