Longreads’ Best of WordPress, Vol. 6

10 of our favorite stories from all across WordPress, featuring The Kenyon Review, Tablet, The Aerogram, Sportsnet, Los Angeles Magazine, School for Birds, and more.

Author: Mike Dang
Source: Longreads
Published: Oct 8, 2014

Jackie’s Goodbye

A heartbreaking account of the emotional and financial toll of Alzheimer’s, from the perspective of a woman who must care for her aunt.

Published: Oct 7, 2014
Length: 40 minutes (10,103 words)

The Rise and Fall of Public Housing in NYC

A “subjective overview” of the history of public housing in New York City from the novelist Richard Price, framed through the lens of his own upbringing in the North Bronx’s Parkside Houses.

Published: Oct 1, 2014
Length: 16 minutes (4,130 words)

Drones and Everything After

Drones “are participants in nearly every type of human endeavor,” changing the way we see the world and each other.

Published: Oct 5, 2014
Length: 24 minutes (6,211 words)

This Is What Happens To Your Bike After It’s Stolen

In Seattle, a place “where biking, like espresso and drizzle, is part of the city’s essence,” bike theft is a shockingly common occurrence—but the theft is just the beginning of the story. Here, Casey Jaywork details just what exactly happens to bikes after they are taken from their rightful owners.

Source: Seattle Met
Published: Oct 1, 2014
Length: 12 minutes (3,054 words)

The Secret Mikvah Society

An ex-Orthodox Jewish woman takes a dip in the ancient ritual bath to see if it really will make her—and her marriage—pure.

Author: Amy Klein
Source: Narratively
Published: Oct 29, 2012
Length: 16 minutes (4,177 words)

Find Your Beach

Zadie Smith on loving, hating and living in Manhattan—an island where the pursuit of happiness has become a duty

Published: Oct 23, 2014
Length: 8 minutes (2,104 words)

Battered, Bereaved, and Behind Bars

Arlena Lindley’s boyfriend beat her and murdered her child—so why was she sentenced to 45 years in prison?

Source: BuzzFeed
Published: Oct 3, 2014
Length: 31 minutes (7,765 words)

The Most Ambitious Environmental Lawsuit Ever

A historian’s attempt to hold oil and gas companies accountable for Louisiana’s disappearing coast.

Published: Oct 4, 2014
Length: 28 minutes (7,138 words)

Trial by Twitter

The social media diaries of three teenage friends reveals clues to the disappearance of one of them.

Source: Elle
Published: Sep 17, 2014
Length: 29 minutes (7,439 words)