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How do creative geniuses do what they do? Daily Rituals, which assembles the working regimens of 161 artists and thinkers into a lean, engaging volume, makes one thing clear: There's no such thing as the way to create good work, but all the greats have their way — and some are spectacularly weird.

William H. Gass' fiction has been a secret handshake among brainy readers for years. Critics universally adored The Tunnel, his 1995 opus, even though it was nearly impossible to read. With Middle C, Gass has given us another dense, suffocating novel about language and the self.

Author Jesse Walker argues that believing in shadowy cabals and ominous secrets isn't just for people on the margins — it's as American as apple pie. He says that our nation's paranoia stretches back to the colonial era, and that some conspiracy theories are believed by a majority of Americans.

Here the New York Times columnist and author of Late Migrations and Graceland Margaret Renkl brings alive in 52 chapters her love for the animals and plants in her yard and nearby parks in Tennessee.

Lydia Davis' focus has shifted largely from issues of parenting and domestic relationships to aspects of aging — but the results are as penetrating as anything she's written.

Writer Jody Arlington picks three hot summer graphic-novel reads. The twist? They all star anthropomorphic animals: Doughty badger detective LeBrock, hard-boiled cat detective John Blacksad and resistance rabbit Hardin dodge assassins, steal secrets and track down the missing just like their human counterparts.

A surprise announcement that revealed Haiti's new prime minister is threatening to fracture a recently installed transitional council tasked with choosing new leaders for the gang-riddled country.

Foreign ministers from the world's leading industrialized nations are meeting Monday, with a certain pressure to advance diplomatic efforts ahead of the new U.S. administration taking over.

Amid concerns about the complexity and stress of college admissions, some schools are flipping the script by offering to admit students who haven't even applied. It's called direct admissions.

Chief Diversity Officer Keith Woods announced he'll retire after a 46-year career in journalism and 15 years at NPR, as the issue he has championed takes center stage in political discourse.