The Reader: A new review source for book lovers

By Jane Pauley Anchor, "CBS News Sunday Morning" Jane Pauley is anchor of the award-winning "CBS News Sunday Morning." A respected broadcast journalist for more than 50 years, Pauley is the recipient of multiple Emmys, the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, the Edward R. Murrow Award for outstanding achievement and the Gracie Allen Award from the Foundation of American Women in Radio & Television. Pauley is a member of the Broadcast and Cable Hall of Fame. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) honored Pauley with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2024. Read Full Bio November 15, 2026 / 10:26 AM EST / CBS News Add CBS News on Google It's become an all-too-familiar story: Earlier this year, the Washington Post put an end to Book World, its weekly book review supplement. "Books are expensive," said bestselling author Jonathan Alter. "Readers need help to know what's good out there." Alter says Book World's closure created a void: "Thirty years ago, there were 30 American newspapers that, as part of their Sunday newspaper, had a book review section," he said. Today, only The New York Times still maintains a separate book review section. "So, we stepped into the breach, and we're doing something about it," said Alter, who is co-founder of The Reader, a new, general interest, online book review, to be published every weekday. Washington Monthly Executive editor Haley Sweetland Edwards said, "We will have mostly book reviews, but also essays about books, columns about the literary book world, and top authors like Robert Caro and Margaret Atwood and Ann Patchett will be providing recommendations of books that have slipped below the cultural radar." The Reader is part of Washington Monthly, a non-profit magazine. Edwards says authors lined up to be part of it: "We have 31 Pulitzer Prize-winners who have agreed to be contributors over the next year. These are the crème de la crème, and they will be reviewing for us." Alter said, "We will review books that are going to become big bestsellers, but we're also going to review those books that sometimes fly under the radar, that are really good and that just aren't getting the recognition that they deserve." And that's where "Sunday Morning" comes in. Each weekend, we'll offer two books for your consideration – one fiction, one non-fiction – courtesy of The Reader. November 15 Fiction Riverhead Books "Stations" by Louise Kennedy (Riverhead Books). The Reader calls it "a beautifully-told story," tracing the tumultuous lives of a group of young friends in 1980s Ireland. In Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.orgNon-fiction Random House "The Sensualist: Adventures in Pure Pleasure" by Gary Shteyngart (Random House), a collection of absurdist essays about the modern pursuit of pleasure, by The New York Times bestselling author of "Super Sad True Love Story." In Hardcover, Large Print Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org For more info: Washington Monthly's The ReaderSign up for The Reader newsletter Story produced by Mary Raffalli. Editor: Jennifer Falk.