Is Cohabitation the Feminist Future?
Stories about women living together are proliferating—and offering alternative visions to the nuclear family.
Books
Introducing The Atlantic’s expanded books coverage: essays, criticism, fiction, poetry, and recommendations from our writers and editors
Peter Hujar’s Photos Are All the Rage. He’d Be Shocked.
A new biography brings the late photographer’s relationship with the artist Paul Thek to vivid life.
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.
What To Read
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Eight of the Most Fascinating Biographies to Read
Each is animated by the author’s love—for their subject, for language, and for pushing the boundaries of what the genre can do.
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.
Newsletter
The Books Briefing
Our culture editors’ weekly guide to the best in books.
Subject to The Atlantic's Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions
Fiction
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Scars
A short story
Fortunes
A short story
The Honor of the Layward Brothers
A short story
We Are Not One
A short story
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.
When Walking, I Keep My Eyes Straight Ahead
A poem for Wednesday
The Long Unraveling of the Republican Party
Three books explore a history of fractious extremism that predates Donald Trump.
Why I Needed To
A poem for Sunday
Tearing Down the Myth of Paul Gauguin
Daisy Lafarge’s new novel makes it impossible to separate the art from the artist.
The Boundaries a Romance Novel Can Break
A subversive love story is a great antidote to a stunted imagination: Your weekly guide to the best in books
The Books That Help Me Raise Children in a Broken World
How can we manage to pass along anything other than rage and despair in turbulent times?
The Strange Audacity of Faking a Big Life Moment
In Diary of a Void, an impulsive decision grows into a personal rebellion against society.
Museum
A poem for Sunday
What a Biography Really Reveals
Even when a writer and her subject never meet, excavating a life can uncover hidden truths: Your weekly guide to the best in books