What’s Good Wednesdays™, August 6, 2025

Read:“The Mercy of Gods.” The first installment in a thrilling new sci-fi trilogy from James S.A. Corey (the author of “The Expanse” series). It delivers a gripping and darkly atmospheric tale of authoritarian alien domination: humanity is subsumed under the terrifying Carryx empire and forced into a brutal contest with extinction as the stakes. In other words, some nice bedtime reading. – Alex G

Watch:“Couples Therapy.” Dr. Orna Gurlanik is a genius. As the therapist at the center of this hit Showtime docu-series, Gurlanik tries to walk couples back to happiness, getting to the core of their issues and understanding how their past experiences affect their behavior. The show can be a little bit haunting, but, whether you’re in a couple or not, Gurlanik delivers great insights about the challenging aspects of long-term relationships. – Zac

Read: The Booker backlists. Last week, the nominees for the 2025 Booker Prize were announced. If your library is anything like mine, every book now has a months-long waitlist. So why not read the nominees’ earlier works – which, turns out, tend to be pretty award-winning in their own right? High on my list: The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, a brilliant novel about joy and despair set in the Himalayas and New York City; Intimacies by Katie Kitamura, the story of an interpreter at the International Court exploring language, love, and identity; and Trust Exercise by Susan Choi, a metafiction novel about a 1980s performing arts high school with an unexpected twist. – Molly