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
See All
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
See All
Scars
A short story
Fortunes
A short story
The Honor of the Layward Brothers
A short story
We Are Not One
A short story
The Books We Read Too Late—And That You Should Read Now
One of the great, bittersweet pleasures of life is finishing a title and thinking about how it might have affected you—if only you’d found it sooner.
All the World’s a Scheme
A juicy ruse can elevate a literary plot: Your weekly guide to the best in books
Orhan Pamuk’s Literature of Paranoia
Living in Turkey has made the author a master of the genre.
Ode to King Charles III
A poem for the new monarch
What Did Axios Do?
Don’t read the new book by the outlet’s co-founders. Experience it. Then buy six copies.
The Simple Secret of French Baking
Master the classics, then improvise.
Madhuri Vijay on Cruelty as Righteousness
“I’m fascinated by cruelty in all its various guises—cruelty as negligence, as sadism, as self-protection, as misguided kindness, as accident, and, increasingly, as righteousness.”
Hill Station
A short story
Who Is Tracy Flick Now?
Tom Perrotta revisits his cult character and looks back on the ’90s feminism that made her.
The Pandemic Novel That’s Frozen in Time
Stories that focus on the minor quirks of daily life can paradoxically help us see societal pain more clearly.