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Books

“People are surprised to learn: They are a big pipe with a little bit around it,” says one of the many colorful scientists that populate Mary Roach’s “Gulp.” Illustrates BOOKS-GROSS (category e), by Peter Brannen (c) 2013, Slate. Moved Monday, May 6, 2013. (MUST CREDIT: Chris Hardy.)

Gross National Product

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Whether you feast on truffles or Cheetos, the end result is the same. Defecation is the great leveler. There’s nothing more democratic or unpretentious than what happens in the confines of our commodes — as the children’s book reassures us, everybody poops. While we increasingly obsess over what we put in our mouth, we pay little mind to what becomes of our meals once they go down the hatch, at our own peril. Two new books encourage us to recognize ourselves in our most humbling bodily affairs. “People are surprised to learn: They are a big pipe with a little bit around it,” said one …

A Talk With the Diva of Magical Feminism

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Washington — Isabel Allende has a cold. Bronchitis, actually. She’s normally a hugger. Not today. “Don’t touch me,” she warns, thrusting her arms up to avoid the slightest possibility of skin-to-skin contact. “I’m all germs.” It’s Wednesday and the Chilean novelist is in a plush, sun-streamed sitting room in the Madison Hotel in …

At Peace With the Time That Remains

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Karen Speerstra’s home is in the farthest southwest corner of Tunbridge, about as high as you can get on Kelsey Mountain without being a bird. The dirt road to her house keeps narrowing as it nears the top of the hill, its surface rutted, more like a Class IV road. For a new …