Books Briefing
Our culture editors’ weekly guide to the best in books. Sign up for the newsletter here.
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. The Art Monster Under the Bed
Ella Baxter’s new novel reminds us that mediocrity is far more common than genius.
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Illustration by Ben Kothe / The Atlantic. Sources: … ‘It’s One of Those Infinite Time-Loop Situations You Might Have Heard About’
Solvej Balle’s series of novels brings up questions about physics, sustainability, and, yes, the meaning of life.
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Illustration by Ben Kothe / The Atlantic. Source: … In Defense of Lists
’Tis the season for best-of coverage.
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Sources: Achisatha Khamsuwan / … How Gen Z Came to See Books as a Waste of Time
Young people might be responding to a cultural message: Reading just isn’t that important.
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Michael Ochs Archives / Getty 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.
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Ernst Haas / Getty What the Internet Age Is Taking Away From Writers
Authors tirelessly self-market online, but I find myself wishing that they still had the option to disappear.
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Historic Collection / … The Century-Old Book With a Message for This Season
Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain offers a unique antidote to contempt and despair.
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Evgeny Feldman / AP What Americans Should Read Before the Election
Alexei Navalny’s memoir, in particular, reminds readers how crucial the freedoms to vote and dissent are.
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Illustration by Matteo Giuseppe Pani / The Atlantic The Least-Loved Type of Memoir
Political autobiographies are usually dreck, but some rise above their genre.
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty. Who Owns an Idea?
Cases of loose inspiration or coincidental convergences in art can be fascinating, because they force us to rethink what originality really means.
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Millennium Images / Gallery Stock The Lessons of Aging
Alan Hollinghurst’s and Lore Segal’s later writing takes two different approaches to growing old.
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Emile Ducke. When a Friendship Changes Forever
Lauren Groff captures the precise moment when someone realizes their memories are theirs alone.
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Heritage Images / Getty The Knausgaard Book That Deserves More Attention
The author’s exploration of the art of Edvard Munch is moving and worthwhile.
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Serhii Ivashchuk / Getty 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.
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Vincent Forstenlechner / Connected Archives How to Write About the Trump Years
A new memoir shrewdly captures the upheavals of the past eight years.
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Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post / Getty The Irresistible Pull of an Alternate Universe
It lets us explore the allure of living a totally new life.
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Gregory Halpern / Magnum The Feeling That’s Hardest to Communicate
Pain can stump even gifted writers, but a few have managed to describe the experience exquisitely.
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Photograph by Thomas Jordan The Worst Way to Change Minds
When religious certainty is challenged, some leaders appeal to fear—but persuasion works better.
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Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Keerthana Kunnath. The Electric Feeling of Summer Romance
Ruby Opalka’s “Spit,” a new short story in The Atlantic, captures the intensity of young love.
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Heritage Art / Getty Go Ahead, Put Down That Book
There’s no reason to agonize over the titles you don’t finish.
