The best stories of the week, as chosen by the editors of Longreads.
nonfiction
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
In Iran, Dizi Is More Than a Dish
The story behind an Iranian stew called ‘dizi.’
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
On Ugly Food
At Serious Eats, Kat Kinsman analyzes America’s obsession with culinary appearances and makes the case for learning to measure food by other, non-visual standards.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Remembering the Female Voice of the Blues
Looking at Amanda Petrusich’s 2013 Oxford American magazine story about blues singer Bessie Smith.
Posted inNonfiction, Reading List, Top 5
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
The best stories of the week, as chosen by the editors of Longreads.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The ’90s Soda that Nobody Cared About Until It Was Dead
Writing for The Believer in February, 2014, Michael Schulman explored one of the most dramatic and memorable failures in American branding: Coca-Cola’s OK Soda. Marketed to Gen X’ers in 1994, the OK Soda brand died by 1995, though its artifacts live on in collector circles and advertising lore.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Returning to a Simpler Cup of Coffee
“Cheap coffee is one of America’s most unsung comfort foods.”
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
Feeding Your Grief
Isaac Blum writes in the Iowa Review about his young sister’s death, the shadow Heinz ketchup casts over his family, and the different ways people mourn.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
How the Mason Jar Got Hip
Ariana Kelly writes in The Atlantic about the invention and impact of the Mason Jar ─ that simple, indispensible glassware that facilitated rural American life ─ and what its current popularity in urban culture signifies.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
The Definition of Grace
Alana Massey writes beautifully about losing faith while at divinity school.