Books/Poetry

Martin Puchner's "Culture: The Story of Us from Cave Art to K-Pop is available Feb. 7. (Courtesy W.W. Norton and Johannes Marburg)

Martin Puchner's 'Culture: The Story of Us, from Cave Art to K-Pop' is a love letter to the humanities

Martin Puchner, a Harvard professor, found himself unable to articulate a defense or even a definition of "the humanities." So he searched for an answer, one that he hoped would...

The WBUR Read-In: 50 years after Roe

Arts and culture fellow Lauren Williams recommends three books about the right to choose and our reality without it.

The WBUR Read-In: Time and transformation

Arts and culture fellow Lauren Williams recommends three books looking at the passage of time, memories and self-reflection.

7 books to take into hibernation this winter

Book critic Christian Burno has conjured up a list of works that’ll help you escape the long winter months ahead.

In novel 'Small World,' two adult sisters in Cambridge revisit their troubled childhood

After decades apart, two recently divorced sisters try to forge a new understanding about the difficult childhood they shared and the sister that they lost.

'Moby-Dick' super fans return to New Bedford for annual marathon

The 25-hour reading of Herman Melville's seafaring tome returns in person to the New Bedford Whaling Museum for the first time since the pandemic began.

New biography wrestles with Isabella Stewart Gardner's contradicting complexities

Diana Seave Greenwald and Nathaniel Silver, two curators at the the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, have a new biography out about the woman who "by design, made herself a mystery.”

A film critic reflects on Quentin Tarantino's film reflections

The director's book "Cinema Speculation" is basically "everything you’d hoped for and everything you’d feared from a book of movie reviews by the former video store clerk who grew up...

The WBUR Read-In: Life online

Arts and culture fellow Lauren Williams recommends three books about how our lives have been impacted by the internet.

A 'gonzo journalist of the occult' hunts for the ghosts in our machines

While researching his latest book on technology and the supernatural, Cambridge's Peter Bebergal set out to commune with the other side. What he discovered gave him chills.

John Singer Sargent biography sifts through the artist's life and explores the heart of his genius

In “The Grand Affair: John Singer Sargent in His World,” Fisher provides a comprehensive and engaging biography of the artist, from his peripatetic youth traveling throughout Europe to his final...

The WBUR Read-In: Borders and belonging

Arts and culture fellow Lauren Williams recommends three books on borders and belonging.

Poet Golden's debut collection explores family history and personal identity

In August, Golden released their debut poetry collection “A Dead Name That Learned How to Live," a culmination of work they’ve written over the last four years living in Boston...

Louise Glück's latest book explores the miraculous world of infants

In “Marigold and Rose,” the Nobel Prize-winner puts herself into the minds of the titular twins as they experience their first year of life, examining their personalities, inner lives, and...

New novel imagines Hester Prynne's origin story

Laurie Lico Albanese's "Hester" takes readers to 19th-century Salem a few years before Nathaniel Hawthorne became famous, and imagines a love affair between the writer and his real life Hester...

Celeste Ng's 'Our Missing Hearts' chronicles a dystopia that hits close to reality

The Cambridge-based author's latest novel explores the aftermath of a fictionalized dark period called The Crisis, in which American equilibrium is enforced by a sweeping law intent on preserving “American...

Arts & Culture

Oct 3, 2022

WBUR arts and culture fellow Lauren Williams recommends three books by Iranian women and on global feminism. (Courtesy of the book publishers)

The WBUR Read-In: ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’

WBUR arts and culture fellow Lauren Williams recommends three books from Iranian women and on global feminism.

Arts & Culture

Sep 30, 2022

Literature critic Christian Burno recommends five books to read this fall. (Courtesy the publishers)

5 books to cozy up with this fall

WBUR book critic Christian Burno has her top picks for fall reads, and she says they're the perfect pairing for your pumpkin spice lattes and apple cider donuts.

Arts & Culture

Sep 14, 2022

William Giraldi's new novel "About Face" explores the highs and lows of celebrity. (Courtesy Liveright/Katie Giraldi)

Boston author William Giraldi writes about the pitfalls of superstardom in 'About Face'

The author's latest novel explores the power of celebrity and how a pretty face can open lots of doors, some of which may have been better off left shut.

Arts & Culture

Sep 7, 2022

WBUR arts and culture fellow Lauren Williams recommends three books about the cost of higher education. (Courtesy of the book publishers)

The WBUR Read-In: The cost of higher education

WBUR arts and culture fellow Lauren Williams recommends three books about the creation of student loans and the social class inside of higher education.

Arts & Culture

Aug 31, 2022

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Martin Puchner's 'Culture: The Story of Us, from Cave Art to K-Pop' is a love letter to the humanities

The WBUR Read-In: 50 years after Roe

The WBUR Read-In: Time and transformation

7 books to take into hibernation this winter

In novel 'Small World,' two adult sisters in Cambridge revisit their troubled childhood

'Moby-Dick' super fans return to New Bedford for annual marathon

New biography wrestles with Isabella Stewart Gardner's contradicting complexities

A film critic reflects on Quentin Tarantino's film reflections

The WBUR Read-In: Life online

A 'gonzo journalist of the occult' hunts for the ghosts in our machines

John Singer Sargent biography sifts through the artist's life and explores the heart of his genius

The WBUR Read-In: Borders and belonging

Poet Golden's debut collection explores family history and personal identity

Louise Glück's latest book explores the miraculous world of infants

New novel imagines Hester Prynne's origin story

Celeste Ng's 'Our Missing Hearts' chronicles a dystopia that hits close to reality

The WBUR Read-In: ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’

5 books to cozy up with this fall

Boston author William Giraldi writes about the pitfalls of superstardom in 'About Face'

The WBUR Read-In: The cost of higher education