Welcome to Today in Books, our daily round-up of literary headlines at the intersection of politics, culture, media, and more.

The Language of Romance

Learning the lingo is one of the great pleasures of diving into a new genre, but it can also be daunting to be a newcomer in a land of many tropes. In romance, perhaps the most vocabulary-rich of the popular genres, many of the terms are self-explanatory—”age gap” and “enemies-to-lovers” are exactly what they say on the tin—but some require a little insider knowledge. In the context of romance, a cinnamon roll isn’t a breakfast pastry, and a toaster oven is not an appliance for baking cinnamon rolls. Even the most seasoned reader is bound to learn something from this A-Z guide to romance tropes, themes, and terminology.

Finalists for the NYPL’s Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism

The New York Public Library has revealed the finalists for the 2026 Helen Bernstein Book Award for Excellence in Journalism, which “recognizes nonfiction books written by working journalists that bring attention and transparency to current events or societal issues of global or national significance.” Taken together, the books offer a bracing reflection of the issues facing America and the world.

• Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream by Megan Greenwell
• Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI by Karen Hao
• There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America by Brian Goldstone
• Unbearable: Five Women and the Perils of Pregnancy in America by Irin Carmon
• We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate by Michael Grunwald

The winner, who will receive a $15,000 cash prize, will be announced in May.

Found in Translation

“Read more books in translation” has to be near the top of the list of most popular readerly goals. If you’re among the many English-speaking readers, myself included, on a perpetual mission to explore more books in translation, here’s a list of 2026 books in translation to watch for.

The Best Nonfiction of the 21st Century So Far

Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns, an epic oral history of America’s Great Migration, claimed the #2 spot on the New York Times‘s list of the 100 best books of the 21st century, but it’s #1 in our hearts. Whether you’re an established reader of nonfiction looking for a first-rate experience or a newcomer eager to discover nonfiction that reads like a novel, you will not be disappointed. We had a terrific time discussing it on this week’s episode of Zero to Well-Read, and we hope you’ll check it out.