The National Book Awards Longlist

One of the best birthday gifts I’ve ever received was a stack of four or five books, all published the year I was born. I hadn’t read John le Carré’s “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” but now I felt a connection to it; we’d both come into being at roughly the same time. I wasn’t much of a sci-fi fan, but it seemed like a requirement that I read “The Dispossessed,” by Ursula K. Le Guin after receiving it in the stack.

The gift was meaningful in the way that receiving a reprint of the front page of the newspaper from your birth date is: Here is a snapshot of the world, which was already awake and complicated with ideas, at the moment you arrived in it.

I’m interested in how people choose the books they read. Do they pick up the most alluring from a table teeming with new releases at the bookstore? Read reviews and make selections based on critics’ picks? Get recommendations from friends or celebrity book clubs? The all-you-can-read buffet of books available begs a reader, especially a slow reader like me, to develop a strategy. As with an actual buffet, where you can fill up at the pasta station but be full by the time you get to the make-your-own-omelet bar, I worry about spending too long with any era or genre to the exclusion of others. Perhaps the right move is to graze, a little bit of everything in moderation, keep it interesting, keep moving.

This week, the National Book Foundation announced the longlist for the 2023 National Book Awards, presenting a crop of books on which a hungry reader could happily feast from now through the end of the year.(“Chain-Gang All-Stars,” by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah and “Fire Weather,” by John Vaillant just moved to the top of my list.)

A friend recently suggested to me that the longlists and finalists from National Book Awards past offered an abundance of uncommon ideas for what to read. Pick a year and see what you haven’t read — or better yet, what you haven’t heard of, the books that were admired in a particular year but, for whatever reason, don’t come up on your radar today. You could, of course, choose the year you were born and go to town.

But you’d best get to reading this weekend. The finalists for the 2023 Booker Prize will be announced on Thursday, and the Nobel Prize in Literature will be announced on Oct. 5. Add those to the fact that it’s fall, the season when many publishers release their biggest titles, and your reading plate is about to be very full.

For more

• The New York Times Book Review’s best books of recent years.

• Drew Barrymore’s invitation to host this year’s National Book Awards was rescinded after she announced that her talk show would return without unionized writers. She apologized yesterday but signaled she was sticking to her plans.

• Sign up for the “Read Like the Wind” newsletter for recommendations from the Book Review.

THE WEEK IN CULTURE

CULTURE CALENDAR

🎬 “Stop Making Sense” (Friday): David Byrne’s big suit is about to get much bigger. Jonathan Demme’s 1984 concert film of the Talking Heads, shot over several nights at Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, will be rereleased on IMAX. Straddling art rock, punk rock, world music and No Wave, the music remains startlingly contemporary, and the staging is beautifully weird. For a more recent performance, try Spike Lee’s 2020 film of Byrne’s “American Utopia.”

📺 “Still Up” (Friday): Plenty of people watch television when they can’t sleep, so here is Apple TV+ to square that wakeful circle, with an eight-episode comedy about insomnia. Two Londoners, Danny (played by Craig Roberts) and Lisa (Antonia Thomas), chat all night while chasing sleep. Not quite a romantic comedy, the show shares the occasional absurdity and gentle melancholy of other Britcoms such as “Lovesick” and “Starstruck.” But can it beat chamomile tea? — Alexis Soloski

Baked apples

It’s Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, which is traditionally celebrated by dipping apples in honey and savoring other sweet dishes. Dorie Greenspan’s baked apples would be a perfect addition to a Rosh Hashana dinner, and they make a festive finale to any autumnal meal. Dorie’s recipe — a riff on her mother’s — calls for stuffing firm and tart baking apples (like Rome Beauty) with crystallized ginger and diced, dried apple rings, then bathing them with honey-spiked apple cider. As the apples bake, they soften, turning plush, and the liquid in the pan reduces and caramelizes until it becomes sticky and sauce-like. Serve these golden, fragrant confections topped with sour cream, sorbet or ice cream for dessert, or with dollops of yogurt for breakfast the next day. They’re a lovely way to ease into fall.

REAL ESTATE

Social media fodder: Millions have watched videos of tiny homes online. But do views translate into new occupants?

What you get for $2.8 million: A 1750 house in Newport, R.I.; a Craftsman bungalow in Carmel, Calif.; or a Tudor Revival in Denver.

The hunt: A New York firefighter and single father wanted the three-bedroom home of his dreams. Which did he choose? Play our game.

Luxury condos: Branded developments feature amenities like a car elevator at the Porsche Design Tower or Armani wallpaper.

LIVING

Unpacking: The distinctive paper shopping bag at Bloomingdale’s is turning 50.

$41,000 a night: Rome is full of exorbitantly priced hotels, even as some neighborhoods fall apart.

Ready, set … : Running a marathon this fall? Learn how to prepare your body and mind.

An unlikely comeback: Some artists still see smoking as cool.

Herbal supplements: What can turmeric actually do for your health?

ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER

Wash cashmere at home

On the first sweater-weather day of the year, you want to be prepared. Give your cashmere a wash before the season arrives. Despite what the label might say, hand-washing is fine. Fill a sink with lukewarm water and add a capful of detergent — for the gentlest clean, use a no-rinse detergent. Submerge your sweater and let it soak for 15 minutes, then gently press out excess water by rolling in a dry towel. Lay the garment flat to dry, and voilà! Deliciously soft, clean cashmere that’s ready to take on the autumn chill. — Zoe Vanderweide

Miami Dolphins vs. New England Patriots, N.F.L.: For two decades, the Patriots ruled over the A.F.C. East. But Tom Brady is gone, New England’s reign is over and the Dolphins appear ready to take over the division. They had one of the league’s best offenses last year, a high-powered passing attack with two elite receivers, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. This year, they might be even better: Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw for 466 yards in the first game, leading his team to a thrilling 36-34 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. 8 p.m. Eastern tomorrow on NBC

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