Our 10 most-read Longreads essays of 2024.
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Here’s to What’s Real and True: Support Writing that Matters
“It’s becoming rarer to get to work on writing that’s real and true, a story idea conceived by a human brain and reported by a human heart, a piece of writing that helps us understand others, and ourselves, a little better.” While I’ve followed Longreads since it started as a hashtag in 2009, I’m proud […]
Our Most-Read Longreads Originals of 2023
The 10 top-performing essays published on Longreads this year.
Sitting in the Waiting Room
“We wait constantly, for a variety of outcomes and eventualities, some of which we can’t see coming.”
Both Sides of The Mirror
Introducing The Longreads Questionnaire, featuring Vauhini Vara.
How to Love a Swamp (and Our Top 5)
“But here’s the thing about swamps: They don’t go down easy. Swamps don’t protest, they insist.” I recently completed a road trip across the Canadian prairies, traveling through the mountains to the southwestern coast of British Columbia. I was relaxed at the wheel, and I enjoyed the chance to think, unencumbered even by radio stations along […]
A Forgotten Deportation, a New Questionnaire Series, and Our Top 5
An essay about a forgotten deportation and the reckoning it left behind, a glimpse into Maria Popova’s writing and reading life, and our five recommended stories of the week.
Found Poetry, Marital Musings, and our Top 5
“I peeled the list off the windshield and held it like an artifact: evidence of a life I didn’t know but suddenly cared about. It read like a poem. A confession. What was the story behind this list, I wondered—and what would come for this stranger after the checkout aisle?” I love making lists. They […]
Legendary Treasures, A Feared Journalist, and Our Top 5
“The appeal of the quest transcends material gain or historical significance. Each of these hunts holds at its heart a puzzle to solve—and for some, that puzzle can turn into an obsession, even a fatal one. But the promise remains difficult to resist.” We can’t believe it: December is here! Start off your weekend with […]

