In Gabriele, Anne and Claire Berest limn the life of their great-grandmother, finding a cavalcade of romance and drama at the heart of the European art world. The result is a historical novel unlike any other. ... Read full Story
Jo Harkin’s rollicking saga of royalty, loyalty, lechery and treachery, The Pretender, is fit for a king . . . or a man who was merely told he would be one. ... Read full Story
Olafur Darri Olafsson’s deeply authentic performance breathes life into this emotionally rich tale, capturing both its stark beauty and its quiet heartbreak. ... Read full Story
Stephanie Sabbe’s Interiors of a Storyteller weaves memoir with interior design and is recommended for Southerners, designers and fans of storytelling of all stripes. ... Read full Story
The poetic language in Jamie Sumner’s Please Pay Attention makes the horror of school violence clear without depicting it in a graphic way. ... Read full Story
Prose to the People overflows with photographs, oral histories, essays and interviews that document and celebrate Black bookstores. ... Read full Story
In Pencil, Hye-Eun Kim artfully blends the fanciful and the practical as she invites readers to ponder cycles of destruction and renewal, creativity and inspiration. ... Read full Story
Every time Denne Michele Norris’ characters Davis and Everett interact—whether they’re at a family dinner, at home, or even avoiding conversations they need to have—the depth of their love is the loudest thing on the page. ... Read full Story
Renee Swindle’s novel Francine’s Spectacular Crash and Burn indeed does a spectacular and heartwarming job of showcasing how unexpected connections can be a salve for grief. ... Read full Story
Fourth-generation farmer Kaleb Wyse’s debut cookbook gets back to basics by resurrecting old comfort-food favorites that reflect his rural Midwestern roots. ... Read full Story
Words with Wings and Magic Things is sure to inspire readers to seek bold and courageous adventures. Many will likely even pick up a pen and create their own poetry. ... Read full Story
Don’t Trust Fish is an educational and highly entertaining delight, sure to inspire interest in oceanography and ichthyology—and lots of rereads. ... Read full Story
Maureen Shay Tajsar and Ishita Jain’s Midnight Motorbike is an exciting and ultimately comforting ode to adventure, observation and love. ... Read full Story
Carlie Walker’s action-packed new rom-com is utterly delicious, plus the latest from Katee Robert and Suzanne Enoch in this month’s romance column. ... Read full Story
The deeply personal and deeply technical Valley of Forgetting creates a memorable portrait of the families afflicted with a rare form of Alzheimer’s disease, and the researchers trying to cure it. ... Read full Story
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 15, 2025 is:
progeny \PRAH-juh-nee\ noun
Progeny refers to the child or descendant of a particular parent or family. Progeny can also refer to the offspring of an animal or plant, or broadly to something that is the product of something else. The plural of progeny is progeny.
// Many Americans are the progeny of immigrants.
// The champion thoroughbred passed on his speed, endurance, and calm temperament to his progeny, many of whom became successful racehorses themselves.
// This landmark study is the progeny of many earlier efforts to explore the phenomenon.
“‘I am (We are) our ancestors’ wildest dreams.’ The phrase originated from New Orleans visual artist, activist, and filmmaker Brandan Odums, and was popularized by influential Black figures like Ava Duvernay, who used the phrase in tribute to the ancestors of First Lady Michelle Obama. Melvinia Shields, who was born a slave in 1844, would be survived by five generations of progeny, ultimately leading to her great-great-great granddaughter—Michelle Obama ...” — Christopher J. Schell, “Hope for the Wild in Afrofuturism,” 2024
Did you know?
Progeny is the progeny of the Latin verb prōgignere, meaning “to beget.” That Latin word is itself an offspring of the prefix prō-, meaning “forth,” and gignere, which can mean “to beget” or “to bring forth.” Gignere has produced a large family of English descendants, including benign, engine, genius, germ, indigenous, and genuine. Gignere even paired up with prō- again to produce a close relative of progeny: the noun progenitor can mean “an ancestor in the direct line,” “a biologically ancestral form,” or “a precursor or originator.”