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Buried under the drifts in Washington, D.C., we turn to artful descriptions of snow from some favorite writers — in the hands of a good storyteller, snow can be magical, or monstrous. We sample works from Ezra Jack Keats, Laura Ingalls Wilder and, of course, Robert Frost.

It's hard to imagine that people used to die from things as small as a scratch on the knee — but that's what life was like before penicillin. Author Lauren Belfer's new novel, A Fierce Radiance, follows the intrigue as pharmaceutical companies race to mass-produce lifesaving drugs during World War II.

Vacuous pop stars, a hygiene-challenged photographer and corrupt politicians all play a part in Carl Hiaasen's new satire of the industry that both makes and breaks celebrities.

Before there was Mad Men, there was From Those Wonderful Folks Who Gave You Pearl Harbor, the cultish and colorful advertising memoir by 1960s ad man Jerry Della Femina that also served as inspiration for AMC's hit series.

You don't need a background in science to enjoy these research-fueled reads. From the mysteries of the male brain to the logistics of having a clone to the problem of mortality, these books straightforwardly tackle present and future scientific puzzles.

Thriller writer Richard North Patterson knows about engrossing political dramas — he served as the SEC liaison to the Watergate special prosecutor. As his favorite thriller, he recommends Allen Drury's Pulitzer Prize-winning Advise and Consent, a political novel that still rings true after 50 years.

Contemporary authors have a habit of lazily shoplifting plots and characters from 19th-century fiction — especially the works of Jane Austen. But even though Allegra Goodman's latest novel, The Cookbook Collector, is a modern riff on Sense and Sensibility, her homage quickly comes to have a glorious life of its own.

Sportswriter Frank Deford's historical novel, Bliss Remembered, tells the story of a young American swimmer at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Deford explains why he was drawn to this particular historical setting — and what it's like to write a novel from the perspective of a woman.

Norwegian writer Per Petterson hits the mark with his latest novel, which follows a man reflecting on his life — especially the events of 1989, a year when he lost his wife, his mother, and his faith in Communism.

Alex Cohen may be a public radio reporter by day, but by night she goes by her roller derby name — Axles of Evil. Cohen has joined forces with fellow L.A. Derby Doll Jennifer "Kasey Bomber" Barbee to write Down and Derby, an insider's guide to a rough-and-tumble sport.