Scars
A short story
Fiction
The First Draft of Cultural History
Lena Dunham’s new memoir is a fascinating primary source of Hollywood in the 2010s.
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?
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.
Six Books You Can Get Lost In
These novels highlight the power—both good and bad—of unchecked fantasizing.
Courier
He was tired, he said, of feeling sorry for both of them. Then don’t come back, she said
Release
He’d been warned to be cautious, but after years of prison he intended to enjoy his freedom fully
The Pink House
He did not want a swimming pool, or walk-in closets. He wasn’t sure he wanted to buy a house in the first place. His wife and son, however, hoped to show him the way
Ichthyology
He gazed into the eyes of the orangestriped fish and for a moment felt as if he, too, were floating, rocking, oddly out of place
The Brown Chest
The chest had belonged to his parents, and their parents before them. Now where would it go?
Yellow Flags
Conrad’s father had come to visit after an absence of several years, and now sought a way to get close to his son
The Other Widow
The only thing morepainful than grief, she has discovered,is hidden grief
A Jonquil for Mary Penn
She had rarely been sick, and never since she married. And now, also uncharacteristically she began to feel sorry for herself
Life After High School
Sunny didn’t tell anyone about the engagement ring. Of all sins, she thought, betrayal is surely the worst