Books update

On the Cover of Sunday's Book Review 'This Beautiful Life' By HELEN SCHULMAN Reviewed by MARIA RUSSO In this timely novel, a family's Manhattan life comes crashing down when their 15-year-old forwards a sexually explicit video made for him, unsolicited, by a girl two years younger.  Up Front: Maria Russo | Excerpt Also in the Book Review THE MECHANIC MUSE The Jargon of the Novel, Computed By BEN ZIMMER We like to think modern fiction is free from the artificial stylistic pretensions of the past. But computer analysis reveals that linguistic tics unique to fiction writing endure. 'Age of Greed' By JEFF MADRICK Reviewed by SEBASTIAN MALLABY Jeff Madrick traces the regulatory and cultural changes that led to the country's current financial trouble. 'Weeds: In Defense of Nature's Most Unloved Plants' By RICHARD MABEY Reviewed by ELIZABETH ROYTE A British nature writer is impressed by the ubiquitous resiliency of what we call weeds. 'The Kid' By SAPPHIRE Reviewed by DANIELLE EVANS In this sequel to "Push," Precious has died, and her son finds himself in a world of brutality. 'Jamrach's Menagerie' By CAROL BIRCH Reviewed by BENJAMIN HALE In Carol Birch's historical novel, a young boy is lured on a sea voyage to hunt for a Komodo dragon in the East Indies. 'Are You Serious?' By LEE SIEGEL Reviewed by DONNA RIFKIND Lee Siegel explains how seriousness has evolved in Western society, from the age of Socrates to that of contemporary TV hosts. 'True Things About Me' By DEBORAH KAY DAVIES Reviewed by REBECCA BARRY A sexual obsession pulls this novel's heroine into her darkest self. 'The Astral' By KATE CHRISTENSEN Reviewed by DANIEL HANDLER The hero of this novel, a Brooklyn poet, is thrown out by his wife for adultery he didn't commit. 'A Billion Wicked Thoughts' By OGI OGAS and SAI GADDAM Reviewed by WESLEY YANG Two computational neuroscientists analyze Web searches to identify sexual desires and preferences. 'Perplexities of Consciousness' By ERIC SCHWITZGEBEL Reviewed by NICHOLAS HUMPHREY A philosopher argues that we have a poor understanding of our conscious experience. 'Mr. Speaker!' By JAMES GRANT Reviewed by NORMAN ORNSTEIN A life of Thomas Reed, the Gilded Age Congressional leader. 'Exorcising Hitler: The Occupation and Denazification of Germany' By FREDERICK TAYLOR Reviewed by MARK MAZOWER A history of the occupation of Germany after 1945, where there was little resistance to the Allies even as Hitler's influence lingered. ADVERTISEMENT

BEST SELLERS Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction Hardcover Fiction Hardcover Nonfiction Paperback Trade Fiction Paperback Mass-Market Fiction Paperback Nonfiction All the Lists RELATED COLUMNS TBR: Inside the List Editors' Choice Paperback Row Back Page SKETCHBOOK | WENDY MACNAUGHTON INTERACTIVE FEATURE:Snacks of the Great Scribblers Walt Whitman began the day with oysters and meat. The novelist Vendela Vida swears by pistachios. Lord Byron sipped vinegar to keep his weight down. Book Review Podcast Featuring Helen Schulman on her new novel, "The Beautiful Life"; and the linguist Ben Zimmer on what computer analysis reveals about the jargon of fiction. Linda Ronstadt Writing a Memoir Will Winter Keep Coming? HBO Discusses the Future of 'Game of Thrones' Readers Share Their Spatial-Humanities Projects REVIEWS BY THE TIMES'S CRITICS 'Northwest Corner' by John Burnham Schwartz 'Books About Joseph Heller' by Tracy Daugherty and Erica Heller 'Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little' by Christopher Johnson 'The Memory of All That' by Katharine Weber 'This Beautiful Life' by Helen Schulman ARCHIVE Crime Columns Children's Books The New York Times Book Review: Back Issues