Hello. You know the drill. It’s May; we have some books we’d like to recommend. Some fiction, some nonfiction, some poetry. In other words, here’s what we’re excited about this month.
We’d Like to Recommend Some May 2026 Books
Adrian Nathan West on Translating Mario Vargas Llosa
What does it mean to translate the work of a Nobel laureate? That’s a task that writer and translator Adrian Nathan West has had to consider: among his body of work are translations of two novels by the late Mario Vargas Llosa. The two books — Harsh Times and I Give You My Silence — are tonally very different: one is a grim look at an inflection point in Latin American history, while the other follows one musicologist’s Quixotic quest to tell the story of a reclusive instrumentalist. I spoke with West about his experience with both books, and what he learned along the way.
Weekend Bites: Nora Lange’s Latest, Time Loop Fiction, Revisiting Spacemen 3, and More
In our weekend reading: thoughts on Nora Lange’s new collection, revisiting Lena Dunham’s work, and more.
An LA Vampire Detour: On Todd Grimson’s “Stainless”
Until earlier this year, the only novel I’d read by the late Todd Grimson was Brand New Cherry Flavor. That book was an absolute headrush, one part bizarre tale of the supernatural, one part cutting Hollywood satire. It was adapted for the small screen a few years ago by Nick Antosca and Lenore Zion; Antosca had long been an advocate for the book, and for Grimson’s work in general. And now there’s a stylish new edition of another one of Grimson’s novels out in the world: Stainless. This is also a story of the uncanny intersecting southern California; it’s also not what you might expect.
We’d Like to Recommend Some April 2026 Books
Hello, friends. Are you looking for some book recommendations for this month? Because we have some of those. We’ve got novels, we’ve got nonfiction, we’ve got poetry. Dig in!
Chris Kelso on “Possession” as Muse
I’ve known Chris Kelso for a while now, and we’ve discussed everything from horror fiction to the ups and downs of the Scottish Premier League. This time out, our conversation was about the evergreen topics of books and movies: specifically, Kelso’s book about the film Possession and its lingering effects on him.
Forget the Guidebook: A Review of Meghan Lamb’s “Mirror Translation”
Weird shit can happen when you’re far from home. To be clear, similar phenomena can also be experienced in your own backyard; still, there’s a long tradition of vacationers and expatriates making bad decisions while overseas. At their best, these stories can memorably evoke different forms of alienation; at their worst, they can play into alarming or nativist tropes.
Jeff Jackson on the Evolution of Julian Calendar
I’ve known writer Jeff Jackson for quite a while now, and one of the pleasures of that has been seeing his creative endeavors expand. To wit: the work that he and his collaborators in the band Julian Calendar have released in recent years: haunting post-punk with an expansive set of influences and a penchant for deconstruction. I spoke with Jackson about the group’s new album Speaking a Dead Language and their evolution since 2020.