Discussed in this essay: The Incest Diary, by Anonymous. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 144 pages. $18. Read More

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Discussed in this essay: The Hatred of Literature, by William Marx. Translated by Nicholas Elliott. Harvard University Press. 240 pages. $29.95. Read More

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What We Think About When We Think About Soccer, by Simon Critchley. Penguin Books. 224 pages. $20. Begin, as Wallace Stevens didn’t quite say, with the idea of it. I…

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Discussed in this essay: Women Who Work: Rewriting the Rules for Success, by Ivanka Trump. Portfolio. 256 pages. $26. No Shortcuts: Organizing for Power in the New Gilded Age, by…

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Discussed in this essay: The Islamic Enlightenment: The Struggle Between Faith and Reason, 1798 to Modern Times, by Christopher de Bellaigue. Liveright. 432 pages. $35. The Idea of the Muslim…

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Discussed in this essay: From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds, by Daniel C. Dennett. W. W. Norton. 496 pages. $28.95. Consciousness Explained, by Daniel C. Dennett.…

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Discussed in this essay: Do I Make Myself Clear? Why Writing Well Matters, by Harold Evans. Little, Brown. 416 pages. $27. Writing Without Bullshit: Boost Your Career by Saying What…

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Discussed in this essay: Being a Dog: Following the Dog into a World of Smell, by Alexandra Horowitz. Scribner. 368 pages. $27. GoatMan: How I Took a Holiday from Being…

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Discussed in this essay: Rasputin: Faith, Power, and the Twilight of the Romanovs, by Douglas Smith. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 848 pages. $35. The Romanovs: 1613–1918, by Simon Sebag Montefiore.…

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