‘So What Do You Do?’: A Reading List

This week’s picks from Emily includes stories from Politico, Vela Magazine, McSweeney’s, and Mother Jones.

Source: Longreads
Published: Feb 2, 2014

Five Stories About Sports for People Who Hate Sports

Not everyone is into sports, but as Michael Hobbes writes, “that doesn’t mean, as it turns out, that stories about sports can’t be fascinating. The economics! The moral gray areas! The egos! It’s like a reality show in there.”

Source: Longreads
Published: Jan 29, 2014

Looking Back on ‘The X-Files’: A Reading List

This week’s picks from Emily include stories from The A.V. Club, The Awl, The Hairpin, and Grantland.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jan 26, 2014

Famous Cases of Journalistic Fraud: A Reading List

This reading list includes stories about Janet Cooke, who made up a story about an eight-year-old heroin addict, Jayson Blair, who fabricated stories at The New York Times, Stephen Glass, and more.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jan 22, 2014

The End of the Line: What It’s Like to Ride the Bus in Syria

Matthew McNaught taught English in Syria between 2007 and 2010. He now works in mental health and sometimes writes essays and stories. This piece first appeared in Syria Comment, and our thanks to McNaught for allowing us to republish it here.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jan 20, 2014
Length: 18 minutes (4,615 words)

What’s in a Home? A Reading List

This week’s picks from Emily include stories from Thought Catalog, The Wall Street Journal, Buzzfeed, and The Billfold.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jan 19, 2014

Nine Traits of Southern Writing: A Reading List

Elizabeth Hudson (@elizahudson) is editor in chief of Our State magazine, an 81-year-old regional magazine all about the people, places, and things that make living in North Carolina great.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jan 18, 2014

My Tears See More Than My Eyes: My Son’s Depression and the Power of Art

Alan Shapiro published two books in January 2012: Broadway Baby, a novel, from Algonquin Books, and Night of the Republic, poetry, from Houghton Mifflin/Harcourt. This essay first appeared in the Virginia Quarterly Review (subscribe here). Our thanks to Shapiro for allowing us to reprint it here, and for sharing an update on Nat’s life.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jan 18, 2014
Length: 19 minutes (4,928 words)

What It’s Like for Renters in America: A Reading List

Sam Stecklow (@samstecky) is a TV and journalism student based in San Francisco.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jan 16, 2014

Bigfoot, Nessie, and the Study of Hidden Animals

This week’s picks from Emily include stories from The Morning News, VQR, All About Birds, and Open Spaces Magazine.

Source: Longreads
Published: Jan 12, 2014