From The Nation, a review of The Blue Hour: A Life of Jean Rhys by Lilian Pizzichini (and more at Bookforum). From The New Criterion, the sovereign ghost of Wallace Stevens: William Logan on the poet's place in the American pantheon. Where the Wild Things Weren’t: Maurice Sendak’s classic may be one of those books that are appreciated more in theory, or by adults, than by actual kids. One of the least coveted prizes in literature is the "Bad Sex" award in fiction; if Electric Feather: The Tranquebar Book of Erotic Stories finds a British publisher, Indians will have another shot at that prize (and here are 5 steps to writing successful erotic fiction). With sci-fi filling up every corner of cinema and TV and mainstream literature borrowing its ideas freely, where next for the literary tradition that started the cultural phenomenon? More on Selina Hastings's The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham. From TNR, a review of The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. More and more on A New Literary History of America by Greil Marcus and Werner Sollors. From n+1, Marco Roth on the rise of the neuronovel. From Vanity Fair, in a previously unpublished short story by Kurt Vonnegut, the small town of Crocker’s Falls is turned upside down by a revealing roman a clef. From TLS, a review of Mad World: Evelyn Waugh and the Secrets of Brideshead by Paula Byrne. A review of Ulysses and Us: The Art of Everyday Life in Joyce’s Masterpiece by Declan Kiberd. From Harper's, why should we look for comfort in poetry? A review of Why Poetry Matters by Jay Parini. A review of The Unraveling Archive: Essays on Sylvia Plath.