The Finest Hotel in Kabul uses the story of the Inter-Continental Kabul to explore Afghanistan’s modern history through intimate portraits of the people who kept the hotel running. Drawing on Lyse Doucet’s decades of reporting and personal experience inside the hotel, the book follows long-serving staff, a pioneering female chef, and younger Afghans whose lives reflect the country’s hopes, losses and resilience. It is a human-focused, spoiler-free portrait of everyday life amid ongoing political upheaval.

Twin sisters Clara and Dempsey — long estranged after their mother disappeared into the Thames — are pulled back together when Clara spots a woman in London who looks exactly like her. Clara becomes convinced the woman is their missing mother while Dempsey suspects a con, and their clash forces both sisters to confront the past and reckon with questions of identity, family and the cost of choosing yourself.

The Cia Book Club tells how US intelligence covertly sent millions of Western books into the Soviet bloc during the Cold War to circumvent censorship and offer alternative ideas and culture. It follows key figures—notably Bucharest-born George Minden—and describes the covert networks, risks, and moral tensions involved in bringing literature, art and reassurance to readers behind the Iron Curtain, without revealing outcomes.

Hala Alyan’s memoir follows her path to motherhood through surrogacy and how that choice forces her to confront infertility, marital strain, and the legacy of her family’s exile. As she revisits memories of Beirut and stories passed down from previous generations, she pieces together questions of identity, belonging, and what it means to make a home for herself and her child.

Ning, a retired boxer who works in a nail salon under the name Susan, spends a single summer day tending to clients while watching the patterns of her work and the people around her. Quietly observant and sharply drawn, the story follows her navigation of anonymity, class, and the complicated ties with coworkers and customers, exploring identity, labor, and longing without revealing key plot details.

Tom Layward, who once vowed to leave his wife after their youngest daughter turned eighteen following her affair, puts that plan into motion while driving their daughter to college and keeps heading west. The novel follows his solitary road trip and memories as it examines the emotional complexities and aftermath of a long-term marriage.

Peter, a solitary asylum lawyer in New York, is forced to confront a long-buried past when a client’s case reawakens memories of his first love and a night of violence. His estranged mother, Ann, who has built a life apart from him, must also face the secret that has kept them apart, and the novel traces their tentative, emotionally charged journey toward truth and possible reconciliation.

Necessary Fiction follows more than two dozen interconnected characters navigating queer life in contemporary Lagos. Through their relationships, careers in art and entertainment, and clashes with family and faith, the novel examines desire, identity, and the chosen forms of belonging people create to survive.

People Like Us follows two Black writers whose lives intersect against a backdrop of gun violence—one on a book tour, the other preparing to speak at a school after a shooting. The novel mixes realist scenes with dreamlike, surreal elements (time slips, strange creatures, and vivid memories) to explore loss, love, belonging, and the search for peace, balancing sharp humor with emotional depth.

Water Mirror Echo is a cultural biography of Bruce Lee that follows his journey from segregated San Francisco and a youth in Hong Kong to his return to the United States and emergence as a global figure. Jeff Chang examines how Lee popularized martial arts in the West, bridged Eastern and Western perspectives, and helped shape early ideas of Asian American identity, drawing on interviews, personal documents, and family photographs.

Apple in China examines how Apple’s decision to concentrate production in China helped build the country’s electronics manufacturing dominance while leaving the company deeply dependent on an authoritarian state. Drawing on interviews with former Apple employees and industry sources, Patrick McGee outlines how massive scale and profitability from iPhone manufacturing brought political and operational vulnerabilities—data rules, pressure to work with local suppliers, and exposure to Beijing’s demands. The book situates Apple’s business choices within the broader US–China geopolitical tensions.

An 82‑year‑old Neapolitan named Nicola spends his days by the sea recording life’s small details in a notebook while watching a nearby coastal town. Observing a young store clerk and remembering the women who shaped him, he confronts the limits of language, memory, and desire. Quiet and reflective, the novel explores aging, imagination, and the struggle to capture what slips beyond words.

In 1980 Manhattan, fourteen-year-old Griffin Hurt struggles to balance his role as a child TV star with the pressures of an elite prep school, a demanding coach, and a family in quiet disarray. When he becomes involved with Naomi Shah, a significantly older married woman, his attempts to confide in her complicate his search for identity and maturity. Playworld follows one intense year of miseducation and emotional coming-of-age against the shifting backdrop of a city and era in flux.

All Consuming examines how food shifted from a routine necessity to a central part of contemporary life. Through essays, Ruby Tandoh traces the social, economic and media forces—supermarkets, restaurants, television and social platforms—that have reshaped tastes, dining habits and the modern culture of food.

Girls Play Dead is a narrative nonfiction exploration of womanhood, trauma, and survival. Blending memoir, reporting, and cultural history, the book traces the author’s childhood and personal experiences alongside stories of women who respond to danger by freezing, joining cults, preparing bunkers, or taking desperate action. It examines how people become trapped by abuse and fear, and the psychological and social forces that shape — and sometimes free — their responses to violence.

Something from Nothing is a collection of straightforward, pantry-first recipes that show how to turn everyday shelf-stable ingredients into flavorful, relaxed meals. Covering snacks, soups, vegetables, pastas, grains and proteins, it emphasizes an intuitive, flavor-forward approach for both weeknights and casual entertaining.

In a narrative that intertwines the lives of diverse characters, the story delves into the intricate relationship between humans and the earth, exploring themes of sustainability, community, and personal growth. Through a tapestry of interconnected stories, the book highlights the importance of nurturing the land and each other, revealing how the soil beneath our feet holds the key to healing and transformation. As characters navigate their individual journeys, they discover the profound impact of their choices on the environment and their own lives, ultimately finding redemption and hope in the embrace of nature.

In 1889 Paris, doctor Aurora Montalban Wright runs an underground women’s clinic and accepts protection from Apollo César Sinclair Robles, the newly anointed Duke of Annan. Their pragmatic arrangement grows into a complicated attraction as Aurora fiercely guards her independence and Apollo navigates his public role. When a threat from their past forces them away to his villa on the French Riviera, they must confront whether their relationship can survive the risks and expectations around them.

Mark Whitaker traces how Malcolm X’s reputation transformed after his 1965 assassination, showing how he became a major cultural and political icon. The book maps his influence across the Black Power and Black Arts movements, music and hip‑hop, sports, film, and contemporary activism, and notes how figures across the political spectrum have cited him. Whitaker also reexamines the legal history surrounding Malcolm’s murder and the efforts to revisit the convictions connected to the case.

In a captivating narrative that intertwines the past, present, and future, the story follows Cate Kay, a woman who finds herself living three distinct lives across different timelines. Each life presents unique challenges and opportunities, forcing Cate to confront her deepest fears and desires while navigating the complexities of identity and choice. As she grapples with the consequences of her decisions in each life, Cate embarks on a journey of self-discovery, ultimately seeking to reconcile the fragmented pieces of her existence into a cohesive whole. This tale of resilience and transformation explores the profound impact of the choices we make and the lives we lead.

Set in Gaza’s Beach Hotel — a four-star media hub where reporters shelter and file stories amid conflict — Vulture follows ambitious journalist Sara as she chases the story that will make her career. When her fixer refuses a dangerous assignment, she turns to Fadi, a young member of a powerful militant family, and her decisions illuminate the moral compromises, complicity, and human cost of war reporting.

The Killing Fields of East New York examines how decades of housing policy, predatory lending, and mortgage fraud transformed a once‑thriving Brooklyn neighborhood into a place of violence and abandonment. Framed by the 1991 murder of 17‑year‑old Julia Parker and the ensuing spike in killings, Stacy Horn traces the crisis back to post‑1960s housing programs and the ways banks, realtors, and corrupt officials exploited them. The book combines investigative journalism and true crime to show how white‑collar crimes helped produce the neighborhood’s collapse.

Euphemia Flite, trained at a secret Academy that teaches women to undermine powerful men, is sent to infiltrate a viscount whose actions threaten women’s rights — succeed and she’ll earn her freedom. Gabriel Royce, a gambling-house owner who benefits from the viscount’s protection, stands in her way, and their clashes grow tangled with an unexpected attraction. From London’s rookeries to Mayfair ballrooms, Euphemia must navigate duty, danger, and the risk of losing her heart.

In 1970s East Village, Ivan and his friend Eddie experiment with heroin; after a medical emergency one night, Ivan leaves Eddie in a crowded ER. That single act of abandonment haunts Ivan for decades and quietly alters the lives of others connected to that night. The novel follows a cast of characters over time, exploring guilt, responsibility, and how one choice can ripple through a community.