Book World - The Washington Post

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Elliot Page’s memoir is also an urgent call for trans rights

In "Pageboy," the Oscar-nominated actor reflects on the arc of his career and the persistence of anti-queer attitudes in Hollywood.

By Brandon Tensley

Review

A mechanical tiger bounds through an epic saga in ‘Loot’

By Ron Charles

Review

Sometimes a bird is more than a bird. Frieda Hughes can explain.

By Nora Krug

Review

Retracing the path of the Pony Express — this time, without the rush

By Carl Hoffman

Review

Do plants have emotions? This philosopher thinks so.

By Barbara J. King

Review

A boy remembers his fierce father in a rich family novel

By Tim Parks

Lesbian bars, once revolutionary, are dying out. A new book explores why.

By June Thomas

Our Critics

Ron Charles writes about books and publishing for The Washington Post. For a dozen years, he enjoyed teaching American literature and critical theory in the Midwest. Before moving to the District, he edited the books section of the Christian Science Monitor in Boston.

Becca Rothfeld is the nonfiction book critic at Book World. Before joining The Washington Post, she served as assistant literary editor of the New Republic and worked toward her PhD in philosophy at Harvard, where she focused on aesthetics and the history of philosophy.

Michael Dirda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post Book World and the author of the memoir “An Open Book” and of four collections of essays: “Readings,” “Bound to Please,” “Book by Book” and “Classics for Pleasure.”

What Book World writers and editors are reading now

By Washington Post Staff

Fiction

NonFiction

Reviews by Ron Charles

REVIEWS BY Becca Rothfeld

REVIEWS BY Michael Dirda

Summer Reading 2023

(Bryce Wymer for The Post)

23 books to read this summer

Whether you’re traveling or catching the sun at home in the coming months, here are books we’ve enjoyed this year that make for good summer reading.

By Washington Post Editors and Reviewers

Six mysteries for summer readers to solve

By Lisa Levy

Forecasting a busy summer of big books

By Washington Post Staff

Four new works of fiction for your vacation reading

By Annie Berke

5 escapist novels for your cabana enjoyment

By Karin Tanabe

Best books of 2022

(Illustration by Adam Simpson for The Post)

The 10 best books of 2022

The Washington Post's picks for the very best fiction and nonfiction works of the year.

By Washington Post Editors and Reviewers

The 15 best book covers of 2022

By Washington Post Staff

50 notable works of fiction

By Washington Post Editors and Reviewers

50 notable works of nonfiction

By Washington Post Editors and Reviewers

The 12 best thriller and mystery novels of 2022

By Nora Krug and Stephanie Merry