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.
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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 Road Dogs of the American West
Survivalists, drifters, and divorcées across a resurgent wilderness
Taylor Swift Is a Perfect Example of How Publishing Is Changing
Swift is a symptom, not a cause, of the weakening bonds between celebrities and publishing houses.
First Evening Walk Along the Avenida Alcalde Álvaro Domecq
A poem for Sunday
The Sense That Most Defines a Culture
Yáng Shuāng-zǐ’s Taiwan Travelogue shows how colonization shapes a country’s culinary landscape.
What a 16-Year-Old Doesn’t Yet Know
Cher’s memoir is a valuable document of a young girl thrust into the adult world.
In Search of a Faith Beyond Religion
Scholastique Mukasonga’s Sister Deborah suggests that some people must look outside the traditional bounds of Christianity to find true spiritual freedom.
Cher Has a History Lesson for Us All
The singer has long stood for a brassy, strutting kind of survival. Her new account of her early life explains how that came to be.
The Most Coveted Screenshot in the Literary World
It’s what proves you’re a “real” writer.
From Aunt Uncle to Private First Class, Delta Company
A poem for Wednesday
What to Read If You’re Angry About the Election
These seven books aren’t a cure for rage and despair. Think of them instead as a prescription.