Topic: Henry James

'Expatriotism': the last refuge of a scoundrel?

Two senators going after Facebook cofounder Eduardo Saverin for taxes seem to need a little help with their spelling.

Henry James: 10 quotes on his birthday

10 quotes from the great American novelist Henry James on his 169th birthday.

A really big story told in only 100 words

A linguist chooses the stories of 100 individual words to tell the larger story of English.

Bestselling books the week of 4/5/12, according to IndieBound*

What's selling best in independent bookstores across America.

Life Sentences: Literary Judgments and Accounts

In 'Life Sentences,' author and critic William H. Gass entrances the reader with his lilting prose and skilled literary criticism.

2011 fiction quiz: Can you recognize the opening line?

Can you match the opening lines to the titles of the best novels of 2011?

Lee Child on Jack Reacher, Tom Cruise, and 'The Affair'

Lee Child talks about Jack Reacher – his quirky and wildly popular creation – and how he started writing thrillers in the first place.

Maurice Sendak: different sides of a fascinating author

The release of Sendak's new book, 'Bumble-ardy,' lets readers see both the tender and curmudgeonly sides of the children's writer

10 books to read before you go to Italy this summer

It seems that new travel guides to Italy are being published every five minutes or so. But for those who want to keep it simple, here are the handful of absolute must-read books – three classic novels included – that no tourist to Italy should ever be without.

State of Wonder

Ann Patchett's latest, a "literary, ethical thriller" set in the Amazon, is the must-read novel of the summer.

Before NPR scandal, a warning about 'elite' liberals: compassion turns to coercion

Long before the NPR scandal underscored liberal condescension toward conservatives, Lionel Trilling saw the hidden hope of power that lies in the heart of those who seek to improve society. President Obama has renewed this progressive impulse, limiting our freedom and prosperity.

3 short story collections: some of the best I've ever read

When it comes to short stories, the best insight on how to read them I've ever found came from a new book on writing, “Unless It Moves the Human Heart,” by Roger Rosenblatt. One of Rosenblatt's graduate students said, in effect, that the writer begins by saying, “And so, we have come to this.” Of three new collections out this winter, two rank among the best I've ever read. If this is what we've come to, 2011 should be rich indeed.

Are iPads, smartphones, and the Mobile Web rewiring the way we think?

Multitasking on smartphones, iPads, and the Mobile Web makes some feel smarter and others just more scattered. Is it changing how we think?

Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Harding: It's like being hit by a 'tidal wave'

The 5/4/10 Monitor books podcast includes an interview with Paul Harding, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "Tinkers."

Please Give: movie review

‘Please Give’ offers a Woody Allen-style comedy about guilt and self-absorption.

The City of Your Final Destination: movie review

In 'The City of Your Final Destination' a biographer pursues his subject to the steamy lands of Uruguay where he discovers an intricate tangle of family relations.

Desperately seeking Austen

Brooklyn

The quiet, contemplative story of a young woman leaving Ireland for a new life in the Brooklyn of the 1950s.

A Circular Journey

Classic book review: Atonement

The extraordinary range of "Atonement" suggests that there's nothing Ian McEwan can't do.

reCaptcha: How to turn blather into books

Ten seconds of work has digitized libraries, whether the amateur translators know it or not.

Best short stories of 2008

"How Fiction Works"

America's top literary critic shares the secrets of the books he loves.

What to read on a plane

What to read on an airplane

Keeping up with the Jameses

A 'House of Wits' that dazzled even as it disappointed.