The Christian Science Monitor | Bookshttps://www.csmonitor.comBook reviews and books articles from The Christian Science Monitor.The Christian Science Monitor | Bookshttps://images.csmonitor.com/csm/2024/04/1172291_2_csmlogo_feed_250x30_standard.pnghttps://www.csmonitor.comChristian Science Monitor. All rights reserved.300en-usSun, 05 Apr 2026 21:26:05 EDT‘Tiny Gardens Everywhere’ take root in urban plotshttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Author-Q-As/2026/0402/tiny-gardens-everywhere-kate-brown?icid=rssb8384090e6064606fb610231e8296cacEnvironmental history professor Kate Brown’s latest book, underscores the resilience and power of urban gardening.Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:07:02 EDTKendra Nordin BeatoIn ‘Son of Nobody,’ Yann Martel wraps an Everyman and a scholar in an epic talehttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Author-Q-As/2026/0327/yann-martel-son-of-nobody?icid=rssa393935317eca81bb72a5212dacda39a“Son of Nobody” by Yann Martel twins the life of a foot soldier in ancient Greece with a modern-day man of letters. Fri, 27 Mar 2026 06:00:09 EDTSky DavisMarch reading madness: Ring in spring with the season’s best bookshttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2026/0325/best-books-march-2026-martel-erdrich-judy-blume?icid=rss4dfe00817eefd12be4806d36f6864e37Our reviewers’ March picks travel the globe and beyond, from India and Eritrea to Egypt and, eventually, Europa.Wed, 25 Mar 2026 12:38:09 EDTMonitor reviewersThe trio of women who redefined journalismhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2026/0313/starry-and-restless-julia-cooke-hahn-west-gellhorn?icid=rss562973b9e37bb76d3fe2a995c00c046aFor intrepid journalists Emily Hahn, Rebecca West, and Martha Gellhorn, the love of writing, travel, mentorship, and friendly competition united them for seven decades of “bylines and books.”Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:42:05 EDTMackenzie FarkusWhat does it take for male friendship to thrive?https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2026/0313/who-needs-friends-andrew-mccarthy-male-friendship?icid=rss426058aebc3d451afbc4dbcf04f34896Andrew McCarthy sets out to reconnect with pals – and finds inspiration from talking with strangers.Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:36:41 EDTMalcolm ForbesWhy libraries have a hold on me: A love letterhttps://www.csmonitor.com/The-Home-Forum/2026/0306/reading-library-books?icid=rssd79e36df54d6d1b1ba5155f374e68193A book lover returns to the timeless pleasure of getting lost amid the stacks and stumbling onto new treasures.Fri, 06 Mar 2026 15:00:10 ESTMurr BrewsterFive mysteries for the spring seasonhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2026/0302/mystery-roundup-spring-2026?icid=rssd1aadfb82fac476800c660561d9ff218This batch of novels involves a locked taxicab, a crime-fighting lepidopterist, an accused Welsh terrier, and a nosy aunty. The plots keep readers guessing.Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:39:26 ESTYvonne ZippExposing the roots of vigilantism that persist todayhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2026/0302/bernhard-goetz-subway-vigilante?icid=rss7ca4985ee64798d42bc73d0081b25293The trial of Bernhard Goetz in New York in the 1980s raised issues of safety, fear, punishment, and power that still reverberate.Mon, 02 Mar 2026 15:13:44 ESTBarbara SpindelPutting my stamp on a lost art: Why I still send postcardshttps://www.csmonitor.com/The-Home-Forum/2026/0227/mail-USPS-art?icid=rss2d10fe6e6ac1bd12319784e284c75379Always dialed in to the digital world, one writer finds respite in his postcard pastime – proof of the old truth that givers get more than receivers.Fri, 27 Feb 2026 05:00:16 ESTDanny HeitmanEnglish painter John Constable captured the rhythms of rural lifehttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2026/0226/john-constable-landscape-painting?icid=rssd66251e74137d3d4a7d32eaa2f326723The farms and fields of Constable’s native Suffolk county provided rich material and spiritual sustenance.Thu, 26 Feb 2026 14:02:58 ESTHeller McAlpinVia camel, rickshaw, whatever it takes, this nonprofit brings libraries to childrenhttps://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/2026/0224/pakistan-books-mobile-libraries-literacy?icid=rss3a61d396e96887650efec2a10ca2c29d“If children couldn’t come to the library, the library had to go to them,” says the head of the nonprofit Alif Laila Book Bus Society.Tue, 24 Feb 2026 12:11:44 ESTHasan AliShake off the chill with the best books of Februaryhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2026/0220/best-books-february-2026?icid=rssa5409e466f6e8648349a589735ae22aeMonitor reviewers’ choices this month ranged from a novel about a mine-collapse survivor to a history of Jewish entrepreneurs who changed the toy industry.Fri, 20 Feb 2026 10:07:59 ESTMonitor reviewers‘Playmakers’ underscores the serious business of making toyshttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2026/0217/playmakers-jewish-toy-entrepreneurs?icid=rss54bc64a56b330a9269486e8d1aefcbb9In “Playmakers,” Michael Kimmel unpacks the history of Jewish entrepreneurs who started name-brand toy companies – and redefined children’s playtime.Tue, 17 Feb 2026 15:05:28 ESTHeller McAlpin‘No-spice’ romance novels trade steamy scenes for courtship, love, and respecthttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2026/0209/love-stories-chaste-relationships?icid=rss893397d6cb521bf8c6e47dbd4b5dcc5cAuthors and influencers are finding fresh ways to identify books that emphasize relationship building over “spicy” bedroom scenes.Mon, 09 Feb 2026 05:00:10 ESTStephen HumphriesWhen she married, she declined to join her library with her husband’shttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2026/0205/bookish-lucy-mangan-love-of-literature?icid=rssa4ff28cda63ebb4ec8356d364fe7e17fIn “Bookish,” author Lucy Mangan treats tomes like old friends, and zealously guards the precincts of her personal collection (10,000 books and counting.)Thu, 05 Feb 2026 17:54:37 ESTMalcolm Forbes‘Before my birth, cotton formed me’: A story of family and strugglehttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2026/0205/autobiography-of-cotton-Cristina-Rivera-Garza-mexican-history?icid=rss560dcd4d7bd968225d18adafa7f47a1fCristina Rivera Garza’s “Autobiography of Cotton” blends memory, history, and investigation into a beautifully written book about how stories are lost.Thu, 05 Feb 2026 17:11:14 ESTJoan GaylordHow an Iraqi Jewish family grew roots in a new landhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Author-Q-As/2026/0129/iraqi-jewish-arabic-memoir-always-carry-salt-samantha-ellis?icid=rss5930209fad03210d4c802a9c565516f6In her memoir “Always Carry Salt,” Samantha Ellis builds “an ark” for the next generation of her family. It involves culture, cuisine, and history.Thu, 29 Jan 2026 14:26:57 ESTErin DouglassSnow day? No better time to dive into January’s 10 best books.https://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2026/0127/10-best-books-january-2026?icid=rssaeb0e4a2782bb02d015b7b70089594c8Our reviewers’ picks for this month include a tribute to winter, a police blotter’s-worth of mysteries, and a real-life spy thriller involving the KGB.Tue, 27 Jan 2026 14:48:12 ESTMonitor reviewersWhat trees mean to Russia, through a history of war and peacehttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Book-Reviews/2026/0122/russian-history-the-oak-and-the-larch?icid=rss5d2cb763cf4e8b9b08d52beb5d163b3dSophie Pinkham’s “The Oak and the Larch” traces how Russian history and literature have shaped – and been shaped by – its deep forests.Thu, 22 Jan 2026 16:50:09 ESTBob BlaisdellHow Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson ended up pitted against each otherhttps://www.csmonitor.com/Books/Author-Q-As/2026/0120/jackie-robinson-paul-robeson-kings-and-pawns-howard-bryant?icid=rss8ecc58c13d53feffbf4eafd98e062fccAuthor Howard Bryant juxtaposes the politics and power of the two men in “Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America.”Tue, 20 Jan 2026 16:05:42 ESTKen Makin