A deeply reported, photo-rich portrait of Afghanistan that combines on-the-ground reportage and striking images to chronicle the lives, traditions, and struggles of ordinary Afghans amid decades of conflict; it captures the country's cultural diversity, the resilience and hardships of women and families, the imprint of war and foreign intervention, and the tensions between modernity and tradition through intimate interviews, vivid scenes, and documentary photography.

Set in a rain-slicked 1970s European city, Dry Cleaned follows François, a solitary dry-cleaning delivery driver trapped in a daily routine who dreams of winning the lottery to improve the life of a local newsagent and her daughter. A routine call to a country mansion leads him to a disturbing discovery that forces him to decide whether to break from the life he’s always known. It’s a moody, atmospheric noir about quiet desperation and the ripple effects of a single impulsive choice.

Two writers — optimistic Alice Scott and brooding, well-known Hayden Anderson — travel to Little Crescent Island to compete for the chance to write the biography of Margaret Ives, a reclusive, larger-than-life woman. Margaret invites them for a one-month trial during which she shares only selective memories under an NDA, so they can’t compare notes. As they work to piece together her story, professional rivalry, growing attraction, and the uncertainty of whose version of events to trust complicate the project.

When Cora and Sam, both happily married young parents, connect at a baby group, their unexpected chemistry splits their story into two parallel timelines — one where they pursue their feelings and one where they resist. The novel alternates between these possibilities, using Cora’s everyday life and relationships to examine marriage, temptation, and the roads not taken without revealing what actually happens.

Perfect Victims is a lyrical, urgent collection of reportage, personal testimony, and historical reflection that bears witness to Palestinian life under occupation. Mohammed El-Kurd combines candid memoir and on-the-ground reporting to insist on Palestinian dignity, resistance, and the demand to be seen as human without requiring a performance of ‘‘perfect’’ victimhood.

On a remote Maine island, Clara returns to the family mansion with her brother Teddy and his wife, years after their parents’ mysterious deaths. When intimate videos of Clara surface online — videos she doesn’t remember making — the family’s reputation, a political campaign, and long-buried secrets collide. Tense and atmospheric, the novel follows Clara as she confronts betrayal, possible manipulation, and the uncertain line between public image and private truth.

After her best friend Lou dies, Lenny is adrift until she takes a babysitting job for single mom Reese and her daughter Ainsley. The household’s brooding uncle, Miles, offers a deal: he’ll help her tackle a list of things meant to get her living again if she helps him connect with Ainsley and with Reese. As they spend time together, Lenny begins to heal and discovers unexpected connection and the possibility of love.

Good and Evil and Other Stories is a collection of six unsettling short tales that probe family bonds, guilt, grief, and the uncanny. Using elements of magical realism and psychological fiction, Samanta Schweblin depicts ordinary lives disrupted by strange, ambiguous events, leaving characters to confront loss, longing, and moral uncertainty. The stories are compact, atmospheric, and quietly disturbing without revealing plot details.

Nils Vik, an aging ferry driver, wakes certain that today will be his last. On his final route along the fjord, memories and figures from his past quietly reappear to accompany him as he revisits ordinary moments that shaped his life while he waits for his late wife, Marta.

Evie, newly orphaned and evicted as New York falls apart, sets out for a distant cousin’s town called Gulluck — a surreal Texas place where reality bends. In a landscape of albino cicadas, eccentric residents, and strange happenings, she searches for a house and a sense of belonging. The novel blends magical realism and dark humor to explore housing, family, and what “home” means.

American Kings examines the cultural power of the quarterback, tracing the journey from childhood dreams to professional stardom. Drawing on reporting and interviews with iconic figures and rising talents, it explores the pressures, sacrifices, mythology, and costs of ambition tied to that singular position in American life.

In the 1980s neurologist Francisco Lopera identified a hereditary mutation behind an early‑onset form of Alzheimer’s affecting families in villages near Medellín. Over decades, those families and researchers have taken part in clinical studies and trials to understand how the mutation causes dementia and whether it can be prevented. The book follows the patients, caregivers, and scientists and explores the human and ethical challenges of that research.

Set against the backdrop of a racially divided America, this compelling narrative follows the journey of a young African American boxer who rises from the gritty streets to the dazzling lights of the boxing ring. As he battles formidable opponents, both inside and outside the ring, he becomes a symbol of hope and resilience for his community. Through trials of personal sacrifice, societal pressures, and the pursuit of justice, the story delves into themes of identity, ambition, and the relentless fight for equality, painting a vivid picture of the struggles and triumphs that define the human spirit.

North Sun follows the whaleship Esther’s 1878 voyage from New Bedford toward the Chukchi Sea. As Captain Arnold Lovejoy and his crew hunt northern waters, their journey grows increasingly brutal, uncanny, and mythic. Part sea‑voyage adventure and part allegory, the novel explores endurance and the human and environmental costs of industrial whaling.

In Joyride, Susan Orlean reflects on her life and career as a journalist, following the curious threads that lead her from a profile of a ten‑year‑old to a woman who keeps twenty‑seven tigers, a Saturday night scene, and even a climb up Mt. Fuji. Part memoir, part craft guide, it pairs personal anecdotes with practical observations about finding ideas, reporting, meeting deadlines, and coping with writer’s block and self‑doubt.

Mamie “Mamie” Fish, the self-styled theme-party queen of the Gilded Age, staged extravagant, theatrical gatherings—elephants in ballrooms, dogs in diamonds, guests dressed as dolls—that were equal parts spectacle and strategy. This book traces how her wit, showmanship, and social networks turned parties into a form of power, shaping business, politics, and society at a time when women had little formal authority. A lively, spoiler-free portrait of how leisure and excess became tools of influence.

At a Chesapeake Bay rental, the Cassidy-Shaw family reels after an autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car while 17-year-old Charlie is at the wheel. During a week of recovery, secrets, a police investigation, and the arrival of a tech mogul connected to the family—including Lorelei, an AI researcher—raise tensions and complicate the question of who is to blame. The novel examines how AI-driven technologies complicate responsibility, trust, and family bonds.

Toni at Random explores Toni Morrison’s lesser-known role as an editor, showing how she shaped manuscripts, supported fellow writers, and helped influence American literary culture. Drawing on research and firsthand accounts, Dana A. Williams traces Morrison’s editorial relationships and the ways her work extended her influence beyond her own novels.

The book delves into the intricate dynamics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, examining how Israel's military and surveillance technologies, initially developed and tested in the occupied territories, have been exported globally. It explores the ethical implications of these technologies, highlighting how they are marketed as solutions for security and control, often at the expense of human rights. Through a detailed analysis, the narrative sheds light on the broader geopolitical impact of these practices, raising critical questions about the intersection of technology, power, and morality in modern warfare and governance.

Set against the backdrop of a vibrant yet tumultuous Middle Eastern landscape, this poignant narrative weaves together the lives of individuals grappling with the complexities of love, loss, and identity. Through a tapestry of interwoven stories, the characters navigate the challenges of displacement, cultural heritage, and the search for belonging in a world marked by both beauty and conflict. With lyrical prose and profound insight, the narrative explores the enduring power of memory and the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

The Zorg recounts the true story of an 1780 Dutch slave ship that, after coming under British command, embarked with hundreds of enslaved people aboard. When the vessel ran low on water, crew members resorted to a brutal decision that led to a high-profile legal case in England and exposed the violence of the transatlantic slave trade. The book reconstructs the voyage, the lives of those involved, and the episode’s role in galvanizing early abolitionist efforts.

Helen Garner follows her grandson’s under‑16 Australian Rules football team across games and training in Melbourne, using close observation of the sidelines to explore family ties, the transition to adolescence and the communal drama of the sport. Warm, wry and spare, the book captures the thrill of team play and the quiet work of watching a boy become a young man—without revealing outcomes of matches or personal plot details.

A collection of eleven darkly comic, dreamlike stories about childhood misfits and struggling adults. Williams sketches idiosyncratic characters — from heiresses and men suspended in schooltime memory to a haunted visitor and a strange “pelican child” — against a ruined, urgent landscape. spare, often uncanny prose explores isolation, moral decay, and small, hard-won moments of understanding without revealing outcomes.

Bad Company explores how private equity affects everyday life by following four American workers—a Toys R Us floor supervisor, a rural doctor, a local newspaper journalist, and a public housing organizer—whose employers were transformed by buyouts. Through their stories the book shows how private equity ownership can reshape jobs, public services, and communities, and examines the industry’s secrecy, financial priorities, and wider social consequences.

A concise biography of Robert Louis Stevenson that follows his life from Edinburgh to the South Pacific. It covers his best-known works (Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), his lifelong ill health and energetic creativity, his partnership with his wife Fanny, and his years in Samoa where he was nicknamed “Storyteller.” Drawing on Stevenson’s letters, the book illuminates his personality and artistic development without revealing plot details.