View in browser|nytimes.com

April 14, 2026

Henri Campeã

	By Joumana Khatib

Dear readers,

You have to applaud the commitment of a midnight release party for a new installment of a high-concept literary novel all about living in a time loop.

If “Groundhog Day” were set in the Schengen zone, it might resemble Solvej Balle’s series “On the Calculation of Volume,” though that comparison doesn’t begin to convey the philosophical, ethical and ecological dimensions of Balle’s writing.

Fans packed a bar in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, late Monday night for an event celebrating Book IV of “On the Calculation of Volume,” hosted by the Brooklyn Public Library. There were sticker sheets and free eyeglass-cleaning cloths, with no apparent reference point to Balle’s universe; there were tiny bistro tables covered with crafting material that was crowded out by cocktail coupes.

There were also flashbulbs and waivers for New York magazine, which had sent a photographer to capture portraits of attendees. (“Say ost!”) It’s possible the party had a greater carbon footprint than Balle herself has generated in decades, since she refuses to fly or drive and rarely leaves the Danish island she has long called home.

Our critic A.O. Scott reviewed Balle’s latest novel, and took stock of the series as a whole. In the interest of avoiding spoilers — however futile that may be for a series that has followed a woman named Tara for thousands of Nov. 18s — I won’t mention any of Book IV’s developments. But Scott raises a poignant question that’s worth wrestling with no matter where you are in the series: “Is this gentle, melancholy project best read as a protest, a warning or a comforting fairy tale?”

See you on Friday.

In other news

LOOKING FOR YOUR NEXT BOOK TO READ?

Editors’ Choice 9 New Books We Love This Week Reading recommendations from critics and editors at The New York Times.

The New York Times 29 Books Coming in April Novels by Emma Straub, Ben Lerner and TJ Klune; nonfiction by Patrick Radden Keefe and Lena Dunham; a road trip history of the United States; and more.

Let Us Help You Find Your Next Book: Science Fiction Whether you’re looking for a classic or the latest and greatest, start here. By The New York Times Books Staff

RECENT BOOK REVIEWS

Fiction Art Heists, Sexual Assaults, and a Coven of Middle-Aged Divorcées Maria Semple is back with another frenetic human comedy. By Jeff Giles

Fiction A Brand-Name Novelist Revisits His Old Friend and Alter Ego Jay McInerney has written about the literary party boy Russell Calloway once a decade since the 1990s. He returns in the Covid novel “See You on the Other Side.” By Dwight Garner

Fiction A Blue-Blooded Dynasty Falls to a ‘Blood-Red’ Century in This Novel “Lázár,” by Nelio Biedermann, is a multigenerational novel that spans the collapse of a monarchy, two world wars and a revolution. By Elvia Wilk

Nonfiction Can These Israeli and Palestinian Tour Guides Find Common Ground? Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon both lost loved ones to the conflict in the Middle East. In “The Future Is Peace,” they look for hope and understanding. By Fintan O’Toole

Nonfiction In ‘Famesick,’ Lena Dunham Diagnoses Celebrity, Illness and Herself This unusually unfiltered memoir takes us to the hospital, to therapy and to the sometimes hostile set of “Girls.” By Alexandra Jacobs

Nonfiction What North Korea’s Cult of Personality Owes Christianity A new history by Jonathan Cheng argues that an influx of missionaries in the late 19th century profoundly shaped the ruling Kim family dynasty. By Bruce Cumings

Nonfiction A New Biography Asks, How Does Robert F. Kennedy Jr. See Himself? In “RFK Jr.: The Fall and Rise,” a New York Post reporter paints an intimate portrait of the Kennedy scion and cabinet member. By Nicolas Niarchos

Nonfiction Bob Dylan and the Beatles: When the Fab Four Became the Fab Five Jim Windolf’s new book, “Where the Music Had to Go,” traces the influence of Dylan on the Beatles and the Beatles on Dylan. By Francine Prose

We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.

Love this email? Forward to a friend.

Want this email? Sign-up here.

Have a suggestion for this email? Then send us a note at books@nytimes.com.

Want to see more of our expert reporting in your Google search results?
Add The New York Times as a preferred source.