Michael Dirda

For two hours of entertainment, consider the suspense and charm of a great script.

Michael Dirda’s guide to holiday gift books offers unique recommendations for the movie buff, puzzle fiend, poetry reader and more.

I know I can always escape into novels by P.G. Wodehouse and Patrick O’Brian and find strength in biographies of past leaders. What will you choose?

Robert Shaplen’s “Free Love” delves into the adultery case against Henry Ward Beecher, an abolitionist preacher and a presidential hopeful.

Hitchcock and Lovecraft endure, but there are many contemporary scary stories worth reading, including works by Mark Valentine and Michael Cisco.

A new biography, “The Brothers Grimm” by Ann Schmiesing, explores the lives of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and how they created their famed fairy tales.

During a visit to Norway, the author explores the rich tapestry of Norwegian literature through the works of Ibsen and Hamsun.

Roland Allen’s “The Notebook” chronicles the vital role notebooks played in the achievements of luminaries like Erasmus, Charles Darwin and Agatha Christie.

Flanagan’s profound book interweaves personal memories with historical and philosophical reflections about the sad, wondrous world we live in.

“Sherlock Holmes and the Telegram From Hell” and “Sherlock Holmes: The Affair at Mayerling” capture the spirit of the beloved sleuth.

In praise of Lewis Carroll’s often-overlooked classic, the nonsense poem “The Hunting of the Snark.”

This 1931 novel is just one of the literary gems produced by the prolific author E.F. Benson, whose works deserve a new look

To prepare for the Necronomicon conference, I read — and re-read — great works by H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Aickman and other masters of supernatural fiction.

In “The Bookshop,” Evan Friss offers lively profiles of booksellers and the stores they’ve overseen, from the 18th century to today.

In “Devil’s Contract,” Ed Simon offers a tour of Faustian bargains in literature, music and politics

Tom Mead’s “Cabaret Macabre” is a delightful golden-age puzzle. K.C. Constantine’s “Another Day’s Pain” is a brilliantly idiosyncratic police procedural.

Charles McCarry’s “Shelley’s Heart” is not only exceptionally suspenseful but also unnervingly realistic.

A century after Franz Kafka’s death, writers like Georges Rodenbach, Dino Buzzati, Zoran Zivkovic and C.D. Rose carry on his off-kilter legacy.

Critic Michael Dirda looks at the special editions, conferences and exhibitions that offer another window into the books and authors you love.

Where to read, when to read and why you need a pencil in hand: The Post’s Michael Dirda offers some advice from his years as a critic.