This Week in Calendar

Charles Solomon reviews “The Bitter Sea: Coming of Age in a China Before Mao” by Charles N. Li.

Michael Harris reviews “Abraham’s Curse: The Roots of Violence in Judaism, Christianity and Islam” by Bruce Chilton.

Tim Rutten reviews “Blood Kin,” a novel by Ceridwen Dovey.

The following reviews are scheduled:

Kevin Thomas reviews “Not the Girl Next Door: Joan Crawford, a Personal Biography” by Charlotte Chandler.

Susan Salter Reynolds reviews “Bananas!: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World” by Peter Chapman.

John Spalding reviews “What the Gospels Meant” by Garry Wills.

On the Web

This week at latimes.com/books:

In Astral Weeks, Ed Park immerses himself in Catherynne M. Valente’s “In the Cities of Coin and Spice,” a novel in stories, in which each chapter takes us somewhere different, like a science fiction Scheherazade.

Lists and blog: Look for expanded bestsellers, book excerpts and our calendar of local literary events.

Also, please visit Jacket Copy, our book blog, at latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy.