The First Draft of Cultural History
Lena Dunham’s new memoir is a fascinating primary source of Hollywood in the 2010s.
What To Read
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.
Fortunes
A short story
The Honor of the Layward Brothers
A short story
We Are Not One
A short story
Diseducators
A short story
The Books Briefing: The Fight Over What Kids Can Read
Bans and attempted bans of critical race theory and the 1619 Project in classrooms are part of a familiar pattern: Your weekly guide to the best in books
Whatever You Write, There You Are
These nine nonfiction authors set out to investigate the outside world and ended up finding themselves.
Lying Is Its Own Form of Storytelling
In literature, nothing is as fascinating or destabilizing as deception: Your weekly guide to the best in books
The 12 Most Unforgettable Descriptions of Food in Literature
Haruki Murakami’s stir fry, Maurice Sendak’s chicken soup with rice—only the most gifted writers have made meals on the page worth remembering.
The Tricky Task of Writing a Villain
Whether in fiction or in journalism, telling stories about bad guys isn’t clear-cut: Your weekly guide to the best in books
Five Books in Which Romance Sneaks Up on You
All kinds of novels can contain love—and the pleasure of encountering a good one that does is universal.
Literature Isn’t Bound by the Rules of Time
In poetry and in prose, past and present can warp, twist, and buckle: Your weekly guide to the best in books
Nine Books to Read to Understand the War in Ukraine
These books—memoir, fiction, and nonfiction—offer a glimpse into a century of historical context in Eastern Europe.
The Fight for Our Attention
We may live in an endlessly distracted world, but where we focus our gaze still matters: Your weekly guide to the best in books
When the Setting Is the Story
Writers take on the challenge of transporting readers to a place using only words: Your weekly guide to the best in books