Book review: Skunk and Badger — by Amy Timberlake

(Algonquin Young Readers) Badger, a rock scientist without steady rock work, but most assuredly on the precipice of an Important Rock Discovery, lives in his Aunt Lulu’s brownstone, offered as a place for him to live, “until-you-get-back-on-your-feet” Aunt Lulu said, three years ago. And while Badger is aware of the many letters from Aunt Lulu that are piling up in the mail pail, he is most decidedly unaware that they contain advance notice of a new roommate, one who will undoubtedly wreak havoc on his most … (read more)

(Random House) Be prepared to be amazed as you enter the world of fungi, from yeast to psychedelics, mycelial networks to metabolic masters. You’ll learn about fungal worm-hunting and zombie fungi (a group of fungi that hijack the bodies of insects to spr … (read more)

(Mariner Books) Robert Macfarlane, author of “Underland,” “The Lost Words” and “The Lost Spells,” as guest editor this year, ushers readers into this most peculiar time, a time when dreaming about travel, and thus reading and writing about travel, is surg … (read more)

(Sounds True) You’ve probably heard of the Dutch extreme athlete Wim Hof, also known as the Iceman, who has set numerous world records with his ability to withstand freezing temperatures. In his newest book, following his nonfiction works “The Way of the … (read more)

(Harper) On the surface, this small serious novel, droll in moments, concerns the individual experiences of three young people who, having been witness to and actors in a tragic occurrence, find themselves no longer comfortable in their ordinary lives as … (read more)

(Pamela Dorman Books) Richard Osman, the hugely popular star of numerous British quiz shows, has delivered an intricately plotted and delightfully devilish mystery in her debut novel, and it appears perfectly poised to make the leap directly to television … (read more)

(Princeton University Press) It is always edifying to expand your mind in the contemplation of big ideas, and author Sean Carroll is very adept at creating such an opportunity, presenting his big ideas in a tiny tome (his new book is approximately 5- by 8 … (read more)

(Liveright Publishing Corporation) Les Payne, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist, conducted hundreds of hours of interviews, and pored over books, newspaper accounts and court documents, to construct this epic biography of Malcolm X, and it i … (read more)

(Harper) In the harsh, cold landscape of early 20th-century America, futures and fortunes are being made, much as they always are, on the backs of the underpaid and underrepresented workers and the fortunate ones call the shots, giving nothing in return. … (read more)

(Grove Press) A decade in the childhood of Hugh Bain, called Shuggie, son of Shug Bain, hackney driver, and Agnes Bain, in decaying public housing, framed by year and locale, is rich with empathy and love, a seemingly unending capacity for love. It’s no m … (read more)

(Picador USA) At the close of a recent virtual conversation about her new collection of essays, Terry Tempest Williams, educator, naturalist, writer and activist, howled towards the sky from her living room in the wilds of Utah, and joyously enlivened the … (read more)

(Counterpoint Press) Now in paperback, “The Revisioners” is award-winning author Margaret Wilkerson Sexton’s second novel, and a national bestseller. It is a lively, expansive and deeply moving book composed of three timelines and focused on two women, Jo … (read more)

(William Morrow & Company) Okeham, England: a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business. Tabitha grew up here, and now has returned to her hometown, renovating a neglected house she had grown attached to as a child. However one gray day, a … (read more)

(Tin House Books) As a young woman whose world is subsumed by the onset of World War I, Georgie Hyde-Lees, in a bid to salvage a sliver of independence, takes a position tending injured officers in a temporary hospital in London while in her free time, sh … (read more)

Flyaway — by Kathleen Jennings (Tor.com) In the district of Inglewell, a fictional locale in the interior of Australia, young Bettina Scott lives with her mother, following a closely prescribed set of daily chores and errands, admonished to never step out … (read more)