You’ve heard from the Longreads’ editors, now it’s the turn of our readers.
The Cut
Best of 2022: Personal Essays
Five notable personal essays published this year, on friendship, loss, war, endings, and metaphors.
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
This week, our editors recommend stories by Naomi Gordon-Loebl, Jean Guerrero, Ben Goldfarb, Dan Kois, and Reeves Wiedeman.
The Watcher
“A family bought their dream house. But according to the creepy letters they started to get, they weren’t the only ones interested in it.”
The Sound of My Inbox
“In a newsletter, the reader is welcomed as a supporter, an ally — or perhaps even a friend.”
Beige Ambition
“Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen grew up to make New York’s most desirable clothes. But can even perfection survive the pandemic?”
Neighborhood Watch: The Strange Aftermath of a ‘Karen’ Encounter
In a progressive New Jersey community, racial solidarity is complicated.
Buying Myself Back
Emily Ratajkowski writes an essay on celebrity, objectification, and consent. “I’ve become more familiar with seeing myself through the paparazzi’s lenses than I am with looking at myself in the mirror. And I have learned that my image, my reflection, is not my own.”
The Poison of Male Incivility
On Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s powerful speech on the House floor, and the entrenched narrative of the “disruptive” woman.
The Power and Business of Hip-Hop: A Reading List on an American Art Form
Stories of hip-hop’s genius, influence, struggle, and endurance.