Alex Gilvarry

Karen Russell has set her latest story in a terrible future where insomnia has become a national crisis. Sleep Donation is a digital download from a new publisher called Atavist Books.

Critic Alex Gilvarry calls Jason Porter's first book "a humorous insight into the human condition."

For some people, Feb. 14 is not all hearts and candy. Without a sweetheart, the holiday can be dreary. For those not in love this year, author Alex Gilvarry prescribes three books that will cure the worst of those Valentine's Day blues.

Author Alex Gilvarry recommends Max Frisch's I'm Not Stiller,a novel that intertwines a classic tale of mistaken identity with high comedy and postwar seriousness.