“As they pass through different hands, cooking utensils can magically connect us to loved ones who are no longer with us.”
Books
Reading Behind Bars, and Beyond Barriers
“Jackie Snow reflects on what working for a books-to-prisons nonprofit has taught her about reading.”
Building a Nest
“Lauren Markham and Jenny Odell discuss people, books, and places as inspiration; grief and the creative process; and the conscious attention required by climate crisis.”
A.O. Scott’s Poetry Lessons
“A conversation with the NYT critic on his popular close reads of poems.”
Portrait of ChatGPT as a Young Artist: Vauhini Vara on Voice, Tech, and Using AI in Writing
“Sarah Viren talks to the author of ‘Searches: Selfhood in the Digital Age.’”
Did a Best-Selling Romantasy Novelist Steal Another Writer’s Story?
“Tracy Wolff, the author of the ‘Crave’ series, is being sued for copyright infringement. But romantasy’s reliance on standardized tropes makes proving plot theft tricky.”
Rabelaisian Enumerations: On Lists
“What sort of collection should a library hold? How should books be classified? What is the function of lists?”
Gift Thinking
“The relationships, abundance, and reciprocity of nature’s economy.”
A Controversial Rare-Book Dealer Tries to Rewrite His Own Ending
“Glenn Horowitz built a fortune selling the archives of writers such as Vladimir Nabokov and Alice Walker. Then a rock star pressed charges.”
