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Illustration for review of "PROJECT HAIL MARY" by Andy Weir. 16Project; BOOKS; 5-16-21

Science lessons in ‘Project Hail Mary’

Nearly a decade after "The Martian," Andy Weir has stranded another science guy in space and escalated the stakes from rescuing one man to saving an entire planet. But is the new novel too didactic?

Burning for freedom

Louis Menand’s intellectual history of the Cold War offers an explanation of the period’s rapidly-shifting, transatlantic, artistic and intellectual styles by “examining the conditions of their production and reception.” Elizabeth Hinton examines African American rebellions during eras of violence and transformation. But both books are about Freedom.

Aminatta Forna’s essays about people and place and motion

“The Window Seat” opens with its exhilarating eponymous piece, encompassing her heady childhood experiences of flying internationally as an unaccompanied minor as well as the giddy experience of executing a loop de loop in a light aircraft. Both perceptive and informative, that essay sets the tone for the rest of this collection.

Maggie O’Farrell on reading to ‘fill your soul’

In her award-winning, best-selling novel, “Hamnet,” O’Farrell imagines life in 16th-century England when the Black Plague claims the life of an 11-year-old boy who happens to be the only son of a budding playwright. The Irish-born author grew up in Wales and Scotland, where she now lives in Edinburgh with her family. What does she read for fun?

NEW ENGLAND LITERARY NEWS
826 Boston Youth Literary Advisory Board members (left to right from top row to bottom): Lordorina, Asiyah, Zariah; Berlanda, Djaza; Kevin, Kaylany.
A new book by young writers, the collected poems of Sonia Sanchez, and a brand-new publishing house
News of a bookish bent from around the region.

STORY BEHIND THE BOOK
Why devote a life to treasure hunting? Author Daniel Barbarisi digs in.
“Chasing the Thrill” gets inside a community of searchers in the Rocky Mountains.

Latest Headlines in Books

BOOKINGS

Virtual author readings for May 16-23

All events take place online; visit the venue website for more information.

Local bestsellers for the week ending May 9

Based on reporting from the independent booksellers of the New England Independent Booksellers Association and IndieBound. For an independent bookstore near you, visit IndieBound.org.

BOOKS
Mark Sullivan, author of "The Last Green Valley."

Massachusetts native Mark Sullivan has a new World War II novel, based on a true story

A tip from a retired dentist at a book talk in Montana led Sullivan to the Martel family and the material for his next novel.

BOOKS
Naturalist and best-selling author Sy Montgomery adapted her "How to Be a Good Creature" memoir for kids.

What animals can teach people about being ‘good creatures’

Author and naturalist Sy Montgomery talked about adapting her "How to Be a Good Creature" memoir for kids.

Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla, left, and the cover art for his book, "Moonshot: Inside Pfizer's Nine-Month Race to Make the Impossible Possible." The book is scheduled for release on Nov. 9.

Pfizer head Albert Bourla writing book about Covid vaccine

“Moonshot: Inside Pfizer’s Nine-Month Race to Make the Impossible Possible” is scheduled to come out Nov. 9.

Books
Vincent Brown, author of "Tacky's Revolt"

What Vincent Brown’s award-winning ‘Tacky’s Revolt’ can teach us about slavery, war, and enduring racism

The Harvard history professor won a 2021 Anisfield-Wolf Award for his book about the 1761 uprising of enslaved West Africans in Jamaica.

BOOK REVIEW
Illustration for review of "The Rock Eaters: Stories" by Brenda Paynado. 09RockEaters; BOOKS; 5-9-21

Mining the magical and marvelous in ‘The Rock Eaters’

The 16 stories in “The Rock Eaters,” Dominican American author Brenda Peynado’s debut collection of fiction, traffic in science fiction, fantasy, fabulism, or the surreal, even as they retain an edge of cutting satire or searing insight.

BOOK REVIEW
Author Joan Silber.

Joan Silber explores family secrets in new novel-in-stories

“Secrets of Happiness” is told in seven first-person stories narrated by characters whose lives intersect in surprising and enriching ways.