Newly Published, From Virtual Worlds to a History of Clothing
REALITY+: Virtual Worlds and the Problems of Philosophy, by David J. Chalmers. (Norton, $32.50.) A philosopher argues in favor of embracing digital worlds and employs virtual reality technology to reach new insights on longstanding philosophical questions.
THE VANISHED COLLECTION, by Pauline Baer de Perignon. Translated by Natasha Lehrer. (New Vessel, paper, $17.95.) De Perignon’s debut recounts her quest to recover her family’s art collection after learning that paintings owned by her great-grandfather may have been stolen by Nazis in World War II.
WORN: A People’s History of Clothing, by Sofi Thanhauser. (Pantheon, $30.) This diligently reported account of human clothing covers the history of textiles in five stories — linen, cotton, silk, synthetics, wool — while commenting on the environmental and labor ethics of the clothing industry.
THE LEOPARD IS LOOSE, by Stephen Harrigan. (Knopf, $26.) A 5-year-old boy’s world is shaken when a leopard escapes from the Oklahoma City zoo in this rendition of postwar America.
CIVIL RIGHTS QUEEN: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality, by Tomiko Brown-Nagin. (Pantheon, $30.) Motley, a tireless lawyer and civil rights activist who helped argue Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court and was the first Black woman confirmed to the federal judiciary, is memorialized for the first time in a major biography.
THE HUMMINGBIRD, by Sandro Veronesi. Translated by Elena Pala. (HarperVia, $27.99.) This black comedy follows the life of a 40-year-old ophthalmologist who endures the death of his sister, an absent brother, a cheating wife and more.
GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM: And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American, by Wajahat Ali. (Norton, $26.95.) This coming-of-age memoir is written in the voice of a celebrity comedian tell-all and includes reflections on Islamophobia, white supremacy and chocolate hummus.
LONGING AND OTHER STORIES, by Junichiro Tanizaki. Translated by Anthony H. Chambers and Paul McCarthy. (Columbia University, cloth, $80; paper, $20.) This collection compiles three stories focusing on family life and traditional Japanese culture, all published in the first decade of Tanizaki’s prolific career.
