Joy comes in many guises. A proposal of marriage, a promotion at work after two years of putting in extra time and effort, the birth of a child: These can leave us walking on air with a smile as big as the crescent moon. Even transitory delights—the gap-toothed grin of a 7-year-old, an unexpected gift from a spouse, a surprise birthday party—can flood our hearts with happiness. And sometimes joy arrives in a small brown box delivered by the UPS man. Recently, I was sitting on my front porch when the van pulled into the driveway. I walked across the yard to meet the young man in the brown uniform, took the package in hand, waved goodbye, saw the address, used a key to rip open the box, and found what I had anticipated: “The Critical Temper: Interventions From The New Criterion at 40.” Bliss is a word I rarely associate …