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.
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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
The Fundamental Paradox of Latinidad
In his new book, Héctor Tobar tries to pin down an inherently slippery concept.
What’s So Funny About Dying?
Death is everywhere in Lorrie Moore’s strange new novel, and so is the author’s trademark jokiness.
What to Read When You’re Feeling Ambitious
Literature, rife with tales of ambition or slackerdom, can be well-equipped to answer questions about the costs and benefits of striving.
On the Death of Cormac McCarthy
The worlds depicted in his novels are not built for mortal humans like you and me.
Eat, Pray, Pander
The decision by Elizabeth Gilbert to indefinitely delay the publication of her novel is a wrongheaded attempt to help the Ukrainian cause.
A Podcast About the Airport Best Sellers We Can’t Escape
On the podcast If Books Could Kill, hosts Michael Hobbes and Peter Shamshiri dive into the murky details of mass-market hits.
Philosophy Could Have Been a Lot More Fun
Two recent biographies, of Plato and Diogenes, show the divergent path Western thought could have taken.
Fieldnotes
A poem for Sunday
He saw ‘Redemption Where Others See Brimstone’
The humor and darkness of Charles Portis
Women Aren’t Just Small Men
We’re living in an age of “period positivity.” That’s not enough.