A great book can help illuminate the world in new ways — or can offer you a compelling window into another time and place. This month’s recommended books cover both immersive narratives and thoughtful explorations of society and technology. They include multiple meditations on the overlap of art and AI, an expansive look at a beloved television series and a novel that might bring you back in time to a bygone music scene. No matter what you’re looking to read this February, one of these books should do the trick.

Alice Coltrane, Monument Eternal (Feb. 4)
In the last decade, Alice Coltrane’s musical legacy has come into its own, with contemporary artists hailing her influence and her archival recordings finding a new audience. Among the works of hers getting the deluxe reissue treatment is her 1977 book Monument Eternal, in which Coltrane wrote about her artistic and spiritual evolution. Jazz historian Ashley Kahn contributed a new introduction to this edition that situates Monument Eternal in the larger context of Coltrane’s discography.

Haley Mlotek, No Fault: A Memoir of Romance and Divorce (Feb. 18)
Haley Mlotek has written memorably on a host of subjects, so it’s little surprise that her own life would also be at the root of a thoughtful work of nonfiction. In No Fault, Mlotek considers the role that marriage and divorce play in our society, drawing on her family’s experience as well as her own. It’s something she’s found powerful resonances in before, and this one looks to be an impressive debut.

John Warner, More Than Words: How to Think About Writing in the Age of AI (Feb. 4)
The recent news of DeepSeek’s growing popularity is the latest salvo in the ongoing debate over AI. This technology has sparked a host of existential questions, not the least of which is what impact it could have on creative work. John Warner has long chronicled the evolution of writing, including in his excellent newsletter The Biblioracle Recommends. In his latest book, he explores what the emergence of AI means — and doesn’t mean — for our relationship to the written word.

Mike Sielski, Magic in the Air: The Myth, the Mystery, and the Soul of the Slam Dunk (Feb. 4)
In his writing on sports, Mike Sielski has often sought to look at the bigger picture of how the pursuit of athletic glory connects to larger aspects of life. He’s written about the lives of hometown legends and giants of their chosen sport; with his new book, he takes on a broader perspective. Magic In the Air details the way that the slam dunk changed basketball — and how it’s continued to evolve since arriving on the scene.

Alan Sepinwall, Saul Goodman V. Jimmy McGill: The Complete Critical Companion to Better Call Saul (Feb. 4)
There’s a lot you can say in praise of Better Call Saul, a show that sparked plenty of critical discussion, showcased a top-notch cast and saw Bob Odenkirk reinvent himself from cult comedian to leading man. Alan Sepinwall’s new book provides a detailed look at the ins and outs of one of the most acclaimed television shows in recent memory.

Holly Brickley, Deep Cuts (Feb. 25)
If you came of age listening to music in the first decade of the current century, it’s likely that you’ll find yourself reflected in Holly Brickley’s debut novel Deep Cuts. The book follows a group of friends who meet in college in 2000 and their shifting relationship to music — whether as artists or listeners. “Music has this power to really shape your feelings and even your choices in life,” Brickley said in a recent interview — and this novel illustrates that power with style.

David Hajdu, The Uncanny Muse: Music, Art, and Machines from Automata to AI (Feb. 4)
Few historians are better at finding unlikely connections and cultural deep cuts than David Hajdu. Whether his books cover the Greenwich Village folk scene or the world of mid-century comic books, Hajdu has trained his lens memorably on the personalities and influences on his chosen milieu. His latest book takes on an even grander canvas: the way that art and machines have converged in unlikely ways over the years. It’s a subject that’s especially relevant with AI becoming increasingly ubiquitous.
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Talking with “The Penalty Kick” author Robert McCrum
Sarah Jones, Disposable: America’s Contempt for the Underclass (Feb. 18)
Sarah Jones’s dispatches on culture, politics and religion for New York over the years have been essential reading. Her new book Disposable takes on the way that the pandemic exposed fault lines in American society, and chronicles the way that vulnerable populations have struggled in countless ways. It’s a gripping, important subject given justice by its chronicler.

William Boyle, Saint of the Narrows Street (Feb. 4)
To read William Boyle’s fiction is to be immersed in the characters and locations at the heart of his work — oftentimes focusing on people living on the fringes of the law in working-class Brooklyn neighborhoods. His latest novel begins with a killing in 1986 Gravesend and follows a group of characters united by a shared secret in the years that follow — with all of the tension that implies.

Hal Foster, Fail Better: Reckonings with Artists and Critics (Feb. 25)
“Our age is often called post-critical and, for many people, that’s a good thing. Not me,” Hal Foster said in a 2016 conversation at Frieze. He has written extensively about art, in addition to his teaching work at Princeton University. Foster’s new book Fail Better surveys a host of influential writers, artists and cultural institutions — covering everyone from Susan Sontag to Ed Ruscha along the way.
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