“The paradox of the library in our time is that it aspires to be vast but is also selective and bounded – a tiny droplet of material in a seemingly limitless sea of content.”
Books
Posted inEditor's Pick
Joan Didion’s Magic Trick
Caitlin Flanagan goes on a road trip through California — including Sacramento, Berkeley, and Malibu — visiting the homes of the late Joan Didion and exploring why her writing has had such a powerful effect on people. Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album created a new vocabulary of essay writing, one whose influence is […]
Posted inEditor's Pick
On Writing: An Abecedarian
“To be inside the cathedral of a language is to be inside a particular view of the world.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
Into the Belly of the Whale With Sjón
“His books dance — with light, quick steps, never breaking eye contact — all over the line between the mythic and the mundane.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
‘This Is Going to Change the World’
“As the new millennium dawned, a mysterious invention from a charismatic millionaire became a viral sensation—then went down in flames. Ever since, I’ve wondered: Was it all my fault?”
Posted inEditor's Pick
‘I’ve Lost Everything to the Beast’
“Formed in Los Angeles by refugees fleeing US-backed violence in El Salvador, MS-13 has wreaked havoc in Central America.”
Posted inEditor's Pick
We Need to Translate More Armenian Literature
“We need them to assert our very existence.”
Posted inNonfiction
The Syrian Rebels Who Found Refuge in Books
In a town under siege from Assad’s regime, a small group built a library from books rescued from the rubble.
Posted inNonfiction
Binders Full of Men
In an excerpt from her new book on fertility, feminism, and queer family-building, Jennifer Berney explores the possibilities of sperm banks.