**National Book Critics Circle Award FinalistBest Book of Fall (Esquire) and a Most Anticipated Book of 2021 (Lit Hub)What Has Happened to Fiction in the Age of Platform Capitalism?**Since it was first launched in 1994, Amazon has changed the world of literature. The “Everything Store” has not just transformed how we buy books; it has affected what we buy, and even what we read. In Everything and Less, acclaimed critic Mark McGurl explores...

Once upon a time there were good American novels and bad ones, but none was thought of as a work of art. The Novel Art tells the story of how, beginning with Henry James, this began to change. Examining the late-nineteenth century movement to elevate the status of the novel, its sources, paradoxes, and reverberations into the twentieth century, Mark McGurl presents a more coherent and wide-ranging account of the development of American modernist fiction than ever before.Mo...

In The Program Era, Mark McGurl offers a fundamental reinterpretation of postwar American fiction, asserting that it can be properly understood only in relation to the rise of mass higher education and the creative writing program. McGurl asks both how the patronage of the university has reorganized American literature and—even more important—how the increasing intimacy of writing and schooling can be brought to bear on a reading of this literature.McGurl argues that far f...

Since 2012, Public Books has championed a new kind of community for intellectual engagement, discussion, and action. An online magazine that unites the best of the university with the openness of the internet, Public Books is where new ideas are debuted, old facts revived, and dangerous illusions dismantled. Here, young scholars present fresh thinking to audiences outside the academy, accomplished authors weigh in on timely issues, and a wide range of readers encounter th...

Do you feel overcome by feelings of shame when expressing your sexuality? We are primal beings, and humans possess sexuality as one of the primary states. And other than being discerning, guilt-free sexuality is not only permitted but also encouraged. You need to feel truly liberated and recognize yourself as a free spirit who was meant to explore existence in as many ways as possible. Removing any negative social programming will also enable you to be more independent. In the Shame-Free S...

We all need companionship at some point in our lives. You might one day find that you come across a romantic interest who is perfect for you. As you pursue your passion with them further, you will arrive at an intimate juncture at some point. An average person finds it challenging to fully sexually express themselves, and you might feel the same way. If this is you, you will need guidance on how to fully express yourself and have an enriching experience. The Electric Sexual Performance ser...

There are things happening around you that you might not be aware of. There exists a realm of the unseen filled with angels, and one of them is watching over you. Are you ready to acknowledge and receive your guardian angel? If you would like to, you first need to learn to think about, see, and experience their presence. You will need to open up and bask in the cozy shades of divinity and have them spread all over and within you. In the Meeting Your Guardian Angel series, you will be guide...

Have you ever been conscious of and uncomfortable with your body? If so, you are not the only one. Owing to external influences, some people have a perception of their bodies as imperfect and incomplete. You are the consciousness that exists within your body, in all uniqueness. You have lived with your body and achieved your goals with it. It is with you when you wake up and when you fall asleep. It is an intimate part of you. In the Love Your Body series, you will learn to conceive of you...

Are you struggling to make ends meet or would like to earn much more than you do currently? It is a reasonable, and even preferred, lifelong ambition to live comfortably and have the resources to do what you want. You need to foremost develop a mindset that accepts the universe to be a place of abundance that has more than enough for everyone. You deserve all the wealth that your heart desires, but you need to communicate that to the universe. In the Financial Abundance series, you will be...

Do you find it difficult to experience sensual self-pleasure? You may have a mental block that might prevent you from indulging in it. To stop yourself from doing so, and bottling up the desire, could lead to greater social ills. You are a child of nature and should feel free to explore your sensuality in a healthy way. Being intimate with yourself could help you improve your mental health and feel liberated. To make it happen, you need to relax and let go. In the Exploring Self-Pleasure s...

We spend a lifetime devoted to focusing on pursuing our vocation. We block out many things from our life and get incredibly good at a few things. We become champions at our work and excel at it. Somewhere during our climb to the top, some of us find it challenging to enjoy intimacy. If this is you, it is at this juncture that you will need to learn and let go. You need to have your mind and body be guided to experience a different, and possibly newer, side of yourself. You need to learn to...

There are so many things that you want to do and so much that you want to be, but you are afraid for one reason or another. For a while, you have felt safe being where you are, but now you need to see life from a different vantage point. If this is you, then what you really need is courage. It will help you garner the confidence, authority, and power to experience life on your own terms. You will realize that you inhabit a part of this world that is yours and that you make the rules for yo...