1. “Party Like It’s 1905” by Ellen Prentiss Campbell. “This past Saturday, Dan directed us to park in the garage, ‘You have books to bring in for the signing table.’ Michelle was in the garage, apron over her party dress, tending fragrant beans in a Nesco roaster (a newer descendant of my mother’s vintage Nesco). As we unloaded books, a van from the Dressler Art Center pulled in beside us. The cargo? Three original Hetzels on loan (and insured to the gills). When Dan initially told me he’d ask about borrowing them, I’d been dubious. ‘All they can say is no,’ he said.”


2. John P. Loonam’s review of Elegy in Blue: A Novel by Mark Helprin (Abrams Press). “There is a dark undercurrent running through all this American Dreaminess, however. There is that father who never returned from World War II, and the narrator’s son, Charlie, who has been killed in Iraq. Every few pages, the narrator refers to his own service in Vietnam, which goes undescribed but seems more harrowing with each mention. Clearly, the world of beauty and opportunity interrupts itself occasionally with horror and violence.”


3. Ryan Davison’s review of Whistler: A Novel by Ann Patchett (Harper). “On a long-ago evening while Daphne’s sister lay in a hospital bed recovering from an appendectomy, Eddie took Daphne on a stargazing drive with the headlights turned off to maximize visibility. They missed a turn and careened off the road, Eddie severely injuring his ankle and Daphne cutting her head. The most lasting damage, though, came from Daphne’s mother, Abigail, who declared Eddie could not be trusted with the children and divorced him. This marriage of less than two years ended, but Whistler reveals the small, powerful ways in which Eddie’s and Daphne’s ‘hearts were forever stitched together.’”


4. Michael Maiello’s review of Looking for Frank Wills: A Novel by Wesley Brown (McSweeney’s). “Brown tells the story of Wills’ life and unlikely heroism through the voice of Wayne Beasley, proprietor of Wayne’s Clip and Trim in North Augusta, South Carolina. Beasley is a Korean War vet and inheritor of his father’s business. As a barber, he’s learned how to listen and how to let customers reveal their true selves, both through their talk and their hairstyles. Perhaps too traumatized by past conflict to seek out more, he’s a fundamentally conservative Black man who’s learned how to get on in the world without sacrificing his dignity but also without directly confronting white power structures.”


5. “Sneak Preview: Summer 2026.” “Thousands of books are published each month. And much as we’d like to, we can’t read (or review) them all. But what we can do is point out a few we think you might enjoy. In that spirit, here’s a rundown of forthcoming titles that caught our eye and may catch yours, too.”

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