Books and Literature

January 29, 2018

Naomi Alderman on the World That Yielded ‘The Power’

Advertisement “The Power,” Naomi Alderman’s recent work of speculative fiction, tackles a freighted question: What would happen in a conventional society if the roles of men […]
December 14, 2017

Books of Style: Hygge Gets Heave-Ho as Swedes, Norwegians Join the Fun

Lykke, pronounced loo-kah, like the character in the Suzanne Vega song, is the Danish word for happiness, perhaps that country’s most valuable commodity. (Denmark often sits […]
November 7, 2017

Modern Love: Looking for the ‘Bad Mother?’ She’s Still Here

Advertisement It was 2005 when Ayelet Waldman declared in Modern Love that she was the only one in her Mommy and Me class who was still […]
October 11, 2017

With…Tom Hanks: Hollywood’s Most Decent Fella on Harvey, Trump and History

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — In 2006, when Tom Hanks wanted to get a story published, he sent it to his friend and sometime director Nora Ephron. […]
October 10, 2017

In Love With Romance Novels, but Not Their Lack of Diversity

Earlier this year, after having seen books like “Heroine Complex,” “Trade Me” and “Forbidden” fly off shelves at the Ripped Bodice, their Culver City, Calif., bookstore […]
September 26, 2017

How to Tell if Someone Is Lying and 8 More Conversation Tips

The staring contest lasted 14 seconds before Amanda de Cadenet, best known for interviewing bold women with boldfaced names, broke the silence with “I can’t take […]
September 16, 2017

Table for Three: Hillary Clinton and America Ferrera on Pain and Progress (and Hiking)

Table for Three By PHILIP GALANES Hiking, yoga, reading, prayer, chardonnay (but not Xanax): These are the things, along with family and friends, that helped Hillary […]
August 25, 2017

The Doorman at the Mudd Club Tells All

In the world of Manhattan night life, the doorman occupies the role of St. Peter. Heaven awaits inside, but to join the party you must first […]
August 19, 2017

Cultural Studies: 20 Years After Diana’s Death, a Happier Ending Imagined

In a new novel called “Imagining Diana,” readers find Princess Diana having lunch in Midtown Manhattan at Michael’s, nodding hello to Barbara Walters on her way […]
August 5, 2017

At Home With: Jeannette Walls Settles Down Far From the Noise of New York

ORANGE, Va. — Early in the “The Glass Castle,” the movie based on Jeannette Walls’s memoir of growing up destitute, Rex Walls sidles up to his […]