Mark Twain left behind notes for a children’s story, soon to be published. How faithful should it be to his perspective? By Mythili G. Rao

It Zucks! By John Lanchester.

It was a reading festival. But this is Mosul, and until a few months ago it was crawling with Islamic State militants. They occupied the city's university library, where last week festival-goers celebrated a rich culture and donated books. The volunteer effort to save what was left of Mosul University library after it was destroyed by IS has renewed hope for the city after more than two years of occupation.

Anita Felicelli on Nancy MacLean's "Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America."

In “Edge of Irony: Modernism in the Shadow of the Habsburg Empire,” Marjorie Perloff returns to the world of her birth. She engages in a close reading of six major post-imperial Austrian writers, making the case for the existence of a distinctive and valuable tradition of “Austro-Modernism.” By Adam Kirsch.

What’s it like to be an octopus? By Amia Srinivasan.

In “Enraged,” Emily Katz Anhalt shows how the earliest works of Western literature questioned the values of the society that produced it. By Mary Beard.

What interest do people living in a supposedly secular and liberal society have in regulating perhaps the most intimate aspect of an adult’s life—consensual sexual behavior with another adult? How do people decide which sexual acts, conducted in private, have a public impact and, therefore, become the public’s business? For our purposes, why do Americans think as we do about sex, and how have we used the Constitution, and the laws of the fifty states, to instantiate those beliefs? By Annette Gordon-Reed.

In Tal Klein’s new novel, The Punch Escrow, humans have successfully tackled disease and climate change, but powerful corporations control everything.

At the turn of the 20th century, discussions about degeneration became entangled with fears of national decline. By John Bew.

The haunting trilogy by N.K. Jemisin won Hugo Awards two years running and changed sci-fi.

It’s unfortunate that Die Hard, the best Christmas movie of all time, isn’t really a film you can watch with your kids. But this year, instead of suffering through Elf once again, you can spend some quality time with your PG-rated family members by reading a new holiday children’s book based on the adventures of John McClane.

It is no accident that our age of hyper-capitalism is also one of aggressive “family values,” pursued in popular culture and legislation alike. By James Chappel.

Love! Revolution! Aliens! Hokitika!

A compendium of information regarding the people, places & things of Earthsea, created by Ursula Le Guin. Maintained by the Espresso Addict

Tales of addiction. By Eric J. Iannelli.

Pournelle, Gingrich and Trump see a future that must be secured by authoritarian institutions that group together humanity’s best and prevent the rest from stifling them. By David Auerbach.

Gabrielle Deydier’s book about being obese has ignited her native France. She tells Stefanie Marsh how her life has been a battle against ‘grossophobia’, discrimination and verbal abuse – until now.

Former president said Labour was expecting losses and Andrew Marr told Tories results of exit poll early, book claims.

Closing time. By Pankaj Mishra.

The prolific writer behind more than 80 books and editor of 40 anthologies died at his Oxford home after celebrating his birthday. Brian Aldiss, the “grand old man” of science fiction whose writing has shaped the genre since he was first published in the 1950s, has died at the age of 92.

Unpublished works are lost for ever with crushing of computer hard drive – as the late fantasy novelist had instructed

Ursula K. Le Guin is a giant of literature. Her new book, "No Time To Spare," shows her mind operating in a new medium.

The long, strange history of Soviet mind control experiments. By Giovanni Vimercati.

The last compilation dedicated to the work of black women photographers was in 1986.

Revisiting the work of A. E. Housman. By Adam Kirsch.

A new study represents a new low for pop psychology.

After being imprisoned for a reading-related prank, the couple never recovered.

What is going on when a book simply makes no sense to you? Perhaps a classic that everyone praises. Or something new you’re being asked to review. I don’t mean that you find the style tiresome, or the going slow; simply that the characters, their reflections, their priorities, the way they interact, do not really add up.

A best-selling author submits a draft to his editor. Hijinks ensue.

Sarah Lyall interviews two masters of espionage on the page.

They were the medieval version of a highlighter.

Winners include the latest Expanse novel, Stranger Things, and Wonder Woman

Do our pets love us—or just the treats we give them? To find out, Gregory Berns, a neuroscientist at Emory University, trained dogs to go inside an MRI scanner. He ... describes the surprising results in his new book, What It’s Like to Be a Dog

Thinking about running as a slow, meditative practice provides more benefits than viewing it as a sport, author says.