The Books Briefing: Boundaries Between Humans and Machines Are Vanishing
Works that consider the implications of a life so intimately tied with technology: Your weekly guide to the best in books
Broken Sestina Reaching for Black Joy
A poem for “Inheritance”
The Dark Reality Behind ‘Cozy Mysteries’
The genre’s popularity can feel like a relic of a bygone era—but these books share DNA with today’s bloodier thrillers.
Ebooks Are an Abomination
If you hate them, it’s not your fault.
Peter Thiel Hates a Copycat
The billionaire’s extreme contrarianism is the secret to his success.
The Prophet of Nothingness
With Harrow, her first novel in two decades, Joy Williams stares into the abyss.
The Bends
A poem for Sunday
The Books Briefing: The Uneasy Place of Politics in Fiction
Sally Rooney’s novels have long been criticized as insufficiently political, but reconciling ideology and storytelling has always been a thorny issue for writers.
What Is Crime in a Country Built on It?
How Colson Whitehead subverts genre conventions in his new book
The Writer Who Saw All of This Coming
The Matrix author Lauren Groff spends a lot of time thinking about humanity’s past, present, and future.
The Books Briefing: Language Can Build Community—Or Sow Division
Unique ways of communicating help families grow closer; they’re also a powerful tool for cults: Your weekly guide to the best in books
The Problem With Being Cool About Sex
Half a century after the sexual revolution, a new generation of feminists understands that we still haven’t reconciled what we should want with what we do want.
Why We Need Terrifying Stories
Karen Brown on how reading puts us in control
Needs
A short story
My Amaryllis
A poem for Monday
The Books Briefing: Cultivate a Love of Reading Early On
Educators and parents alike play important roles in developing kids’ appreciation for literature: Your weekly guide to the best in books
The Books Briefing: How Fan Fiction Reimagines the Writing Process
The entire enterprise is deeply collaborative, resulting in works that are shaped by the original author, the fan, and online communities of readers: Your weekly guide to the best in books
Postcards From the Living
A poem for Sunday
The Books Briefing: Books to Get Lost in This Summer
Recommendations for wherever you prefer to devour hundreds of pages in a single sitting, whether it’s at the beach or in your home.
The Political Novel Gets Very, Very Specific
A sprawling new book set in the Obama era inquires into the value of public life.