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
Knausgaard Gave You All the Clues
In his latest novel, the extreme realist dips into fantasy—and taps into the human hunger for meaning.
Amber
A poem published in The Atlantic in 2005
Millennials Are Worrying About Getting Old. Gen X Can Relate.
Despite the dichotomies pitting them against each other, more connects the generations than divides them.
Five Books That Conjure Entirely New Worlds
The best-written stories can make readers feel as if they have passed through mundane states of being and been brought over to another universe.
Malcolm Gladwell, Meet Mark Zuckerberg
The writer’s insistence on ignoring the web is an even bigger blind spot today than it was when The Tipping Point came out.
The Problem With Moral Purity
In his new book, The Message, Ta-Nehisi Coates sacrifices necessary complexity.
The Bold Compassion of Dear Dickhead
Virginie Despentes’ novels rage against male abuse—but her new social-media satire offers forgiveness instead.
Let Us Now Praise Undecided Voters
Voters who don’t easily make up their minds are usually greeted with annoyance or disdain, but what if they’re the ideal citizens?
Mesozoic
A poem for Sunday
How to Write About the Trump Years
A new memoir shrewdly captures the upheavals of the past eight years.