Is Cohabitation the Feminist Future?
Stories about women living together are proliferating—and offering alternative visions to the nuclear family.
Books
Introducing The Atlantic’s expanded books coverage: essays, criticism, fiction, poetry, and recommendations from our writers and editors
Peter Hujar’s Photos Are All the Rage. He’d Be Shocked.
A new biography brings the late photographer’s relationship with the artist Paul Thek to vivid life.
If You Want a Better World, Act Like You Live in It
We’ve had Henry David Thoreau the environmentalist, the libertarian, the life coach. To understand his influence, think of him first as a dissident.
The Publishing Mystery That No One Wants to Talk About
A minimally speaking autistic man just wrote a best-selling book. Or did he?
The Paradox of Modern Medicine
Testing has become so advanced that doctors now miss important elements of diagnosis.
What To Read
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Eight of the Most Fascinating Biographies to Read
Each is animated by the author’s love—for their subject, for language, and for pushing the boundaries of what the genre can do.
Six Books That Simply Must Be Talked About
These six books demand discussion—with a pal, a date, or a book club.
Nine Books to Reset Your View of the World
Each of these titles will widen your perspective, offering you original insight and vision.
Seven Books to Read When You Have No Time to Read
These titles are worth picking up, even if you have only a moment to spare.
Newsletter
The Books Briefing
Our culture editors’ weekly guide to the best in books.
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Fiction
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Scars
A short story
Fortunes
A short story
The Honor of the Layward Brothers
A short story
We Are Not One
A short story
Literature’s Enduring Obsession With Strange Sisters
In Xenobe Purvis’s novel, a brood of odd siblings illuminates the fears of their fellow villagers.
Reading Mrs. Dalloway Again and Again
A century after its publication, the book rewards revisiting at various stages of life.
Six Books to Read Before You Get to the Airport
The fact that we regularly float six or seven miles above the Earth is worth our fascination and attention.
The Tech Novel’s Warning for a Screen-Addled Age
Elaine Castillo’s second book captures how profoundly technology can alienate people from their emotions.
The Islamic Republic Was Never Inevitable
With Iran’s theocracy under strain, a new history shows that its rise was mainly a stroke of bad luck.
Mrs. Dalloway’s Midlife Crisis
Virginia Woolf’s wild run of creativity in her 40s included writing her masterpiece on the terrors and triumphs of middle age.
Faith
A poem
Turning a Hobby Into a Habit
A casual pastime, when practiced consistently, can change a life.
Eight Books for Dabblers
Casual pursuits can enrich our lives, regardless of whether we’re any good at them.
Memoir of a Mailman
A new book describes the challenges and joys of life as a letter carrier.