“When faced with a dilemma I can’t solve, my usual strategy is to read. I order a bunch of books and immerse myself in other people’s experiences. It allows my thoughts to coalesce around a few themes; from there, I can see where I agree and where I diverge. To paraphrase Joan Didion, I read […]
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The Parent Dilemma: Should I Have a Child?
Clare Egan doesn’t know if she wants kids. Will this reading list help?
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from Laurie Penny, Josh McColough, Will Di Novi, Kent Russell, and Christian Wallace.
Plotting Out Structure and Writing Out Heroes: A Chat With the Writer and Editor Behind The Atavist’s New Issue
In this excerpt from The Creative Nonfiction Podcast, host Brendan O’Meara talks to Katia Savchuk and Atavist editor-in-chief Seyward Darby about their work on “A Crime Beyond Belief.”
The New York You Once Knew Is Gone. The One You Loved Remains.
In this pandemic-inspired variation on the Goodbye to All That essay, Glynnis MacNicol writes about what it’s like to have stayed in the current ghost town version of New York City when so many other New Yorkers have departed for greener pastures, and considers the city’s, and city-dwellers’ history of resilience through hard times.
Longreads Best of 2022: All of Our No. 1 Story Picks
All the stories we’ve selected as number one in our weekly Top 5 newsletter.
Lean On
A declaration of dependence, excerpted from Briallen Hopper’s new essay collection.
How Joan Didion Became Joan Didion
Joan Didion didn’t shy away from criticizing everything and everyone from The Sound of Music and J.D. Salinger, and she did it with flair and a voice all her own.
Location, Location, Location: Six Stories on Moving House
Jacqueline Alnes explores identity and privilege in these six stories about moving house.
The First Time I Moved to New York
The fantasies Alexander Chee had of New York before he moved there didn’t fully prepare him for what it was like to love the city.


