All the stories we’ve selected as number five in our weekly Top 5 newsletter.
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Judge a Book Not By its Gender
Lisa Whittington-Hill suggests there’s a distinct gender bias in celebrity memoirs. Where female celebrities are expected to expose all, male writers get to write about whatever they want.
The Messy Making of a Nearly Perfect Hip-Hop Album
Music as original as Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s sounds evergreen, but originality came with a high personal cost for its maker.
Summer Mother
Michael A. Gonzales recounts the life lessons of a favorite auntie.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, we’re sharing stories from John Lanchester, Bethany Barnes, Stephen Kearse, Warren Ellis, and Soraya Roberts.
Longreads Best of 2019: Music Writing
We asked writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories. Here is the best in music writing.
What Happens If I Don’t Like Fiona Apple?
It seems like everyone in the world loves “Fetch the Bolt Cutters.” So why don’t I? On the isolation of disconnection.
Wonderful Things: The Kid Creole and the Coconuts Story
Combining island sounds with stylish clothes and an unforgettable stage presence, one of New York City’s most original bands helped influence 1980s pop culture, and they never sacrificed their unclassifiable artistic vision.
Beautiful Women, Ugly Scenes: On Novelist Nettie Jones and the Madness of ‘Fish Tales’
Edited by Toni Morrison, the 1983 novel ‘Fish Tales’ by Nettie Jones was supposed to set the literary world on fire. It didn’t.
Critics: Endgame
If there’s no earth, there’s no art. How do you engage in cultural criticism at the end of the world?

