Books
House Proud in Historic Enclave
Celebrating the black writer Dorothy West’s home on Martha’s Vineyard.
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Books of The Times: Murder Most Rational and Confounding
Leopold and Loeb weren’t deranged. So why did they kill? Simon Baatz re-examines the 1924 case, still one of the most familiar and intriguing murders in American history.
Under ‘Kafkaesque’ Pressure, Heir to Kafka Papers May Yield Them
The heir to the papers said a decision on their release will be made soon. But scholars wonder whether they will be kept in Israel or be sent abroad.
Media Talk: ‘Gossip Girl’ DVD Extra Tries to Steer Buyers to the Books
The DVD set “Gossip Girl: The Complete First Season” includes a free electronic version of the original novel on which the show is based. But — OMG! — it’s an audio book.
Ideas & Trends: Kafka Himself Gets a Metamorphosis
A “porn” stash may show little but how each age shapes its idols.
Dylan’s Poetic Pause in Hollywood on the Way to Folk Music Fame
After languishing in storage for more than 40 years, a book of photographs by Barry Feinstein, with text by Bob Dylan, will be published in November.
Questions for Brigitte Gabriel: The Crusader
The best-selling author and radical Islamophobe talks about why moderate Muslims are irrelevant, the lessons we should have learned from Lebanon and dressing like a French woman.
L. Rust Hills, Fiction Editor at Esquire, Dies at 83
As Esquire’s curmudgeonly fiction editor, Mr. Hills published original works by scores of the country’s finest writers.
To Reach Children, Publisher Tries Films
Under a new deal with the Gotham Group, Simon & Schuster is seeking projects with multimedia potential.
A Not So Common Reader
This old-fashioned primer on literature from the esteemed critic James Wood concentrates on the art of the novel.
Entering the Scrum
How Nelson Mandela used rugby to set South Africa on the path to reconciliation.
What’s the Matter With Washington?
Republicans weren’t just greedy -- they were out to destroy the government, Thomas Frank argues.
Girls of Summer
Linn Ullmann’s novel concerns the mingled fates of a powerful father and his three daughters.
Judgment Call
The sociologist Charles Tilly examines how we assign responsibility.
From Spider-Man to Ayn Rand
A scholar recounts the artist Steve Ditko’s pioneering and eccentric career in comics.
We’ll Always Have Berlin
Anna Winger’s American heroine falls in love with Berlin and one of its inhabitants.
Playing Hurt
Along with the increased opportunity for girls in sports, Michael Sokolove sees an alarming trend in injuries.
Beauty and the Beast
The hero, horribly burned in a car crash, is nursed back to health by a woman who claims they were lovers in another life.
Home Movies
In Bret Lott’s novel, a man’s Hollywood dreams affect three generations.
Chick-Lit Pioneer
The genesis of a classic and the early struggles of its author, Lucy Maud Montgomery.
Cold-Blooded
The market for rare and exotic animals attracts some slippery characters.
Follow the Poison
The mysterious case of the Russian, the conspiracy and the polonium in the tea.
Essay: He Blurbed, She Blurbed
Book blurbs are a tangled mass of friendships, rivalries, favors traded and debts repaid, not always in good faith.
Children's Books: Mao’s Little Helper
Small tragedies are the prelude to great ones in this haunting memoir of the Cultural Revolution.
Children's Books: A Reed Grows in Beijing
The flutist and composer Guo Yue’s first book for children is about a musical child in Mao’s China.
Children's Books: How to Be Bad
E. Lockhart’s latest novel has all the ingredients of a typical boarding school tale — but it’s also an homage to girl-power.
Children’s Books: Bookshelf
More children’s books reviewed.
Archive: Book Review Podcast
This week: Bill Keller, The Times’s executive editor, on Nelson Mandela, race and rugby in South Africa; Stacey D’Erasmo on Linn Ullmann; Rachel Donadio with notes from the field; and Dwight Garner...
The Funny Pages | Sunday Serial: Mrs. Corbett’s Request
Conclusion: Anna Hewes gave George a trove of letters written on behalf of Wilson Corbett that made it clear that George was Corbett’s son.
Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?
Is the Internet the enemy of reading, or has it created a new kind of reading, one that society should not discount?
