Lynn Freed
The Washington Post has called Lynn Freed’s new memoir, Reading, Writing and Leaving Home, one of the few “necessary” books about the writing life. She is also the author of five novels.
Buy Reading, Writing and Leaving Home at Amazon
The Lover by Marguerite Duras (Pantheon, $10). A book that I keep within reach to remind myself of what literature can do with life. Reading more like memoir than fiction, this gorgeously written tale of erotic love, of family love, and of family hate describes a young girl’s wild passage into womanhood.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Collected Stories by Frank O’Connor (Vintage, $21). It doesn’t matter how many times I read and reread O’Connor, I laugh, and am moved yet again by tales of an Ireland richer and more real than the one I have, on occasion, visited myself.
Literary Occasions by V.S. Naipaul (Vintage, $14). Gloriously intelligent and lucid, these essays examine the place and purpose of the writer in the world. Nothing cheers me up like Naipaul’s particular brand of unmitigated honesty.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Beggar Maid by Alice Munro (Vintage, $13). Rose and her stepmother, Flo, the chief protagonists of these brilliantly linked stories placed in small-town Canada, are two of the finest characters in 20th-century fiction.
Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi (Touchstone, $12). A searing, brilliantly written account of one man’s survival in a German death camp. I know of no other book that takes the reader so surely into the horror of the Holocaust without making the journey unbearable.
Lost in Translation
-
How military service works for K-pop idols
Under The Radar All seven members of K-pop sensation BTS have now completed mandatory national service
-
The Week contest: Flight fraud
Puzzles and Quizzes
-
Is Trump sidelining Congress' war powers?
Today's Big Question The Iran attack renews a long-running debate
-
Anne Hillerman's 6 favorite books with Native characters
Feature The author recommends works by Ramona Emerson, Craig Johnson, and more
-
John Kenney's 6 favorite books that will break your heart softly
Feature The novelist recommends works by John le Carré, John Kennedy Toole, and more
-
Andrea Long Chu's 6 favorite books for people who crave new ideas
Feature The book critic recommends works by Rachel Cusk, Sigmund Freud, and more
-
Bryan Burrough's 6 favorite books about Old West gunfighters
Feature The Texas-raised author recommends works by T.J. Stiles, John Boessenecker, and more
-
Tash Aw's 6 favorite books about forbidden love
Feature The Malaysian novelist recommends works by James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and more
-
Richard Bausch's 6 favorite books that are worth rereading
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and more
-
Marya E. Gates' 6 favorite books about women filmmakers
Feature The film writer recommends works by Julie Dash, Sofia Coppola, and more
-
Laurence Leamer's 6 favorite books that took courage to write
Feature The author recommends works by George Orwell, Truman Capote and more