The Undertaking: Life Studies From the Dismal Trade by Thomas Lynch (Norton, $14). If I die before Thomas Lynch, a poet and a working mortician in Milford, Mich., I’d like him to bury me. Better still, I’d like him to eulogize me, since he writes with a lyricism that could make the dead return just to see how the ceremony shook out.
All of the early journalism of Tom Wolfe—The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby, The Pump House Gang, Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers, Mauve Gloves & Madmen, Clutter & Vine. Does that count against my total? Tough. They’re of a piece. Would you separate Matthew from Mark, Mark from Luke, Luke from John? You could, but then they wouldn’t be the Four Gospels. Which is what Wolfe’s collections are to journalism.
Pretty much anything by P.G. Wodehouse. Because there is a sentence like this on nearly every page: “The Right Hon. was a tubby little chap who looked as if he had been poured into his clothes and had forgotten to say ‘When!’”
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A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean (Univ. of Chicago, $12). A jewel of a novella, written when Maclean was in his 70s. You’ll love it if you fish, but fishing is only the start of what there is in it to love.
The Blood of the Lamb by Peter De Vries (Univ. of Chicago, $14). A much overlooked classic by a mostly forgotten comic writer. Written after his daughter died of leukemia, this novel finds De Vries turning down the funny to rage at God. It reads like Ecclesiastes gone wrong. Strangely, though, few things can steel faith like voicing the particulars of doubt. I read this book in a single night, forgetting to sleep.
Rockin’ Steady: A Guide to Basketball and Cool by Walt “Clyde” Frazier (out of print). A perfect document of its time. In Rockin’ Steady, the New York Knicks’ legendary 1970s playmaker gives helpful tips on everything from how to catch flies with your bare hands to proper sideburn maintenance. Some would call this a coffee-table conversation starter. I just call it “my bible.”
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The Icelandic women’s strike 50 years onIn The Spotlight The nation is ‘still no paradise’ for women, say campaigners
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Mall World: why are people dreaming about a shopping centre?Under The Radar Thousands of strangers are dreaming about the same thing and no one sure why
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Why scientists are attempting nuclear fusionThe Explainer Harnessing the reaction that powers the stars could offer a potentially unlimited source of carbon-free energy, and the race is hotting up
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Gilbert King’s 6 favorite books about the search for justiceFeature The journalist recommends works by Bryan Stevenson, David Grann, and more
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Nathan Harris’ 6 favorite books that turn adventures into revelationsFeature The author recommends works by Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McGuire, and more
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Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
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Lou Berney’s 6 favorite books with powerful storytellingFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Dorothy B. Hughes, James McBride, and more
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Elizabeth Gilbert’s favorite books about women overcoming difficultiesFeature The author recommends works by Tove Jansson, Lauren Groff, and more
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Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imaginationFeature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
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Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
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Keith McNally's 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
