There are plenty of reasons for an arts critic to leave town—say, vacation. OK, OK, all critics should see what's animating the national conversation from time to time—it can broaden and inform their perspective. But sometimes it feels like The Washington Post's reviewers are spending a bit too much time consuming art in other cities, [...]

In which the author discusses five books he'd read, if time permitted.

1. A Very Bad Wizard: Morality Behind the Curtain, by Tamler Sommers.
Pop philosophy: the most intellectually stimulating parts of a liberal arts education minus mean RAs, girlfriends with eating disorders, arguments about sexual harassment, boyfriends with eating disorders, arguments about race relations, and the [...]