A Dickensian Hero
Michael Slater's glorious new biography of Charles Dickens brings a Victorian dynamo to life.
The Gift of Thanks
The surprising complexity of gratitude.
Guest Books
What's Santa reading?
Secrets of the Universe
A.C. Grayling on the glory of astronomy.
BEST OF 2009
Personal Picks:
Our Contributors
The year's best in fiction, politics, art, kids books, philosophy, graphic novels, and more.
FILM
Objectified
A documentary celebrates beauty in everyday design.
LIBRARY WITHOUT WALLS
A Year in the Reading Life
Michael Dirda on twelve months of books, old and new.
HUMOR
Grotesque Joy
Fifty years of Gahan Wilson's hilarious and macabre work for Playboy.
THE SPECULATOR
Makers
Paul Di Filippo on the evolution of science fiction in Cory Doctorow's new novel.
Five Books
For Age 5 and Under.
Drawn to Read
Ward Sutton reads Van Gogh's letters.
Not So Misterioso
Robert Christgau on Thelonious Monk.
Editors' Picks
Thirty favorites from 2009.
Daybook
December 25: On this day in 1914 the "Christmas Truce" of WWI, tentatively and spontaneously begun the previous evening at many places along the Front, held. This meant a day of anything from conversation to gift giving to soccer games to dining…
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Previously in Daybook
In the Margin
Journalist Craig Silverman, whose site Regret the Error.com is dedicated to spotting factual mistakes both serious and trivial in the media, has put together a fascinating and…
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Earlier Posts
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The Long List
Books CDs, DVDs to know about now
A Dictionary of Modern English Usage
The classic first (1926) edition of H. W. Fowler’s style guide has been reissued with an introduction by David Crystal. Both idiosyncratic and indispensable, Fowler’s perspective and prescriptions on everything from the FUSED PARTICIPLE and the SPLIT INFINITIVE -- to say nothing of such unexpected entries as the ELEGANT VARIATION, LOVE OF THE LONG WORD, and STURDY INDEFENSIBLES -- make delightful reading for any word lover.
The Darkness
The fifth thriller featuring Manhattan newspaperman Henry Parker closes a two-book arc in which everything he thought he knew about himself -- and those he loves -- is turned upside down.
My Paper Chase
Harold Evans's account of his career at the Manchester Evening News and the Sunday Times (London) -- as an ambitious apprentice, fledgling reporter, accomplished journalist, and crusading editor -- is an absorbing, inspiring ode to the newspapering life, and the most enjoyable book I've read this year.