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At a ceremony in Baghdad, Iraq's Cabinet ministers are officially sworn in, but holes remain. Key posts reserved for representatives of Iraq's Sunni Arab community have still not been filled amid continued wrangling between the Sunnis and leaders of the Shiite majority.

The attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan, is an embarrassment for the Pakistani government. Islamabad has had trouble convincing other cricketing nations to compete in Pakistan due to the deteriorating security situation.

While he did not provide a clear reason for the suspension of his campaign, Burgum did lodge criticisms at the RNC for its debate rules in his Monday morning announcement.

Nintendo puts a new coat of paint on an old classic, tweaking its Final Fantasy-style combat just enough to succeed for a modern audience.

Shirley Hazzard's 1980 novel Transit of Venus tells a sweeping, decades-long tale of two Australian sisters and three men, with a dash of astronomy thrown in. Author Roxana Robinson says the novel entranced her with tragedy, complexity and elegant, arresting prose.

Paul Yoon's new novel, Snow Hunters, follows a Korean War POW who starts a new life in Brazil. Yoon drew on his own family's experiences to write the book, and reviewer Alana Levinson says his "ruminations on the role of memory in shaping our identity speak perfectly to the experience of war."

Author Terry Pratchett is best known for his 39-book Discworld series, but his latest novel, Dodger, leaves the Disc behind for a lighthearted romp through Victorian London. Reviewer Tasha Robinson says Dodger shows an author wearing his not-so-secret soft heart on his sleeve.

Olivia Laing illuminates the complex relationships between writers and alcohol in The Trip to Echo Spring — Echo Spring being, of course, the euphemism Tennessee Williams used for the liquor cabinet in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Reviewer Jane Ciabattari says the book is "beautifully written, haunting, tragic and instructive in the best sense."

In fiction, Paula McLain explores Hemingway's first marriage, while Anita Desai re-examines modern India. In nonfiction, Joseph Epstein defends gossip, Rosamond Bernier remembers midcentury Paris, and Stuart Isacoff lauds the piano.

In softcover fiction and nonfiction, John Irving explores teen lust; Denise Mina delivers a murder mystery; David Maraniss looks at the young Barack Obama; Robert Kagan defends U.S. sovereignty; and Susan Cain stands up for introverts.