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.
Five Authors We Thought Might Win the Nobel—Including One Who Did
A reading list of works by perennial favorites, including this year's awardee, Annie Ernaux
The Books We Read Too Late—And That You Should Read Now
One of the great, bittersweet pleasures of life is finishing a title and thinking about how it might have affected you—if only you’d found it sooner.
Six Books That Music Lovers Should Read
Because music is uniquely tied up with memory, the best writing about it inevitably gets personal.
The Best Books for a Broken Heart
These titles are genuinely insightful about the pain of heartbreak, but affirm that love remains worth pursuing.
Six Introductions That Will Change How You Read These Classics
Front matter by well-known contemporary authors offers new insights into notable works from the past—and heralds the foreword’s rise as its own exciting literary form.
The Books That Help Me Raise Children in a Broken World
How can we manage to pass along anything other than rage and despair in turbulent times?
Seven Books Where the Setting Exposes the Characters
Unchanging environments are a useful narrative tool to show readers just how much a protagonist has grown.
Eight Books That Will Lead You Down a Rabbit Hole
Making any kind of art can be an obsessive pursuit, but literature is uniquely suited to depicting monomania.
Have a Difficult Childhood? These Writers Did Too.
Humans have been telling stories about neglected or endangered children for millennia. Here are eight compelling ones.
12 Books to Help You Love Reading Again
Focusing on anything, let alone a book, has been hard lately. These are the titles that reignited our love for literature.