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
What Do Children Owe Their Parents?
Conflict with the people who raised us can alter the course of our lives: Your weekly guide to the best in books
What Will Writers Do Without Twitter?
If the book industry is a walled garden, the site is a ladder.
Beware the ‘Storification’ of the Internet
We all need a lesson in close reading and a dose of skepticism—especially online.
The Imani Perry Reading List
The Atlantic contributing writer and author of the Unsettled Territory newsletter is the winner of the 2022 National Book Award for Nonfiction.
The Squirrel
A poem for Wednesday
Mike Pence Refuses to Connect the Dots
In his new memoir, the former vice president selectively edits his four years with Trump to avoid a necessary reckoning.
‘What Is Jesse Eisenberg Doing Here, Saying These Things I Wrote?’
Taffy Brodesser-Akner on stress dreams, the beauty of long scenes, and translating her novel, Fleishman Is in Trouble, to the small screen.
How to Fight Fascism Before It’s Too Late
If you live in a country where democracy is still intact: Don’t wait.
Political Lessons From America’s Past
The best works of history both clarify the present and hint at what the future might hold: Your weekly guide to the best in books
The Magical Thinking of Joan Didion’s Estate Sale
Mythology came long ago for the celebrated writer; now it’s coming for her belongings.