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Poet Billy Collins revels in his love of words, while debut novelist Cara Hoffman brings poetry to a murder mystery. In nonfiction, historian Adam Hochschild takes a fresh look at WWI, former CIA operative Robert Baer tells the story of his marriage to another spy, and Alexandra Styron comes to terms with her famous novelist father, William Styron.

So many fantasy classics are written with young readers in mind — books like Alice in Wonderland and Harry Potter. But for the adult who loves to escape into new and magical universes, author Lyndsay Faye recommends these three reads. Have a favorite magical novel? Let us know in the comments.

Julian Barnes returns with a Booker Prize-winning novel while Michael Parker wins big praise for his historical story set in North Carolina. In nonfiction, there are memoirs by writer Joan Didion and boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, plus David M. Eagleman looks into the secret life of the brain.

Who says humor books can't be serious? Critic Heller McAlpin recommends some light but not weightless reads on mostly modern dilemmas: the pitfalls of class snobbery, what to do with those expensive higher degrees, the challenges of long marriages, and why otherwise rational women wear high heels.

NPR Books is replete with readers of grown-up books, but editor Petra Mayer prefers a good YA novel any day. She picks five (well, really six) of her favorite summer YA reads, from first love in 1980s Omaha to far-future Brazil and beyond.

From post-apocalyptic character studies to speculative paleontology, reviewer Annalee Newitz says this year's best science fiction stretches boundaries and crosses genres. She also sees a strong resurgence in political themes, with a focus on civilizations on the brink of transformation or collapse.

Looking for a good summer sci-fi or fantasy read? Annalee Newitz of io9 picks her five favorites, from the tale of a time-traveling serial killer, to a cryogenics company that produces "bridesicles," and a compilation of supposedly lost Wikipedia entries.

Critic Alan Cheuse believes that summer — with its long, hot, drowsy days — may be the best season for reading poetry. His recommendations include works by Poets Laureate Robert Pinsky and W.S. Merwin, and a novel in verse by the late essayist David Rakoff.

In softcover nonfiction, Jeanette Winterson revisits her haunting past. In fiction, Mark Haddon's tale of an estranged family's gathering, Glen Duncan's werewolf sequel and Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya's modern-day Antigone arrive in paperback.

In fiction, Peter Cameron's complicated romance, Mohammed Hanif's tale of unwelcome inheritance, Kathryn Harrison's historical drama, and Stephen Dau's bildungsroman arrive in paperback. In softcover nonfiction, James Fallows documents the rise of China's aerospace industry.