First Reads
Get an exclusive sneak peek at new books before they are published.
Exclusive First Read: Walter Mosley's 'Little Green'()
April 30, 2013 Easy Rawlins returns in our exclusive First Read of Walter Mosley's new book, Little Green. Back from seeming death, Easy is prowling the streets of Summer of Love Los Angeles in search of a teenager who disappeared during an acid trip.
Exclusive First Read: 'Julio's Day' By Gilbert Hernandez()
April 2, 2013 Read an exclusive excerpt of Love and Rockets co-creator Gilbert Hernandez's latest, Julio's Day, with an introduction from author Brian Evenson. It's a lovely, hallucinatory, often wordless story of a man whose life spans the 20th century, and the close-knit community he lives in.
Exclusive First Read: Kate Atkinson's 'Life After Life'()
March 28, 2013 Read an exclusive excerpt of Kate Atkinson's new novel, Life After Life. It follows the multiple lives of Ursula Beresford Todd — born on a snowy night in 1910, in one life she dies immediately, but in others she grows and lives against the backdrop of a Britain descending into war.
Exclusive First Read: Meg Wolitzer's 'The Interestings'()
March 26, 2013 Read an exclusive excerpt of Meg Wolitzer's new book, The Interestings. It's the story of a group of bright, talented kids who bond at summer camp in the 1970s — dubbing themselves the Interestings — and what happens to friendship and early promise as the years roll along.
Exclusive First Read: 'The Burgess Boys' By Elizabeth Strout()
March 21, 2013 Read an exclusive excerpt of Elizabeth Strout's new novel, The Burgess Boys. It's the story of a fractured family dealing with a crime committed by the youngest son — a crime he himself doesn't understand. It's a somber look at the ways families can disappoint each other.
Exclusive First Read: 'All That Is' By James Salter()
March 19, 2013 Read an exclusive excerpt of All That Is by James Salter. Salter is often considered a "writer's writer"; his latest, All That Is, follows a World War II veteran through a series of drunken conversations and romantic liasons as he returns home and gets involved in the New York publishing world.
