1. Mark Gamin’s review of Cannibalism: A Perfectly Natural History by Bill Schutt. “Our fascinated horror with cannibalism goes back a long way; it might even seem innate. On the other hand, Schutt says, it may be merely cultural. Herodotus tells the story of the Persian king, Darius, who asked some Greeks if they would eat their dead fathers: They were horrified at the idea. Next, he asked some Callatians, an Indian people who engaged in just that practice, whether they would burn their fathers' bodies on a pyre (as the Greeks did). They were similarly horrified.”


2. “Celebrating a Washington Literary Press” by Grace Cavalieri. This look at the Word Works, an indie publisher dedicated to all things poetic, drew scores of verse-loving readers.


3. Kitty Kelley’s review of The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency by Chris Whipple. “The Gatekeepers promises to offer ‘shrewd analysis and never-before-reported details,’ but there appears to be little of either in the book. Perhaps Whipple was too grateful for his access to cast a critical eye and dig beneath the glossy surface.”


4. Carrie Callaghan’s review of The Women in the Castle: A Novel by Jessica Shattuck. “The cumulative effect of these hopeful, outraged, misled, and guilty humans is stunning. In a narrative that bounces back and forth in time, Shattuck contrasts the nearly incomprehensible horrors that Germans committed (or half-knowingly ignored) with the impulses of grace and forgiveness. It’s a miracle Germany recovered as well as it did from its post-war wasteland; it’s an indictment against us all that wartime Germany fell as far as it did.”


5. Patricia Ann McNair’s review of The Young Widower’s Handbook: A Novel by Tom McAllister. “What is a man — not yet 30 — supposed to do when he is suddenly a widower? When his young, lovely, tough, insecure, previously healthy wife of much too short a time dies without any warning beyond some discomfort, some relentlessly growing pain and nausea? When the resident in the emergency room says, ‘We’ll have her back to you soon,’ and the nurse, a ridiculously short time later, tells him that he can see the body if he wants?”

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