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Melissa Block speaks to Darren McGavin, a survivor of clerical sexual abuse, about the significance of the pope's visit to Ireland and what's next for the Catholic Church there.

Shalom Auslander believes that life is short and silly and probably ought to be treated that way — which is why he keeps a copy of The Groucho Letters on his bedside table.

Ada Calhoun, author of Instinctive Parenting, makes the case that children will turn out fine if parents simply trust their gut. But Po Bronson, co-author of NurtureShock, begs to differ — he says instincts may tell parents when something needs to be done, but not how to do it. He maintains experts are still relevant for that.

Most of what we know about Cleopatra was written by her enemies. A new biography aims to set the record straight, highlighting her achievements as a ruler, diplomat and author.

Writer Lev Grossman was raised on a strict diet of literary classics — until he discovered T.H. White's masterful retelling of the King Arthur tale. In The Once and Future King, what was once as stiff and two-dimensional as a medieval tapestry becomes rich and real and devastatingly sad.

The reviewer offers summer reading options, including fiction, poetry and short-story collections. He suggests titles from Jane Alison, Arthur C. Clarke, William Carlos Williams and more.

The Routes of Man is the new book by Ted Conover, a Pulitzer Prize nominee for Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing. Reviewer Maureen Corrigan says Conover's newest effort, about how roads shape the world in which we live, has "vivid armchair travel" appeal.

Rachel Hartman continues her tale of half-dragon musician and unwilling diplomat Seraphina in Shadow Scale. Reviewer Amal El-Mohtar says the new book doesn't just live up to the old, it outgrows it.

When the economy's dropping like an anvil, young professionals have to find ways to make do — and having friends always helps. Reviewer Alex Espinoza says Choire Sicha's Very Recent History is an insightful tale of friends weathering a tough economy in the big city.

Author Emma Donoghue's new novel, Frog Music, imagines a new solution to the 1876 murder of a San Francisco frog-catcher — and fits in a lot of raw and raunchy popular songs along the way.