New Yorker cartoon satirist Tom Toro has published 200 of his drawings in a new collection. Toro says his work covers a broad range of ideas, including "...life, love, work, and the weird". It’s called And to Think We Started as a Book Club. To find out which of his cartoons boasts that title, listen to WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum’s review of the book right here.

Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has made a repeated appearance on the Banned Book List since it was first released 43 years ago. WSHU's Book Critic Joan Baum reflects on the book's themes and how it’s been a target of critics since it was first published in 1884.

In his memoir, A Better Ending, author James Whitfield Thomson documents his personal 20-year-long investigation into his sister’s death. WSHU’s Book Critic Joan Baum says his work also reveals the impact his quest had on himself and his family.

A renowned New York chorus is plunged into mayhem when a newly discovered composition leads to murder. It’s all in author Roberta Mantell’s debut novel, Angel’s Blood - Murder in the Chorus. WSHU’s Book Critic Joan Baum has this review.

Carving out a career in the entertainment industry requires a lot of grit. Early morning cast calls, long hours waiting on the set, not to mention all the wacky character roles. Author John Hart has done it all, and he’s written about it in his new book, Unfortunately, I was available. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum read it and has this review.

He composed music for plays, crafted lyrics for songs, and wrote letters — lots of letters — to his friends, family, and colleagues. His vast correspondence is now a book, The Letters of Frank Loesser. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum says the book offers readers a rare look into the life, mind, and work of one of America’s most renowned songwriters.

A lone pregnant woman navigates her way through a dreary, dystopian world where most women are sterile. She’s on the run from the government, rebels, and despair. This is the plot of Zulus, a sci-fi fantasy novel written by award-winning author Percival Everett over 30 years ago.

A composer, a comic, an activist, and a writer. This is not the setup for a joke. These people are at the heart of author David Denby’s new collection of essays - Eminent Jews: Bernstein, Brooks, Friedan, Mailer. WSHU’s Book critic Joan Baum has this review.

He was a preeminent poet, satirist, and critic from Ancient Rome. His works were once required reading in many schools. But not all of his writings were fit for the classroom. Now, a new biography, Horace: Poet on a Volcano, examines how his work reflected the times he lived in. It also highlights just how bawdy this classic poet could be. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum read it. You can listen to her review right here.

The book American Prometheus clocks in at 721 pages. The film version, Oppenheimer, runs for 3 hours. Both tell the fascinating history of physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and the development of the atomic bomb. Both are also long, layered, and complex. Now, a new book, Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb, streamlines the story for young readers. WSHU’s Culture Critic Joan Baum read it. Here's her review.