1.
The Best International Fiction of August 2026
Here are five great novels, newly translated. Enjoy! Easily finished in an afternoon, Plant Lady is a gem of a thriller, featuring a plant shop owner who spends her spare time quietly dispatching terrible men and turning them into fertilizer. As her shop becomes an insta-perfect icon, and her plant knowledge gains her international repute, her extracurricular activities spread through the whisper network, drawing desperate women and suspicious police alike. No matter what happens, one thing is certain: no one leaves the shop without buying a plant. No one. I’m glad this book is fiction.
2.
Elizabeth Little on Linda Hamilton, Physical Transformation, and Writing Female Action Heroes
It was sometime in 1991—a Saturday morning, if I had to guess—and I was bored. I was at the orthodontist’s office, as I often was in those days, and for reasons that now escape me I had forgotten to bring a book. It’s the only reason I saw the article: a People magazine feature on the incredible physical transformation Linda Hamilton underwent in preparation for Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
3.
5 Great Classic and Contemporary Short Stories That Explore Time Travel
In our new novel, Time to Burn, commercial time travel has become a practical reality—albeit one available only to the very wealthy. Then a trip to 1940s London goes badly wrong, and a desperate hunt begins for someone who has been left behind in the past, even as the consequences of their actions in the present grow increasingly alarming. From The Time Machine to The Time Traveler’s Wife, the concept of time travel has inspired novels that blow the mind and break the heart. It has also produced some truly wild and wonderful short stories.
4.
What Should You Watch This Weekend? (August 7-9)
A mystery lover’s guide to what’s new to streaming this weekend. From Ryan Murphy and FX, this is the splashy new adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ recent novel about a killer stalking the privileged, debauched youth of 1980s LA. The book was dark and fantastic; the show looks a little soapier than maybe some were expecting, but there’s no doubt that the A-team at FX has been called in for this one, with a strong cast and a lot of strong buzz surrounding the premiere. FX is signaling that it’s in it for the long haul with The Shards, so better to start in with it now and take the ride.
5.
Olesya Lyuzna on the 1920s Cults of Positive Thinking That Shaped Her New Mystery
Writers are a superstitious bunch. Some require thematic tchotchkes arranged on their desk, others favor a time of day, a certain slant of light. I’m convinced that I can only draft new stories in the mornings, on my janky Alphasmart, and if I miss that time window—or try working on a different device—the mood is ruined, and the magic, kaput. But writers aren’t the only ones in thrall to superstition.
6.
Ron Currie Talks Craft, Crime, and Creating the World of Babs Dionne
Ron Currie says he doesn’t lock himself into a strict schedule, but he does treat writing like any other job—show up, stay engaged, and the pages will add up. When he’s drafting a first version he aims for about five hundred words a day, five or six days a week, and when a deadline looms he can crank out two to three thousand words daily. To get into the story’s headspace he once fled to the western mountains of Maine with his dog for a month, a kind of self‑imposed exile that let him soak in the narrative without distraction.
The prequel, *We Will See You Bleed*, actually began taking shape well before the original Babs Dionne novel hit shelves. While on a promotional tour for the first book, Currie sketched the opening kidnapping scene that would become the backbone of the sequel. He already had a mythic, larger‑than‑life world in mind—a timeline and a community that stretched beyond any single story. That pre‑existing vision made the prequel feel like a stand‑alone work, full of fresh punches and tender moments, while still feeding the same universe.
When it comes to making tough, often unlikable characters earn readers’ investment, Currie isn’t trying to make people like them; he wants us to understand why they act the way they do. By grounding characters in broader forces—deindustrialization, botched wars, institutional failure—he lets us see the larger pressures that shape their choices. The result is a cast that may be morally gray, but whose motivations feel real enough that we keep rooting for them, even after the final page.
His love for crime fiction and the rugged Maine landscape comes from a desire to prove that a story can be both entertaining and sharply insightful. He grew up on the comic strip *Bloom County*, which blended absurd humor with a serious moral undercurrent, and that mix still informs his voice. Maine’s isolation and its history of economic decline provide the perfect backdrop for his crime‑laden narratives, letting the setting become as much a character as the people who inhabit it.
7.
Ian Fleming Didn’t Want Bond to have an “American-shaped head”
Ian Fleming had a clear idea of what James Bond should look like, as described in his 1957 novel From Russia, with Love. He wanted Bond to be 183 cm tall, 76 kg, with blue eyes, black hair, and a scar on his cheek and shoulder. Fleming directly compared Bond's appearance to that of Timothy Dalton and Hoagy Carmichael in his novels.
Fleming also specified Bond's physical abilities, languages, and vices, including his love of cigarettes and women. He wanted Bond to be a rugged, athletic man, but not to the point of excess. This image of Bond has stuck with readers and has been referenced in popular culture.
However, a newly discovered letter from Fleming to illustrator John McLusky reveals that Fleming had strong opinions about Bond's appearance. He specifically instructed McLusky to avoid giving Bond an "American-shaped head" and a "duck's haircut." This suggests that Fleming was particular about Bond's look and didn't want him to resemble an American or have a haircut that was too distinctive.
Fleming was so adamant about Bond's appearance that he hired another artist to draw Bond for McLusky to see. This shows just how much attention to detail Fleming paid to his creation. McLusky went on to create a popular James Bond comic strip, adapting thirteen of Fleming's novels and short stories into graphic form.
It's fascinating to see how Fleming's vision for Bond has endured, and how his specific instructions to McLusky reveal his attention to detail. Despite the many adaptations and interpretations of Bond over the years, Fleming's original vision remains a key part of the character's enduring appeal.