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Novelist Alan Hollinghurst's latest chronicles changing attitudes towards homosexuality in Britain through the stories of a closeted gay man — and later, his son — in the decades after World War II.

Erika Swyler's generous yet somewhat disappointing debut follows a young man and a mysterious book — but despite rich language and observations, it suffers from going in too many directions at once.

Eliza Kennedy's snappy new novel follows Lily Wilder, a high-powered litigator conflicted about her upcoming wedding because she's having too much fun with sex, booze and work to settle down.

Historian Mary Beard says many of our popular notions about the empire are based on culture — like the play Julius Caesar or the film Gladiator — rather than fact. Her new book is called SPQR.

Washington D.C. punk legend Ian Svenonius veers from anarchist tirade to Swiftian satire in this new essay collection, which takes aim at tipping, Ikea, censorship, music and yes, NPR too.

David Mitchell's new novel about a soul-devouring house embraces all the classic horror tropes. Critic Jason Sheehan says you may think it's contrived ... until you realize that you, too, are trapped.

Novelist Anne Enright manages to turn her narrator's troubled, life-changing affair into an extended metaphor for Ireland's spectacular recent boom and bust. The Forgotten Waltz is about the uncontrollable forces that drive us into mayhem, bursting both our familial and economic bubbles.

Hal Holbrook is best known for his timeless portrayal of Mark Twain in the one-man show Mark Twain Tonight. But before becoming a beloved actor, he endured a painful childhood. In Harold: The Boy Who Became Mark Twain, Holbrook reflects on how he finally found his way.

America's only unsolved airline hijacking happened the day before Thanksgiving in 1971. D.B. Cooper's demands — $200,000 and four parachutes — were met. He ordered the plane to take off again. When it landed in Reno, Nev., he was gone, along with the money and a parachute.

In Make the Bread, Buy the Butter, Jennifer Reese tries her recipes for foods that you might never think to make at home. She walks NPR's Melissa Block through make-your-own marshmallows. Turns out, it's not so hard.