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
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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
Not Everything Is About Gender
In a new book, Judith Butler tries to indict gender-critical feminists.
The Rick Rubin Guide to Creativity
Can the legendary record producer’s book really make you into an artist?
Night Shift in the Home for Convalescents
A poem for Sunday
Reading as a Sensory Experience
In this novel, the act of seeing is an art in itself.
Nature That Cannot Be Driven To
A poem for Wednesday
Six Books That Will Jolt Your Senses Awake
Reading can help us cultivate a more patient, attentive state of mind by highlighting the beauty present in our day-to-day lives.
Christine Blasey Ford Testifies Again
Her new memoir doubles as a modern-day horror story.
What Comes After Workism?
A new novel suggests that finding daily satisfaction is itself a serious job.
Specimens
A poem for Sunday
Choosing America’s Greatest Novels
The Atlantic assembled a list of 136 works of fiction that we consider to be the most significant of the past 100 years.