The theme of the week is how the culture we consume informs who we are. Also, "Can horror be comforting?" What I read this week Public Access Afterworld by Jane Schoenbrun I think this is it. My favorite novel of 2026. I should say, before I begin, that
The theme of the week is what we owe our (or other people's) mothers What I read this week American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee I've never read an epic that was primarily about education – both practically and philosophically – but Min Jin Lee's new
The theme of the week is resurrecting the dead in service of authorial appropriation, but in a really, really good way What I read this week Said the Dead by Doireann Ní Ghríofa This book. This book lit up all of the best parts of my brain. Said the Dead
The theme of the week is the slipperiness of the truth in the stories we like to consume What I read this week The Four Wives and Five Deaths of Richard Milford by Nafissa Thompson-Spires I love a novel that's less than 200 pages but packs so
The theme of the week is that there are actual ways to fight back against the monstrous people who are in power right now What I read this week End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor Doppelganger changed the way I
The theme of the week is how information about famous people is disseminated and interpreted What I read this week May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry It is so rare to read a modern novel that depicts a character who loves their job. But that's who
The theme of the week is one super chill question: who will you be when America descends into chaos? What I read this week Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel I love how in her four most recent books Emily breaks the narrative of a dystopian novel into puzzle
The theme of this week is death comes for us all! (I added an exclamation point at the end so you'll know I'm being peppy about it.) What I read this week Switzy by Emma Cline and Understory by Chloe Benjamin Sometimes by circumstance I come
The theme of the week is reasons to become a misandrist, and also English pubs What I read this week The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley I have not read Gwendoline Riley before but now I'm in it. Her latest novel, long-listed for the Booker Prize, really
The theme of the week is intergenerational trauma, unreliable narrators, and the malleability of memory What I read this week Awake Awake by Fiona Mozley "History was chaos, top to bottom, front to back, and a human life was no different. Any attempt to decipher a lucid course would
The theme of the week is who has a soul and who is a mere husk of a person (the answer might surprise you) What I read this week The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy by Gil Durán In the 80s and 90s pop culture
The theme of this week is going out on your own and discovering some harsh truths What I read this week Unprecedented Times by Malavika Kannan I first met Malavika through my friends Kristen and Kayla, who live in Orlando and know every writer who was ever in the nearby