Red Bathrobe
A poem for Sunday
Six Books That Music Lovers Should Read
Because music is uniquely tied up with memory, the best writing about it inevitably gets personal.
Hilary Mantel’s Art Was Infused With Her Pain
The death of the British novelist is occasion to remember her genius as well as the chronic illness that shaped her work.
What Book Bans Take From Kids
Children can prepare for the ups and downs of life by reading about them: Your weekly guide to the best in books
Xinjiang Has Produced Its James Joyce
And he’s now sitting in a prison camp.
The Widow’s Elegy
A poem for Wednesday
The Banned Books You Haven’t Heard About
When a book gets censored, it feels good to assume its sales will increase. But that’s not the whole story.
Understanding Your Past Won’t Liberate You
Gwendoline Riley’s novels raise a skeptical eyebrow at the promise of redemption through unlearning past trauma.
Hens
Published in The Atlantic in 2009
Historical Fiction Turns a Life Into a Story
Our day-to-day doesn’t follow an obvious plot. The arc of the past is visible only in hindsight.
An Ode to Being Read To
Bedtime stories aren’t just for children.
The Best Books for a Broken Heart
These titles are genuinely insightful about the pain of heartbreak, but affirm that love remains worth pursuing.
How to Keep Your Book Club From Becoming a Wine Club
Librarians, professors, and literary professionals offer their best advice on how to run a successful group.
How Memes Led to an Insurrection
A president who understood the power of memes was able to send thousands of people into battle against democracy itself.
The Diagnosis Trap
Doctors have their stories to tell about mental illness. But what about the stories we tell ourselves?
The Politics of Pinocchio
With two new adaptations of the classic Italian tale, it’s time to return to the source: a very unusual and dark novel.
Where Our Sense of Self Comes From
How did a group of rebellious German playwrights, poets, and writers in the late 18th century revolutionize the way we think of ourselves and the world?
How Writers Revise the World
Why we retell older stories, and what we gain by doing so: Your weekly guide to the best in books
Ian McEwan’s Anti-Memoir
The author reflects on a charmed life—and all that could have gone wrong.
Six Introductions That Will Change How You Read These Classics
Front matter by well-known contemporary authors offers new insights into notable works from the past—and heralds the foreword’s rise as its own exciting literary form.