Leaving New York edited by Kathleen Norris (out of print). A wonderful, unusual mix of essays and poems about New York and its physical, emotional, spiritual pull. Includes backwards glances at the city from Henry James, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Joan Didion, and Toni Morrison.
The Norton Anthology of American Literature and The Norton Anthology of Poetry (Norton, $134 and $63). The Ruth and Gehrig of all anthologies. The list of essential reads in these two books goes on and on, from Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” to Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and Emerson’s “Self-Reliance.” Plus, they make phenomenal stocking-stuffers.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Buy The Norton Anthology of American Literature at Amazon
Buy The Norton Anthology of Poetry at Amazon
Our Mothers’ Spirits edited by Bob Blauner (ReganBooks, $12). Bob Blauner is a client of mine, though oddly, he’s not a relative. When his mother died, he wanted a book like this one, to help him through his grief. Not finding it, he decided to do it himself. The result is an intensely moving collection of stories by men about their mothers, a book that, at a minimum, every man who has lost his mother should read.
25 and Under/Fiction edited by Susan Ketchin & Neil Giordano (DoubleTake/Norton, $25). A 1997 showcase of then new, under-26 authors, including Judy Budnitz and ZZ Packer. The opening story is Jason Brown’s poignant “The Dog Lover,” about a recovering junkie who can’t bring himself to shoot his dying dog.
The Best American Sports Writing of the Century edited by David Halberstam and Glenn Stout (Houghton Mifflin, $18). A true Hall of Fame collection, starting off with Gay Talese’s profile of a moody Joe DiMaggio, and including Tom Wolfe’s “The Last American Hero.”
Dog Culture edited by Ken Foster (Lyons Press, $17). The writers showcased here are writing not just about their own dogs but on dogs as social lubricant, and other such themes. The collection kicks off with “What Coco Ate” by National Book Award finalist Rene Steinke, and also features excellent pieces by Nicholas Dawidoff, Annie Bruno, and Pearl Abraham. Made me miss my old collie, Drummer.
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-warTalking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Crossword: September 14, 2025The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
Sudoku medium: September 14, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
-
Keith McNally's 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
-
Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War IIFeature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more
-
Helen Schulman's 6 favorite collections of short storiesFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Raymond Carver, James Baldwin, and more
-
Beatriz Williams' 6 timeless books about history and human relationshipsFeature The best-selling author recommends works by Jane Austen, Zora Neale Hurston, and more
-
Aysegul Savas' 6 favorite books for readers who love immersive settingsFeature The Paris-based Turkish author recommends works by Hiromi Kawakami, Virginia Woolf, and more
-
Geoff Dyer's 6 favorite books about the realities of warFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Ernie Pyle, Michael Herr, and more
-
Laura Lippman's 6 favorite books for those who crave a high-stakes adventureFeature The Grand Master recommends works by E.L. Konigsburg, Charles Portis, and more
