There must be few journalistic feats more difficult than getting inside the head of a teenager. But with “13, Right Now,” Washington Post staff writer Jessica Contrera joins the ranks of reporters who have skillfully chronicled the lives of children and teens, including Susan Orlean (read her classic Esquire piece, “The American Man, Age 10”) and more […]
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Posted inBooks, Fiction, First Chapters, Story
First Chapters: The Veins of the Ocean, by Patricia Engel
How we became a prison family.
Posted inNonfiction, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Below, our favorite stories of the week. Kindle users, you can also get them as a Readlist. Sign up to receive this list free every Friday in your inbox. * * *
Posted inBlog Post, Discussions, Uncategorized
Could You Afford a $400 Emergency? Neal Gabler Says His Financial Confession ‘Was Not an Easy One to Write’
If there are two things Americans are good at, it’s mishandling our finances, and using Twitter to judge those who are in worse shape than us. Thus we have the perfect Atlantic cover story this week—a refreshingly honest and desparingly relatable personal essay by writer Neal Gabler about his many financial mistakes, as well as […]
Posted inBlog Post, Discussions, Longreads News
Longreads Turns Seven Years Old: Unfinished Business
I’m quite proud of what this community has accomplished.
Posted inBooks, Fiction, Quotes
Paul Beatty’s ‘The Sellout’ and the Racism of The Little Rascals
“That’s the problem with history, we like to think it’s a book—that we can turn the page and move the fuck on. But history isn’t the paper it’s printed on. It’s memory, and memory is time, emotions, and song. History is the things that stay with you.” -Paul Beatty’s satirical novel The Sellout, winner of the […]
Posted inQuotes
The Story of a Marriage: Jenny Offill’s ‘Dept. of Speculation’
“The Buddhists say there are 121 states of consciousness. Of these, only three involve misery or suffering. Most of us spend our time moving back and forth between these three.” From Jenny Offill’s wonderful 2014 novel Dept. of Speculation — the story of a married couple in Brooklyn, told through snippets of wisdom, anger, love, and bedbugs. In […]
Posted inBlog Post, Uncategorized
One-Minute Readings: Ben Montgomery Remembers Journalist Michael Brick
Above is a brief tribute to journalist Michael Brick, who died in February at the age of 41. The video features Tampa Bay Times writer Ben Montgomery reading from Brick’s 2006 New York Times story, “Dusk of the Drummer” — and it’s one of many pieces featured in a new collection, Everyone Leaves Behind a Name: True Stories, […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes, Unapologetic Women
The Making of Janet Jackson’s ‘Control,’ 30 Years Later
The way our studio was set up back then was we had a control room where our mix board was and all that stuff, then there was a little lounge right outside with a couch. She was out there sitting and when I put it on, I could see her starting to move a little […]
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Jia Tolentino on the Story of Lori Maddox and David Bowie
At Jezebel, Jia Tolentino has written a superb essay about Lori Maddox, who recounted losing her virginity to David Bowie when she was 15 years old: There are no precise enough words or satisfying enough conclusions to fully account for her story, or any like it. It’s easy to see what Bowie represents here: a […]