Opinion

Required reading

The Snowman

by Jo Nesbo (Knopf)

Fans of Stieg Larsson, rejoice: A serial killer called the Snowman is stalking innocent mothers and wives in Norway. And Nesbo’s anti-hero cop, Harry Hole, is on the case — with a feisty new female partner. But will this mysterious killer, named for the snowy calling card he leaves, drive Hole, whose background includes a year-long serial-killer class with the FBI in Chicago, to the brink? Well, without spoiling the drama, we can only say things will get cold and dark.

Vaclav & Lena

by Haley Tanner (Dial Press)

In her charming debut novel, a love story, Brooklyn author Tanner takes us to the borough’s Russian enclave, Brighton Beach. Vaclav and Lena, both émigrés, first meet as children in the same ESL class. Vaclav, a budding young magician, sees her as his faithful assistant and, eventually, his wife. And while he has a stable family life, with parents pursuing the American dream, Lena lives in a troubled home. Although Vaclav’s loving mother, Raisa, tries to help Lena, she disappears — but she and Vaclav are reunited years later.

The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris

by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster)

As America expanded toward the Pacific in the 19th century — for the Gold Rush and more — “Not all pioneers went west,” writes McCullough, author of Pulitzer Prize-winning “John Adams,” in his latest tome. America’s leading artists and professionals were dazzled by Paris, although many weren’t quite sure what they wanted there. Samuel Morse went to paint, but ended up inventing the telegraph. Charles Sumner went for the Sorbonne and was inspired by black students to become a leading abolitionist. Mary Cassatt, Harriett Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain are among the many others who appear in this extensive chronicle.

When Bob Met Woody

by Gary Golio, illustrated

by Marc Burckhardt (Little, Brown)

As the “60s” end for Bob Dylan — he turns 70 on Tuesday — here’s a picture book that introduces a whole new generation to the iconic singer-songwriter. The story starts with young Bob Zimmerman in a Minnesota town, then, after changing his name, he discovered the storytelling songs of Woody Guthrie and headed to NYC to meet his idol, who was ailing at a nearby hospital.

In the Garden of Beasts

Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin

by Erik Larson (Crown)

In 1933, University of Chicago professor William Dodd headed to Berlin as Roosevelt’s new ambassador to Germany. Larson chronicles how this political outsider found himself negotiating with FDR and Hitler in the years leading up to World War II. Dodd starts his tenure with little prejudice against the Nazis, but departs horrified in 1937.