The Time is Right for a ‘Great Books’ Revival
To build a better world in the age of AI, students need grounding in indispensable ideas.
What To Read
Books
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The Toll
A poem
He Was Hugely Influential. He Also Had a Foolish Streak.
A recent biography of the writer John Berger reminds us about his hefty influence—and how he could be blinkered by his convictions.
An Adaptation That’s Both ‘Excellent’ and ‘Bizarre’
Lincoln in the Bardo is a bold novel that has rightfully inspired inventive adaptations.
Fiction
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The Guardians
A short story
Disunion
A short story
I Heard You Singing
A short story
The Wisdom of Holden Caulfield
Beneath all the alienation, The Catcher in the Rye, which turns 75 this year, has a surprisingly hopeful—and ethical—outlook.
As the Climate Changes, So Does Fiction
Planetary warming is no longer the sole province of “climate fiction.” It’s creeping into all kinds of writing.
The Messy Line Between Faith and Reason
When we notice the overlap between the divine and the secular, we can see how nuanced human belief is: Your weekly guide to the best in books
And How Do These Books Make You Feel?
These seven books analyze what really happens between therapist and patient.
What a Nanny Knows
A nanny—fully immersed in the most intimate details of a family’s life, yet with an outsider’s point of view—can be the perfect protagonist: Your weekly guide to the best in books
The Inner Lives of Animals
Writers wonder if animals have minds like ours—and how important that question is: Your weekly guide to the best in books
How to Make Change, Slowly
Making a difference is not just about charismatic leaders and huge protests. As these books show, social and political shifts are usually the result of sustained, unseen work.
Keeping a Diary at the End of the World
The urge to document our lives during crisis is widely shared among writers: Your weekly guide to the best in books
Nine Books That Came to Fame Slowly
Translation allowed these works to become popular all over again in English.
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
Whatever You Write, There You Are
These nine nonfiction authors set out to investigate the outside world and ended up finding themselves.