Beyond The Book
Our 5 Most Popular Posts: January 2026

We love every piece we run. There are no winners or losers. But all kidding aside, here are January’s winners.

    The Oak and the Larch: A Forest History of Russia and Its Empires

    Book Review

    The Oak and the Larch: A Forest History of Russia and Its Empires

    By Sophie Pinkham

    How the country’s relationship to its trees shaped its place in the world.

    One Aladdin Two Lamps

    Book Review

    One Aladdin Two Lamps

    By Jeanette Winterson

    A mesmerizing treatise on better living inspired by an ancient Arabic tale.

    Book Review

    Righteous Strife

    By Richard Carwardine

    Righteous Strife

    Was Abe’s spiritual transformation an honest one?

    Feature

    Our Week in Reviews: 1/31/26

    A recap of the books we’ve spotlighted in the past few days.

    Book Review

    Cold Kitchen

    By Caroline Eden

    Cold Kitchen

    A heartfelt if unsatisfying exploration of what nourishes us.

    Book Review

    Across the Universe: The Past, Present, and Future of the Crossword Puzzle

    An overly wordy ode to word games and the nerds who love them.

    Book Review

    Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America

    More than anything, the Cold War was a chess match.

    Podcast

    Authors on Audio: Marion Orr

    An occasional series in which writers speak for themselves.

    Book Review

    Evelyn in Transit: A Novel

    By David Guterson

    Evelyn in Transit: A Novel

    Is a woman’s young son a reincarnated Buddhist lama?