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The Book Report: Washington Post critic Ron Charles (April 28)
By Washington Post book critic Ron Charles
Here are four new books to check out this spring.
Viking
In 2016, the world fell in love with an immensely charming novel by Amor Towles, called “A Gentleman in Moscow.” And now, with the adaptation starring Ewan McGregor streaming on Showtime, anticipation is running high for Towles’ next book.
Step this way: “Table for Two” is an irresistible collection of short stories and a novella split between New York and Los Angeles. Flavored with wit, intrigue, and a dash of bitter fate, “Table for Two” demonstrates that Towles is just as masterful at preparing a full literary meal as he is a tart little dessert.
Read an excerpt: “Table for Two”
“Table for Two” by Amor Towles (Viking), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Amor Towles on “A Gentleman in Moscow” (“Sunday Morning”)
Book excerpt: “A Gentleman in Moscow”
Book excerpt: “The Lincoln Highway”
Grove Press
Leif Enger’s debut novel, “Peace Like a River” was released more than 20 years ago, but I’ve never forgotten its buoyant optimism. Well, things are heating up in Enger’s dystopian new novel, “I Cheerfully Refuse.”
It’s about a man on Lake Superior who’s happy and hopeful, even though the government and the climate are wrecked. When violence hits home, though, he’s forced to flee, sailing around the Great Lake looking for a place to dock in a world that’s burning up and going mad. How he manages to do that is just one of several miracles in this strange, alluring novel.
Read an excerpt: “I Cheerfully Refuse”
“I Cheerfully Refuse” by Leif Enger (Grove Press), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Viking
So far, American readers have not paid enough attention to Sunjeev Sahota, but in England he’s been nominate for the Booker Prize twice.
His brilliant new novel, “The Spoiled Heart,” is about an ambitious, well-liked man named Nayan who’s running to be the leader of his labor union. He’s widely expected to win the election, but then a young woman announces her candidacy, and devastating secrets from Nayan’s past begin to arise and cracks appear in his campaign – until he finds himself at odds with the culture he once championed.
Read an excerpt: “The Spoiled Heart”
“The Spoiled Heart” by Sunjeev Sahota (Viking), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Macmillan
Judi Dench, master of film, TV and stage, has been bringing Shakespeare’s plays alive for more than 60 years.
And now, at the age of 89, Dench steals the show again with a delightful new memoir, called “Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent.”
Compiled from conversations with her friend, the actor Brendan O’Hea, this is a treasure trove of wit and wisdom about a unique relationship between an incomparable actress and the immortal playwright who still sets her heart ablaze.
Read an excerpt: “Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent”
“Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent” by Judi Dench and Brendan O’Hea (Macmillan), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and
For more suggestions on what to read, contact your librarian or local bookseller.
That’s it for the Book Report. I’m Ron Charles. Until next time, read on!
For more info:
For more reading recommendations, check out these previous Book Report features from Ron Charles:
Produced by Robin Sanders and Roman Feeser.
The House Ethics Committee, which has been conducting an investigation into sexual misconduct and obstruction allegations against Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, scheduled a vote for Friday on whether to release its report, according to three sources with knowledge of the committee’s work.
Hours after President-elect Donald Trump said he planned to nominate Gaetz to be attorney general, Gaetz resigned his congressional seat, effective immediately.
“I do not intend to take the oath of office for the same office in the 119th Congress, to pursue the position of Attorney General in the Trump Administration,” Gaetz said in his resignation letter obtained by CBS News
House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that there was about an eight-week period during which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis could fill his seat by setting the date for a special election.
Now that Gaetz has resigned, it is unclear whether the panel will vote on releasing the report, since Gaetz is no longer in Congress.
There is precedent in Congress on the Senate side for an ethics committee report to become public after a member resigns from Congress, however. In 2011, this happened when Sen. John Ensign of Nevada resigned amid allegations that he tried to hide an extramarital affair.
But it’s not clear that that would apply to the House, leaving open the possibility that the report on Gaetz would not be released.
In June, the House Ethics Committee released a statement saying it was investigating a range of allegations against Gaetz, including sexual misconduct, illicit drug use, and bribery.
Multiple sources at the time told CBS News that four women had informed the House Ethics Committee that they had been paid to go to parties that included sex and drugs, and that Gaetz had also attended. The committee has Gaetz’s Venmo transactions that allegedly show payments for the women.
Gaetz has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has called the committee’s investigation a “frivolous” smear campaign.
Some of the allegations of sexual misconduct under review by the committee were also the subject of a previous Department of Justice probe into Gaetz. Federal investigators sought to determine if Gaetz violated sex trafficking and obstruction of justice laws, but no charges were filed.
The House Ethics Committee resumed its investigation into Gaetz in 2023, following the Justice Department’s decision not to pursue charges against him.
Gaetz has long blamed then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, also a Republican, for the probe. And Gaetz later led the movement to sack McCarthy as speaker.
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