Books

podcast
book review

Rachel Cusk’s Alleged Natalie Portman Novel Is Not Very Good

 Life of M’s celebrity character study is half salacious, half tediously vague. By Emma Alpern
podcast
profile

I Was Inspired by the Native Writer Thomas King. Then I Learned He’s White.

 Thomas King influenced a generation of Native writers, including myself. Then we discovered he wasn’t Native at all. By Tommy Orange
a long talk

Roland Orzabal Wanted Fame, Fortune, and Therapy

 How Tears for Fears beat their “three-album act with one greatest-hits album” fate — and what’s next for the band. By Devon Ivie
  1. chapters
    That Time Dolly Parton Switched Up Her ‘Reputwah’After a chance run-in with Steve Buckingham, a lost Dolly Parton decided to try bluegrass music.
    By Martha Ackmann
  2. chapters
    ‘Let’s Just Take the Piss Out of Bane’The Batman: The Animated Series writers didn’t like the roided-up villain’s intrusion on their Rogues Gallery.
    By Daniel Dockery
  3. books
    Here’s How Life of M Leads Back to Natalie PortmanTwo big dogs … actress living in Europe …
    By Fran Hoepfner
  4. more maas
    The Next ACOTAR Installments Are Closer Than You ThinkBook six will be out by the end of this year.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  5. book gossip
    How 20 Well-Read People Make Time for BooksBJ Novak wishes he could read in an airplane chair at home, and Padma Lakshmi once listened to Giovanni’s Room while weight-training.
    By Jasmine Vojdani
  7. best of 2026
    The Best Books of the Year So Far2026’s highlights include a trilogy-capping novel, a strange frenzy of short stories, and a brazenly painful memoir.
    By Emma Alpern and Jasmine Vojdani
  8. must reads
    6 New Books You Should Read This AugustA buzzy character study from Rachel Cusk, a thriller about time travel, and a shattering new novel from Chang-rae Lee.
    By Emma Alpern and Jasmine Vojdani
  9. adaptation
    Children of Blood and Bone Arrives With Big EnergyAuthor and co-screenwriter Tomi Adeyemi is distancing herself from the movie, but it’s still coming soon.
    By Jason P. Frank
  10. book review
    Colson Whitehead Keeps Subverting ExpectationsThe final book in his Harlem Trilogy is both enjoyable crime fiction and an ode to Black ingenuity.
    By Niela Orr
  11. first person
    The Death Scene I Was Ashamed to Cry AboutEver since I was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease, I’ve been finding myself thinking about Little Women’s Beth March.
    By Sarah Chihaya
  12. endings
    The Five Star Weekend Changes a Key IngredientThe adaptation opts for easily digestible gratification in place of the novel’s more complex themes.
    By Roxana Hadadi
  13. bad blood
    Tomi Adeyemi Doesn’t Support The Children of Blood and Bone MovieThe author confirmed there’s a “reason” why she’s done with the adaptation.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  14. must reads
    7 New Books You Should Read This JulyColson Whitehead’s final Harlem Trilogy installment, a contemplative travel novel, and an audacious caper that’s back in print.
    By Emma Alpern and Jasmine Vojdani
  15. encounter
    Robinne Lee Writes More Than RomanceThe Idea of You author’s first novel was misunderstood. Now she’s back with a book that defies the genre.
    By Allison P. Davis
  16. q&a
    Hannah Murray Stopped Playing Make-BelieveIn her memoir, the onetime actor untangles her time within a wellness cult that resulted in a psychotic break.
    By Fran Hoepfner
  17. q&a
    No One Has Dealt With More Angry Odyssey Bros Than Emily WilsonChristopher Nolan cited Wilson’s translation when discussing his upcoming film. She unpacks the backlash to her work and to Nolan’s adaptation.
    By Jason P. Frank
  18. books
    5 Romance Novels to Read This SummerIncludes a queer romantasy, a wallflower versus a rake, and a comforting coming-of-age.
    By Angelina Mazza
  19. 1.5x speed
    What Mina Kimes Is Listening to (and Reading) This Summer“If you’re looking for book recommendations from ten years ago, I got you.”
    By Nic Juarez
  20. profile
    Joyce Carol Oates Can’t QuitT​he octogenarian is on her 50th short-story collection and 15th year as an X power user.
    By Emma Alpern
  21. vulture recommends
    If You Liked Backrooms, You’re Gonna Love House of LeavesAre you into weird liminal locations that make no sense and might drive you insane if you think about them too long? Here’s your next read.
    By Roxana Hadadi
  22. rip
    Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis Writer, Dead at 56Her family and friends say she “died of sadness” after the death of her husband.
    By Jason P. Frank
  23. book gossip
    How Lit Mags Are Dealing With AI-Slop Submissions“You don’t have to be an AI booster to think ‘catching people out’ is a poor use of the literary community’s energy.”
    By Jasmine Vojdani
  24. must reads
    7 New Books to Read This JuneA new Ann Patchett, a reissue of a Pulitzer-winning book of essays, and a sprawling, intelligent immigrant novel.
    By Emma Alpern and Jasmine Vojdani
  25. book review
    Maggie O’Farrell Goes MaximalistThe Hamnet author’s new novel, Land, is her most ambitious work to date.
    By Rachel Vorona Cote
  26. book review
    I Keep Falling for Ann Patchett’s Slightly Maudlin NovelsHer latest, Whistler, is full of unusually decent people. But it still made me tear up.
    By Emma Alpern
  27. booktok get ready
    Smith Jerrod Is Moving to Costa RicaThe Sex and the City star is working on an original fantasy-book series.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  28. jesus freaks
    Interview With the Vampire Wants to Do the Anne Rice Jesus Stuff“If you didn’t grab one or two of the totally psychotic, weird, wild things, you’d be missing out on what makes her as an artist, singular.”
    By Bethy Squires
  29. chapters
    ‘They Don’t Have Sex the Same Way’In 2018, CBS wanted to re-create Love Island’s success. Could Americans handle the villa?
    By Anna Peele
  30. reader’s digest
    Emily Henry Says to ‘Trust the Vision’ for Beach Read AdaptationAfter the fan backlash over Patrick Schwarzenegger as Gus.
    By Alejandra Gularte
  31. book gossip
    Can AI Win Short-Story Prizes Now?A representative from Granta confirmed that its editors did not participate in the selection or editing of the prize-winning stories.
    By Emma Alpern
  32. adam sackler lives
    Adam Driver, We Need Your BookHe was definitely kidding when he responded to questions about Famesick. But imagine if he wasn’t?
    By Fran Hoepfner
  33. steinbeck summer
    All the Hot Girls Will Be Reading John Steinbeck This SummerEast of Eden is the tip of the iceberg.
    By Fran Hoepfner
  34. quality time
    What James Austin Johnson Watches (and Reads) With His SonThe SNL star managed to get his 4-year-old to sit through (most of) Seven Samurai.
    By James Austin Johnson
    As told to Marah Eakin
  35. book review
    Is The Hill a Novel of the Left or an Obituary for It?In Harriet Clark’s debut, a child lives with the fallout of her family’s radical past.
    By Madeline Leung Coleman
  36. podcasts
    Hayden Panettiere Did Not ‘Just Give Up’ her DaughterShe spoke at length about giving up custody while in treatment for addiction, and how she stayed connected to her daughter.
    By Bethy Squires
  37. close read
    The Post-Trauma Plot Book Is HereRecent works by Avigayl Sharp, Kaveh Akbar, Jamie Hood, and Jen Beagin embrace a more irreverent attitude toward their pain.
    By Gideon Leek
  38. look book
    The Look Book Goes to a Midnight Release of On the Calculation of VolumeFans of Solvej Balle’s On the Calculation of Volume gathered at Le Pistol Bar & Cafe for a group reading organized by the Brooklyn Public Library.
    By Jeremy Rellosa
  39. must reads
    8 New Books to Read This MayTwo dark-academia novels, a memoir from a Pen15 co-creator, and a debut we think will make a splash.
    By Emma Alpern and Jasmine Vojdani
  40. book review
    Douglas Stuart Comes Into His OwnThe Shuggie Bain author finally lets his gay characters feel alive.
    By Sam Worley
  41. pew-lit-ser
    Bess Wohl’s Liberation Wins the Pulitzer Prize for DramaDaniel Kraus’s one-sentence war novel Angel Down took the Fiction award.
    By Jason P. Frank
  42. the voice of a generation
    Heartbreak Feels Good in a Lena Dunham Memoir Like ThisThe true pleasures of Famesick can be found in the most painful sections.
    By Fran Hoepfner
  43. book review
    Making Girls Made Lena Dunham SickHer second book is her first work to come from a place of deep hindsight.
    By Madeline Leung Coleman
  44. the voice of a generation
    All the Gossip From Lena Dunham’s FamesickThe Girls, the bad, and the ugly.
    By Emma Alpern
  45. chapters
    ‘He Was Genius About Sex’How the photographer Peter Hujar turned cruising into works of art.
    By Andrew Durbin
  46. secret identity
    It Would Be Crazy If Your Brain Doctor Wrote The HousemaidFreida McFadden, the author of the thriller series, finally revealed her true identity.
    By Fran Hoepfner
  47. well read
    Behold: The National Book Foundation’s ‘5 Under 35’Featuring books about internet derangement, life in Hawaii, and a human-blob love story.
    By Emma Alpern
  48. book review
    Diary of a Former Wastrel YouthCult author Nancy Lemann’s first novel in more than 20 years feels very familiar.
    By Cat Zhang
  49. profile
    Ben Lerner’s Big FeelingsThe acclaimed writer of cerebral autofiction returns with his strangest and most moving novel yet.
    By Kevin Lozano
  50. must reads
    8 New Books to Read This AprilA Ben Lerner novel about when tech fails us, a Lena Dunham memoir, and an investigative saga from the author of Say Nothing.
    By Emma Alpern and Jasmine Vojdani
  51. religious studies
    The Harry Potter PilgrimsJ.K. Rowling’s transphobia turned off many readers. Some still treat the series she created as a sacred text.
    By Séamas O'Reilly
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