Books Briefing
Our culture editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for the newsletter here.
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Victor Decolongon / … How Poetry Can Map Defiance
A conversation with the Diné poet Kinsale Drake about “Making a Monument Valley”
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United Archives / Lämmel / Bridgeman Why Some #MeToo Fiction Puts Men Center Stage
Mary Gaitskill’s 2019 novella, This Is Pleasure, makes readers consider whether including male voices can help us understand women’s stories.
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Carsten / Three Lions / Getty The Secret Desire Many Workers Share
Kristi Coulter’s memoir Exit Interview might inspire you to tell your boss what you really think.
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Anthony Barboza / Getty James Baldwin’s Most Underappreciated Talent
His personal letters deserve as much recognition as his novels and plays.
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Georg Göbel / Picture Alliance / Getty The Best Books for the Olympics
Literature and sports are a team that can go for gold.
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Francois Gragnon / Paris Match / Getty The Books That Keep Readers Awake at Night
A certain kind of novel can push you to stretch one day into the early hours of the next one.
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Millennium Images / Gallery Stock The Hidden Cost of Gardens
What everyday plants can teach us about history
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Hulton Fine Art / Heritage Images / Getty The Pleasures of Procrastination
Wasting time can feel morally suspect—but it’s essential to the creative process.
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Millennium Images / Gallery Stock You Can’t Write Your Way Out of Grief
The feeling can’t be cured—but sometimes, the words of others can help.
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Francis G. Mayer / Corbis / Getty Will Publishing’s Diversity Gains Last?
Published works of fiction by nonwhite authors more than doubled from 2019 to 2023—but we may now be seeing a reversal in this trend.
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Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani. Source: Getty. What Writer’s Block Feels Like
Being stuck is a regular affliction when you do this work for a living, though it can affect anyone who just has to write an email or a birthday card—all of us, that is.
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MPI / Getty; Corbis / Getty The Long View of the Challenger Disaster
Adam Higginbotham’s new book on the tragedy manages to add depth to a well-known story.
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Dina Rudick / The Boston Globe / Getty The Women Who Caused a Revolution in Cooking
Joan Nathan reflects on Judith Jones and the cookbooks she edited.
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Alecio Ferrari / Connected Archives A Different Kind of Female Protagonist
Two new literary works from Colombe Schneck and R. O. Kwon feature fascinating, flawed women.
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Ian Willms / The New York Times / … ‘An Entire Life Handed Over to Art’
Alice Munro’s death was an occasion to praise her life as a writer as much as her actual work.
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Shutterstock; Getty. The ‘Lurid Metaphors’ of Illness
Meghan O’Rourke recommends her favorite books about sickness and health.
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Illustration by The Atlantic Poetry Is an Act of Hope
Through verse, we can perhaps come closest to capturing events that exist beyond our capacity to describe.
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Kim Kulish / Corbis / Getty Bringing a Social Movement to Life
The author Adam Hochschild recommends books that vividly illustrate moments of great change.
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Harold M. Lambert / Getty The Hidden Wisdom of Cookbooks
The author Ruby Tandoh argues for the freedom to cook—and eat—for pleasure.
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Pauliina Maunula / Getty An Oblique and Beautiful Book
The Children’s Bach is a striking picture of how ravaged a life can be when unmoored from any responsibility, and of how necessary it is to take care of others.
