Meghan Daum
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.
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.
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
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Psycho,
-
Airlines ramp up the hunt for sustainable aviation fuel
The Week Recommends Several large airlines have announced sustainability goals for the coming decades
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Sudoku hard: January 13, 2025
The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Codeword: January 13, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Alan Cumming's 6 favorite works with resilient characters
Feature The award-winning stage and screen actor recommends works by Douglas Stuart, Alasdair Gray, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Shahnaz Habib's 6 favorite books that explore different cultures
Feature The essayist and translator recommends works by Vivek Shanbhag, Adania Shibli, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Niall Williams' 6 favorite books with rich storytelling
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Charles Dickens, James McBride, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Nigel Hamilton's 6 inspirational books for fellow writers
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by John Banville, Ann Patchett, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Ed Park's 6 favorite works about self reflection and human connection
Feature The Pulitzer Prize finalist recommends works by Jason Rekulak, Gillian Linden, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Kate Summerscale's 6 favorite true crime books about real murder cases
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Helen Garner, Gwen Adshead, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Bonnie Jo Campbell's 6 favorite books about unconventional relationships
Feature The former National Book Award finalist recommends works by Tove Jansson, Virginia Woolf, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Peter Ames Carlin's 6 favorite books on pop culture icons
Feature The author recommends works by James McBride, Jim Bouton, and more
By The Week US Published