NY Times: 14 New Books Coming in August - Novels from Ann Patchett and James McBride, a biography of the Chinese American movie star Anna May Wong and a handful of edgy thrillers — including one about a scuba driver swallowed by a whale. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/books/review/new-books-august-patchett-mcbride.html -

NY Times: The Best Books to Read in 2023 - Finding a book you’ll love can be daunting. Let us help. - https://www.nytimes.com/article/best-books.html -

NY Times: Book Review: ‘Bridge,’ by Lauren Beukes - In Lauren Beukes’s surreal new book, “Bridge,” a young woman embarks on a metaphysical quest to find her family before a fearsome hunter does. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/books/review/bridge-lauren-beukes.html -

NY Times: Book Review: ‘August Wilson: A Life,’ by Patti Hartigan - The first major biography of the playwright recounts his life and boundless vision. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/books/review/august-wilson-patti-hartigan.html -

NY Times: Martin Walser, 96, Dies; Among Postwar Germany’s Last Literary Titans - He won critical and commercial acclaim, but drew censure for comments on the Holocaust and antisemitic tropes in one of his novels. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/08/books/martin-walser-dead.html -

NY Times: Paramount Agrees to Sell Simon & Schuster to KKR, a Private Equity Firm - The deal, for $1.62 billion, will put control of a cultural touchstone in the hands of a financial buyer. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/books/booksupdate/paramount-simon-and-schuster-kkr-sale.html -

NY Times: The Messy Relationship Between Romance Novels and Ice Hockey - Hockey romance is a thriving literary subgenre, but some of its fans on TikTok are creating content that blurs the line between fictional players and real-life ones, dividing the community. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/sports/hockey/hockey-romance-booktok-explainer.html -

NY Times: Robbie Robertson, 80, Dies; Canadian Songwriter Captured American Spirit - As the chief songwriter and guitarist for the Band, he offered a rustic vision of his adopted country that helped inspire the genre that came to be known as Americana. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/arts/music/robbie-robertson-dead.html -

NY Times: Ecuador Reels From Assassination of Fernando Villavicencio - The killing of Fernando Villavicencio marks a grim turning point for a once-tranquil country now awash in violence fueled by drug gangs. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/world/americas/ecuador-fernando-villavicencio-assassination.html -

NY Times: A Withering Assessment of a Multibillion-Dollar Real Estate Windfall - Ontario’s auditor general found that the process to open up land in Toronto’s Greenbelt was influenced by and favored two developers. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/12/world/canada/ontario-auditor-greenbelt-developers.html -

NY Times: How the U.S. Was Eliminated From the Women’s World Cup, Shot by Shot - The shootout was rapid-fire but still agonizing for both Sweden, which moved to the quarterfinals, and the United States, which was eliminated. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/06/sports/soccer/us-sweden-penalty-shots-womens-world-cup.html -

NY Times: A Premier League Love Story Has Heartbreak Ahead - Luton Town’s rise to the world’s richest soccer league proves England’s fabled merit system still works. What happens next may show that it does not. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/11/sports/soccer/premier-league-luton-town.html -

NY Times: Leprosy May Be Endemic in Central Florida, Scientists Report - Still, there are fewer than 200 cases nationally each year, and the numbers have fallen significantly from the peak decades ago. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/02/health/leprosy-florida.html -

NY Times: Enslaved Black People in Maryland Linked to 42,000 Living Relatives - The analysis marks the first time historical DNA has been used to trace the descendants and distant cousins of enslaved people, researchers said. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/03/science/catoctin-african-americans-dna.html -

NY Times: Medical Group Backs Youth Gender Treatments, but Calls for Research Review - The American Academy of Pediatrics renewed its support of gender care for minors while commissioning a fresh look at the evidence. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/03/health/aap-gender-affirming-care-evidence-review.html -

NY Times: Pianist Nicolas Hodges Adapts to Life With Parkinson’s - Nicolas Hodges has carried on with his career as an eminent interpreter of avant-garde music. But it hasn’t been without sacrifices. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/07/arts/music/nicolas-hodges-piano-parkinsons.html -

NY Times: California Battles Fentanyl With a New Tactic: Treating Addiction in Prison - In response to soaring overdose deaths in state prisons, California started a sprawling addiction program. But keeping people on medication during and after a sentence can be difficult. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/09/us/politics/opioid-overdoses-prison-fentanyl-california.html -

NY Times: Supreme Court Pauses Purdue Pharma Opioid Settlement Pending Review - A federal appeals court had signed off on the agreement, which would shield members of the wealthy Sackler family from opioid-related lawsuits in exchange for billions to resolve thousands of claims. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/10/us/supreme-court-purdue-pharma-opioid-settlement.html -

NY Times: Three Shots for Fall: What You Need to Know - Here’s what we know about who should get the flu, Covid and R.S.V. vaccines, and when. - https://www.nytimes.com/article/flu-covid-rsv-vaccines.html -

NY Times: 3 Factors Keeping Americans From Wegovy and Other Weight-Loss Drugs - A survey showed that many Americans were interested in obesity treatments like Wegovy but lost interest when confronted with the price and other factors. - https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/04/health/weight-loss-drugs-obesity-wegovy-ozempic.html -