https://www.csmonitor.comBook reviews and books articles from The Christian Science Monitor.https://images.csmonitor.com/csm/2024/04/1172291_2_csmlogo_feed_250x30_standard.pnghttps://www.csmonitor.comChristian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.300en-usThu, 29 Oct 2026 02:04:58 EDThttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/1026/chad-harbach-brightness-book-review?icid=rsse31c39f88fcf80eac240dc9ae9e4ae5dMon, 26 Oct 2026 05:00:19 EDTMalcolm Forbeshttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/1023/sherry-turkle-artificial-intimacy-book-review?icid=rssf4b40c7af3c5347ed0587dc7f6345a47Sherry Turkle’s new book cautions against forming attachments with AI chatbots. Fri, 23 Oct 2026 05:00:16 EDTLaina Gustafsonhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/1022/evan-gershkovich-memoir-review-russia-prisoner?icid=rss90f86a50afb26970aaa495d065552a28Thu, 22 Oct 2026 15:30:17 EDTTerry Hartlehttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/1019/october-best-books-characters?icid=rss4f695e0c7d358bb2e10a64750c235ebdFascinating people – both real and fictitious – abound in our fall roundup. Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:00:11 EDTMonitor reviewershttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/1016/yiyun-li-music-against-the-night?icid=rssc1a1a5e97d00dfbb21de329b653de51fYiyun Li’s new historical novel chronicles the intertwined lives of two musicians. It examines the nature of ambition and the temptation to cross the line demarcating art and commerce.Fri, 16 Oct 2026 05:00:10 EDTHeller McAlpinhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/1015/A-blessed-childhood-without-indoor-plumbing?icid=rssb82c65e17f1adf1750c7585611e89982Thu, 15 Oct 2026 11:00:31 EDTDanny Heitmanhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/1014/Her-onstage-singing-voice-advanced-offstage-racial-reform?icid=rss05bac56a07ef867170fdbd00d1b94a6fWed, 14 Oct 2026 12:00:10 EDTBarbara Spindelhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/1013/Yiyun-Li-reveals-life-lessons-in-her-new-symphonic-novel?icid=rss4a4a4e08e0a5e0dd6b84d9f3623f4ba4Tue, 13 Oct 2026 12:10:10 EDTSky Davishttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/1006/emily-wilson-crossing-the-wine-dark-sea-homer-odyssey?icid=rss5036046d357d71ea21243f181172e23bEmily Wilson, the first woman to translate Homer, offers a series of essays that examine modern interpretations of ancient literature.Tue, 06 Oct 2026 05:00:11 EDTDavid Conradshttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/1001/Why-Howard-Zinn-became-a-people-s-historian?icid=rss7fd0cf784f845c0e38c711f220f22304A new biography connects the dots between the professor’s labor-union beginnings and the left-wing outlook that shaped his bestselling history book.Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:00:11 EDTBarbara Spindelhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/0930/How-a-British-bookstore-has-extended-its-shelf-life?icid=rss9389b0f9438f3ebf1219043deab5a37eKatie Clapham offers warm and witty dispatches about her experiences as the owner of Storytellers, an independent bookshop in a coastal England town.Wed, 30 Sep 2026 11:00:12 EDTDanny Heitmanhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/0930/At-the-bookend-of-summer-here-are-September-s-best-reads?icid=rss87ec6eb1aecc4c2700899d8a1d6f110eMonitor reviewers recommend titles by Emily St. John Mandel, Min Jin Lee, and Paul Theroux.Wed, 30 Sep 2026 05:00:11 EDTMonitor reviewershttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/0923/review-paul-theroux-true-north-road-trip-canada?icid=rss9ead0237fb3c130fe4b2c18c27aa8e4ePaul Theroux’s latest cultural travelogue includes an exploration of his ancestral connections to the northern nation.Wed, 23 Sep 2026 15:40:10 EDTHeller McAlpin https://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/0919/butterfly-season-lea-korsgaard?icid=rss9abfeda071ac4b0ce129c417ba197f3eLooking for a challenge, a woman sets out to chronicle 64 species of lepidoptera in her country over a single year. The search becomes a meditation.Sat, 19 Sep 2026 05:00:17 EDTHeller McAlpinhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/0911/harry-belafonte-daylight-come-joshua-jelly-schapiro?icid=rssceca9c565aad5dd3c6d88a0b4a6ffce7The new biography “Daylight Come” focuses on the performer’s determination to use his fame to confront discrimination in the U.S. and abroad.Fri, 11 Sep 2026 11:18:55 EDTBarbara Spindelhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/0910/artificial-state-jill-lepore-democracy-america-250th?icid=rssfef7c131d00cabd97749339fdf5adec2A historian of the U.S. Constitution examines the future of democracy, as artificial intelligence tests the foundational values that have guided America.Thu, 10 Sep 2026 15:14:23 EDTDanny Heitmanhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/0910/small-stuff-ian-bogost-gratification?icid=rssb2cdebf9536289e487eaae2ef6a516ceA video game designer plugs the experience of beauty as a means to ground us in our humanity.Thu, 10 Sep 2026 11:19:55 EDTDanny Heitmanhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/0902/renoir-girls-catherine-ostler-vichy-france-antisemitism?icid=rssac5260fbaf44fa2292419dff8394c34a“The Renoir Girls” contrasts the images of a sweet, privileged childhood with the barbarism of antisemitism, which flared in Nazi-occupied France.Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:52:42 EDTBarbara Spindelhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/0827/sisters-of-the-midnight-sun-arctic-alaska?icid=rss68934fcb5978969e820320ad8abf6656A public defender’s memoir recounts a murder case of two Alaskan Indigenous women that set their community at odds with the concept of due process.Thu, 27 Aug 2026 11:31:31 EDTMackenzie Farkushttps://www.csmonitor.com/Arts-Culture/Books/2026/0825/mary-oliver-documentary-american-masters-pbs?icid=rss856effdcad4f4a383a4fa669558841fdThe documentary “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World” explores the impact of her poetry and of her keen observations of the natural world.Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:30:23 EDTElizabeth Lund