Meghan Daum has contributed to The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Vogue. Her debut novel, The Quality of Life Report (Viking, $25), was published in May.
The Human Stain by Philip Roth (Vintage, $14). A balanced yet scathing comment on liberal piety and the morass of academia. Cantankerous college professor Coleman Silk harbors a secret that’s custom-made for Rothian inquiries into class anxiety and self-loathing.
Remote by David Shields (out of print). I’ve moved several times in the last year and this is a book that stays in my immediate possession rather than boxed up with most of the others. These loosely linked and loosely autobiographical essays ponder, often with rigorous intellectualism, everything from the Boy Scout belt as fashion statement to the career of Bob Balaban.
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.
Walden by Henry David Thoreau (Penguin, $12). I first read this as a morose college student and vowed (as only a college student can) to live my life accordingly. I reread it as a sensory-overloaded 32-year-old and realized I’d utterly failed in that endeavor.
Ulysses by James Joyce (Vintage, $17). A book about everything that ever was, told in every way there is to tell it. If you couldn’t get through The Odyssey, try this.
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (Signet, $5). Long before there were people striving to get their weddings featured in The New York Times, Lily Bart was laying the groundwork for the cruel vagaries of New York social striving. Wharton’s New York remains both exhilaratingly and unnervingly timeless.
I Am Not Jackson Pollack
Psycho,
-
‘Are we just going to stand in passive witness to the degradation of our democracy?’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Do Republicans have a health care plan?Today's Big Question The shutdown hinges on the answer
-
The new age of book banningThe Explainer How America’s culture wars collided with parents and legislators who want to keep their kids away from ‘dangerous’ ideas
-
Nathan Harris’ 6 favorite books that turn adventures into revelationsFeature The author recommends works by Kazuo Ishiguro, Ian McGuire, and more
-
Marisa Silver’s 6 favorite books that capture a lifetimeFeature The author recommends works by John Williams, Ian McEwan, and more
-
Lou Berney’s 6 favorite books with powerful storytellingFeature The award-winning author recommends works by Dorothy B. Hughes, James McBride, and more
-
Elizabeth Gilbert’s favorite books about women overcoming difficultiesFeature The author recommends works by Tove Jansson, Lauren Groff, and more
-
Fannie Flagg’s 6 favorite books that sparked her imaginationFeature The author recommends works by Johanna Spyri, John Steinbeck, and more
-
Jessica Francis Kane's 6 favorite books that prove less is moreFeature The author recommends works by Penelope Fitzgerald, Marie-Helene Bertino, and more
-
Keith McNally's 6 favorite books that have ambitious charactersFeature The London-born restaurateur recommends works by Leo Tolstoy, John le Carré, and more
-
Garrett Graff's 6 favorite books that shine new light on World War IIFeature The author recommends works by James D. Hornfischer, Craig L. Symonds, and more
