“The Good Daughters.” Joyce Maynard. William Morrow. 288 pages. $24.99. Joyce Maynard’s new novel hangs on a couple of plot twists so cliched that one might be tempted to call them gimmicks. But one reads Maynard for characters, not plots. The author’s deft and delicate touch as she plumbs the depths of her characters’ psyches […]

‘Everybody loves puffins,’ Maine humorist John McDonald says, by way of explaining a new book pairing captivating photos with funny captions he’s dreamed up.

Some story lines defy the odds. A book about an ailing woman who befriends a bedside snail, for instance, might seem cloying and schmaltzy on the one hand, or satirical on the other. In the case of Elisabeth Tova Bailey’s observational memoir, “The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating,” both woman and snail handily quash […]

The author of the bible of the hardcore punk movement is out with a new edition and heading to Maine to talk about the musical genre and its legacy.

“The Elephant’s Journey.” Jose Saramago. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 288 pages. $24. Summer, 1551. The King of Portugal gives Maximilian, regent of Spain and archduke of Austria, an elephant as a belated wedding present. There is just one small problem: getting the elephant from Lisbon to Vienna.  

‘The Lady Matador’s Hotel’ is a ruthless romp through the lives of its characters.

Tom Seymour of Waldo forages for a lot of his food. Now he’s out with a new book sharing some of the secrets of his finesse.