Riot Headline The Best Books of 2024

#Classics

Losing the Magic: Books I’m Afraid to Re-Read

There are books that have defined moments in my life, books which have carved out pieces of my heart and ...

The ‘Middlemarch’ Tongue Burn: Books That School Ruined

George Eliot’s most famous doorstop Middlemarch is getting a lot of love these days. The Paris Review featured a panorama ...

The Bookavore’s Dilemma

With apologies to my bookselling friend and colleague Stephanie Anderson, who tweets as @Bookavore, this week’s editorial is about how ...

8 Wisest Lines from Shakespeare’s Fools

April Fools’ Day is fast approaching, so here’s a look at the knavish wisdom of the Bard’s merriest philosophers. 1. Truth’s ...

#readingfail: Famous Novels I Never Finished

The famous novels that are supposed to be good, but not for me.

Our Reading Lives: Filling in the Gaps

Do you ever feel like there’s a gap in your reading repertoire? Like you’ve missed some time period or style ...

Books to Re-Read Every Five Years: George Eliot’s Middlemarch

Everyone has a book they re-read every few years because, as they age and change, so does their experience of ...

Close-Reading: The First Line of David Copperfield

This month, the Twitter-based book club #1book140 that The Atlantic hosts is reading David Copperfield. I’ve enjoyed reading along with ...

Lost Masterworks We Want Back

Not all literary masterworks survive. War, accident, wills: any number of things can get in the way. Here are some ...

Flowchart Fridays: Date Night for Literary Men

Last week, when I posted a few little flowcharts about what YA heroines might do in a crisis, people seemed ...