You’re really asking for it when you name your book “Snooze” or “Why We Sleep.” A reviewer is tempted to dismiss the former by saying that it lives up to its title and the latter by replying, “Because of doorstop tomes like yours, pal!” Fortunately, the respective authors of these books — Michael McGirr and Matthew Walker — turn out to be good company: congenial, often funny narrators, each of whom, in his own way, offers a thoughtful tour through the still dimly understood state of being asleep.

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