One could do worse than devote some time during Lent to 'lectio divina' and reading the Scriptures prayerfully.

Postapocalyptic novels were once popular back in the last millennium when we all worried about the Bomb and what it might do to us.

Roth’s language is mostly matter-of-fact, but often enough he launches into eloquent spasms of what the Germans call erlebte Rede (lived discourse), where writer and character breathe as one.

In his 90th year, the indefatigable historian John Hope Franklin has written his life story. More than any other scholar, Franklin has made African-American history an essential part of American history.

Always try to do too much must be taken as one of Salman Rushdie's mantras and he certainly lives up to it here This sprawling story flashes back and forth from pre-World War II Strasbourg to present-day Los Angeles touchesat least fleetinglyon every major world crisis from the Holocaust to

Joan Didion has been writing books for more than 40 years. Her newest and most unforgettable book is "The Year of Magical Thinking."