Michael Dirda

Hitchcock and Lovecraft endure, but there are many contemporary scary stories worth reading, including works by Mark Valentine and Michael Cisco.

Robert Shaplen’s “Free Love” delves into the adultery case against Henry Ward Beecher, an abolitionist preacher and a presidential hopeful.

I know I can always escape into novels by P.G. Wodehouse and Patrick O’Brian and find strength in biographies of past leaders. What will you choose?

Michael Dirda’s guide to holiday gift books offers unique recommendations for the movie buff, puzzle fiend, poetry reader and more.

For two hours of entertainment, consider the suspense and charm of a great script.

New editions of books by John Dickson Carr, Tom Mead and Edna Sherry remind me why I loved them the first time.

In “Ancient Christianities: The First Five Hundred Years,” Paula Fredriksen explores how a localized sect became a universal Roman church.

Delving into the unusual worlds of Reid Byers’s “Imaginary Books,” Paul Valéry’s “Monsieur Teste” and “The Anthologist’s Folly,” edited by Johnny Mains.

The new book “El Cid: The Life and Afterlife of a Medieval Mercenary” delves into the truths and misunderstandings about the legendary knight.

The best obituaries, those that are most enjoyable to read, juxtapose obvious public accomplishments with the sheer strangeness of people’s lives.