By Kathryn Shattuck When the “Sandman” author Neil Gaiman was approached in 2013 about reading “A Christmas Carol” at the New York Public Library, his requirements were simple.

A copy of the best-selling “Killers of the Flower Moon” by David Grann for sale in a bookstore in Santa Fe, N.M. Grann’s book has been turned into a Martin Scorsese film. What does one read ...