The Book Report: Reviews from Washington Post critic Ron Charles
Recommendations of four new fiction and non-fiction titles
Books
Book excerpt: "Writers & Lovers" by Lily King
The author of the award-winning "Euphoria" returns with a new novel about a young woman holding onto her determination to live a creative life as a writer
Book excerpt: "Little Family" by Ishmael Beah
From the author of the #1 New York Times-bestselling memoir "A Long Way Gone" comes a new novel of young people struggling to survive on the outskirts of society
Book excerpt: "Simon the Fiddler" by Paulette Jiles
The bestselling author of "News of the World" returns with a novel set during the waning years of the Civil War
Book excerpt: "Hidden Valley Road" by Robert Kolker
The #1 New York Times bestseller from the author of "Lost Girls" is an account of an American family beset by schizophrenia affecting six of 12 children
Julie Andrews' "practically perfect" book podcast
The actress who has co-authored dozens of children's books with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, debuts a comforting new podcast for young readers, "Julie's Library"
Book excerpt: "Quackery," on how radium acquired a glowing reputation as a cure-all
Dr. Lydia Kang and Nate Pedersen's book explores the history of bad medicine, charlatans and snake oil salesmen through the ages
Drive-thru diagnostics: How car culture facilitates COVID-19 testing
The drive-thru, that symbol of American fast-food-style efficiency, is now the means by which many are being tested for the novel coronavirus
Book + audio excerpt: Conor Knighton's "Leave Only Footprints"
The "Sunday Morning" correspondent introduces his account of a year-long trek through America's National Parks
"Little Fires Everywhere" author Celeste Ng
The bestselling writer talks about her childhood in a progressive and diverse Cleveland suburb, which helped inspire her stories of class and racial divides, and about being targeted by racist online trolls.
Life under lockdown: Recommended books
Washington Post book critic Ron Charles offers suggestions for these challenging, cloistered times
Book excerpt: "Washington's End," on the final years of the father of our country
Jonathan Horn's new biography begins when most biographies of America's Revolutionary War hero and first president end, depicting his turbulent retirement from public life
Book excerpt: "Survivors Club: The True Story of a Very Young Prisoner of Auschwitz"
In the New York Times-bestselling memoir by Michael Bornstein and Debbie Bornstein Holinstat, a very young child witnesses grotesque inhumanity upon his arrival at the Nazi extermination camp
Book excerpt: "Irving Berlin: New York Genius" by James Kaplan
A new biography traces the roots of the songwriter whose classic tunes – heard on stage and in movies – helped define an American musical vernacular
Our fascination with Louisa May Alcott's enduring classic "Little Women"
The beloved novel about the artistic March sisters is now a new film by "Lady Bird" director Greta Gerwig, starring Saoirse Ronan and Emma Watson
More From Sunday Morning
This week on "Sunday Morning" (August 24): By Design
A look at the features for this week's broadcast of the Emmy-winning program, hosted by Jane Pauley.
A pilgrimage to the desk with the greatest view
In the late 1970s, a group of university students in West Texas, wanting a place to study with a view, hauled a desk to the top of Hancock Hill in the town of Alpine. Today, the desk is a pilgrimage for hikers seeking a meditative place.
"Severance" star Adam Scott
The former "Parks and Recreation" star heads the surreal, critically-acclaimed series about workers at a mysterious corporation whose brains are altered to create distinctly separate personalities in and out of the office.
Laufey on creating her own sound
Whimsical and romantic, the music of Icelandic singer and cellist Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir blends pop, jazz, classical and bossa nova – a "mishmash," she calls it. Her latest album is "A Matter of Time."
Capturing the melting of glaciers, with data and art
For more than 40 years, glaciologist Mauri Pelto has been measuring shrinking glaciers in Washington State. He's been joined by his daughter, artist-scientist Jill Pelto, whose watercolors provide another view of the drastically-changing landscape.
This week on "Sunday Morning" (August 17)
A look at the features for this week's broadcast of the Emmy-winning program, hosted by Jane Pauley.
To tip or not to tip: That is David Sedaris' question
The humorist has some thoughts about gratuities, especially when they're pre-programmed onto a screen.
The JFK Files
More than six decades after the Kennedy assassination, the existence of unreleased documents from the investigation has continued to fuel questions - and conspiracy theories - in search for a "smoking gun." What did the recent release of thousands of documents reveal?
At 75, "Sunset Boulevard" is ready again for its closeup
Billy Wilder's caustic tale of Hollywood, obsession and murder, in which a fading star of silent pictures tries to recreate her fame, is back in its full dark glory.
Steve Wozniak on fighting internet scams
The computer inventor and co-founder of Apple is sounding the alarm about one of the great threats of this new Information Age: internet fraud. He talks about how he is fighting for the victims of online scams involving AI, cryptocurrency and faked messages.