In Defense of Fakeness
Novels partially based on their author’s life are more popular than ever. Ironically, invention built on the truth can be the best kind of escapism.
Why Did Dostoyevsky Write Crime and Punishment?
He had no choice.
Human History Gets a Rewrite
A brilliant new account upends bedrock assumptions about 30,000 years of change.
I Learn to Shoot a Bow
A poem for Sunday
The Books Briefing: The Fight Over What Kids Can Read
Bans and attempted bans of critical race theory and the 1619 Project in classrooms are part of a familiar pattern: Your weekly guide to the best in books
The Great Novel of the Internet Was Published in 1925
Almost 100 years ago, Mrs. Dalloway anticipated the anxiety of seeing—and being seen.
The Books Briefing: Comics Can Push—And Draw—Boundaries
See you in the funny pages: Your weekly guide to the best in books
Writing Should Be a Visual Art
Picture books aren’t just for children.
Spotify Has Made All Music Into Background Music
Is the collapse of genre boundaries and the erosion of fervent musical loyalties a good thing?
W. G. Sebald Ransacked Jewish Lives for His Fictions
Why did he lie about his sources?
Jonathan Franzen’s Best Book Yet
At last he’s put aside the pyrotechnics and gone all in on his great theme: the American family.
The Last Stop
A poem by Adam Zagajewski, published in The Atlantic in 2011
The Books Briefing: The Essential Qualities of a Book
The case for and against e-readers: Your weekly guide to the best in books
The Blurry Line Between Magical Realism and Magical Thinking
Sanjena Sathian on the thin border between the unreal and the real
The Missing Limousine
A short story
The Philosopher Who Took Happiness Seriously
In her writings, Simone de Beauvoir repeatedly returned to a childhood friendship that deeply influenced her views on freedom and human desire.
False Dawn
A poem for Sunday
The Books Briefing: A Better Way to Write About Crime
Works that critique police brutality, racism, and our obsession with true crime: Your weekly guide to the best in books
Lately, I’ve Taken To
A poem by Linda Gregerson, published in The Atlantic in 2014
The Books Briefing: Boundaries Between Humans and Machines Are Vanishing
Works that consider the implications of a life so intimately tied with technology: Your weekly guide to the best in books